Slavery?

Slavery.

When you think of slavery, maybe you imagine the "black" slaves of historical America. Or the people in movies, beaten with stock whips and forced to work long hours for stale bread and some ragged clothing. The skinny men who lived in your history books at school, pulling chariots wearing only ragged cloths.

Or, perhaps, like I do, you think of modern day slavery.

Who are these slaves?

"Slavery; - a condition of having to work very hard without proper remuneration or appreciation." -Google definition

In our Western societies, historically, our ancestors had slaves. But because the practice of slavery has been made illegal, we no longer see our slaves. A wealthy family will no longer leave slaves to the next generation in their will. It's illegal to beat and mentally abuse our slaves to get more production out of them. We don't buy and sell people. It's highly illegal! And we are a society which believes it is wrong.

So how come slaves had to sew your clothes, and grow and weave the cotton? Slaves had to mine the minerals that went into your make up and the metals that went into your phone. Slaves had to pick the tea and process the coffee and harvest the cocoa you drink. Slaves living at your house are illegal. If you were found to have people working at your house who were paid less than the minimum wage, especially if you were coercing them and forcing them to stay there, you could go to prison for it. But, strangely, it's legal to import items made by slaves. You have slaves, who just happen to live in different countries.

How do people become slaves? -Scams that cost lives.

People become slaves in a few different ways.

Quite commonly, slaves start out as teenagers living in impoverished and rural areas of the world. 'Agents' come to them offering jobs in large, exciting cities and even other abroad. Young people the world over long to explore the world and have adventures. These teenagers are often (although not always) in situations where they couldn't otherwise afford an OE. Another attraction of course, is being able to have money, and send some back to their parents. The teenagers don't know that these jobs will not be paid, and that they will be mistreated and intimidated to believe they cannot leave.

A 14 year old girl named Radhika who worked selling vegetables in Kathmandu, Nepal, was told by a man she had come to trust that he could get her a better job as a housekeeper for a rich family across town. The family told her to come on "holiday" with them, and that was the beginning of several years of trafficking and slavery for Radhika. Her story is told in full in "Radhika's Story" by Sharon Hendry. 

It's also common in some countries, for the parents to be the targets of these scams. Told their child will be taken to schools, or to a legitimate job, and that they will receive a commission for sending them. Some of these situations are described in the 2010 documentary "Stacey Dooley investigates Sex trafficking in Cambodia". Sometimes loan sharks will ask for a person as security for a loan, and will kidnap the person if the loan cannot be repaid.

I'd like to point out that this trafficking of people into slavery doesn't exclusively happen in developing countries, doesn't exclusively happen to young people, and doesn't exclusively happen to women. Anyone can be a target. Europe and the USA have seen numerous cases of human trafficking (See the example in the next paragraph). “Worldwide, almost 20% of all trafficking victims are children. However, in some parts of Africa and the Mekong region, children are the majority (up to 100% in parts of West Africa).” -United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime article.

How are people kept slaves?

Slaves can be physically locked up, but a more powerful way of keeping people slaves is by physical violence and threats. "Nichole's Story" a three minute video you can watch on the A21 website, is about an American woman, who was a slave in America. She tells in the video of how her captor "brutally beat" another victim in front of her and threatened her that "If I ran off and left him, he would hunt me down, and murder me, and murder my family." He wouldn't let her have a cell phone, or call her family without him being in the room. 

Many slaves are bonded into labour; after their coercion, they are told they owe money; "recruitment fees" and "accommodation costs" are common, and must work to pay it off. The traffickers ensure that the slaves will never pay their fees by not providing enough income.

When slaves are transported across cultures, they often don't speak the language of the people around them, and don't know the laws of the country and so are isolated enough to keep them in captivity.

How can we create freedom?

One way is by boycotting. We all have the ability to walk into a shop, take something from a shelf, and pay for it, without thinking about where it might have come from, and I think we should. 

When I have a good reason to believe something has been made by slaves, and I don't really need it, I try not to buy it. If many people are vegans to avoid the exploitation of animals, I wonder why there aren't many people who will do the same thing to avoid exploitation of people.

Since I started boycotting certain products, I've had to find substitutes for the things I used to buy. Often these substitutes are Fair Trade or otherwise certified, which means the producers at the bottoms of supply chains in other countries get a fair price. Often the money made purchases also goes toward establishing things like schools to better their communities. Another solution I like is to buy things second hand. The items may have been made by slaves, but their original purchasers no longer need them. I'm recycling them, they are often still in good condition, and I don't have to pay too much. I like to think the money I save at the second hand shop, I can spend on fair trade products.

Sometimes Boycotting isn't practical. There might not be an ethical substitute that is readily available, and it might not be a product we can just live without. So, we can sign petitions, and write letters, and emails, and to the companies making the products, asking them to make an ethical substitute available. This re-channelling of demand shows companies the need to find better supply chains. A group working to establish ethical supply chains is made in a free world. 

You can also support an organisation working to help victims.

Luckily, Many organisations that work hard to help people get out of slavery, and there are many ways to help. Some groups help by providing a safe place for newly freed slaves to recover. Some groups help prosecute traffickers. Some groups run community awareness programmes telling people about the dangers of falling victim to scams, or provide education, and relieve poverty to prevent trafficking. 

Because many of these groups are not for profit, by donating money, or organising a fundraiser, you enable them to keep doing what they're doing. You may even be able to volunteer to help them yourself. There is a need for different kinds of workers, with many different kinds of skills to go as volunteers.

Or raise awareness.

Tell other people about slavery, and they can make a difference too. Share this article and blog with your friends. Share charities and ways to help with your friends, or ask everyone you know to write to a company with you.

Or pray for the victims, and the work to combat modern day slavery.

"You may choose to look the other way, but you can never again say that you did not know." -William Wilberforce