In recognition of Anti-Trafficking Month, Malaya Movement USA asserts our steadfast commitment to the defense of human rights for all, including victims and survivors of human trafficking. The Philippines has one of the largest numbers of trafficking victims in the world, with an “estimated 784,000 people living as modern-day slaves” with between 60,000 and 100,000 Filipino children being victims according to The Exodus Road. These modern day slaves are forced to live in unsafe conditions as either victims of human or sex trafficking.

This year marks the 138th anniversary of the Great Upheaval, when hundreds of thousands of workers across the United States went on strike for an eight hour work day. In Chicago, workers confronted strikebreakers and were attacked by state authorities, which set off the Haymarket Affair that resulted in deaths and even more injuries. Since then, workers around the world commemorate May Day by fighting for fair wages, better working conditions, and an end to exploitative practices in the workplace.