They are free yet they are slaves of the hurting and dirty and dying.

- The Vision Poem

Justice is what love looks like in public.

- Dr. Cornel West (featured in "Call and Response")

Today, more than 27 million people are still in slavery around the world.  Think about that for a minute.  That is more slaves in 2008 than the populations of New York City, London, Paris and Mexico City combined.  It is chilling to think that there are more human beings in slavery on planet Earth right now than there ever have been before.  On a tour of Russia, musician Justin Dillon ran head-first into the reality of 21st century slavery.  He found that the young russian woman interpreting for him was being consistently offered "opportunities" to come to the west.  Upon investigating, Dillon found that these "jobs" were nothing more than deceptions designed to entice young women into sex slavery.  Although he had no idea what he could do about it, he vowed to do something about the issue of human trafficking upon returning home.

That "something" has become a first of its kind feature-length documentary named "Call and Response".  The film goes deep undercover where slavery is thriving, from the child brothels of Cambodia to the slave brick kilns of rural India to reveal that in 2007, slave traders made more money than Google, Nike and Starbucks combined.  But the movie doesn't just inform, it also inspires.  Performances from Grammy-winning and critically acclaimed artists including Moby, Natasha Bedingfield, Cold War Kids, Matisyahu, Imogen Heap, Talib Kweli, Five For Fighting, Switchfoot, members of Nickel Creek and Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers and Rocco Deluca move this chilling information into inspiration for stopping slavery in the 21st century.  The film's website features an official trailer and several behind the scenes clips.

The movie's makers have approached 24-7 Prayer to ask for help in spreading the word. Its message is both deeply moving and of fundamental importance, but it isn't exactly going to get the same billing or distribution as your average Hollywood blockbuster. 'Call and Response' has been funded exclusively by donations from people like us and the hope now is that millions out there will see it. There are a few ways you can help. If you're on Facebook or MySpace, be sure to post a link to the film's website – callandresponse.com – or get a widget on your profile page. Do you have a blog or personal site? Get a free web banner (or two) on there, available from the downloads page. Next, if the film is going to be shown in your area, why not buy up a block of tickets and take some friends for an inspiring night out? And of course, if it isn't showing, you can always request it at a theatre near you until it is. Finally, let your local Christian community know about the film, and spend some time praying together with other believers about global slavery – both for those enslaved and for the traffickers themselves.

But this isn't just about a film.  "Call and Response" is a vehicle to mobilise us into action.  We don't need to see the film to be able to act against human trafficking.  Callandresponse.com has some excellent sections suggesting what you can do right now, without seeing the movie, to stop slavery in the world today.  Check out their "Respond", "Take Action" and "33 Responses" sections now.  There are many possibilities of involvement listed there.  Quite a few of them wouldn't even take very much time or money.  The reality is that we could end slavery in our time.  But the question that we must pose ourselves is: "Are we willing to be part of a modern abolitionist movement?"