SLAVERY IN YOUR WORLD TODAY!

Slavery is at an all time historic high, and increasing, even in first world countries such as the US.  We estimate that between 600,000 to 800,000 men women and children are tricked or forcibly taken across international boundaries each year in human trafficking.  A UN estimate (probably low) is 27 MILLION persons enslaved somewhere on this globe today. Anti-Slavery International, the world's oldest human rights organization, cites 200 MILLION enslaved, including bonded labor.  Both numbers are more than the total of all slaves involved in the 16^th to 19^th century slave trade that we learned about in school.

The UN, the US State Department, and other organizations make regular reports about slavery and human trafficking.  According to the 2006 Trafficking in Persons Report by the State Department, an estimated 14,500 to 17,500 women and children are trafficked into America and forced into many types of slavery.  The CIA in previous reports, thought the numbers to be much higher, possibly 50,000.

The Trafficking Report lists a majority of nations and assigns them a rank according to the amount of trafficking within their borders and their government’s attempts to stop it. 

          Major types of slavery described below are:     

  Chattel Slavery    Child Labor   Sexual Slavery   Bonded Labor    Forced (Slave) Labor

                                                    Forced Military Enslavement

Chattel slavery is the classic form of slavery, where humans are bought and sold, sometimes openly, as cattle would be bid on.  They are considered property of their "masters" and treated acccording to how well they serve them and the whims of their owners.  

 Sudan, Mauritania and other parts of North Africa are still havens for this ancient and base form of slavery.  It is extremely common in these nations for Arabs to have enslaved thousands of black Africans, sometimes claiming particular families for generations.  Some African tribes traditionally enslave others.

Chattle slavery also exists in other areas, although illegal and more underground.    (Learn more about chattel slavery)

Child labour is in great demand because it is cheap, and because children are naturally more docile, easier to discipline than adults, and too frightened to complain. Their small physique and nimble fingers are seen as assets by unscrupulous employers for certain kinds of work. It often happens that children are given jobs when their parents are sitting at home, unemployed.
 

There are children between seven and ten years of age who work twelve to fourteen hours a day and are paid less than one-third of the adult wage.
 Child domestic servants not only work long hours for a pittance but are particularly vulnerable to sexual as well as other physical abuse.
 

At the extreme fringe, children are kidnapped, held in remote camps, and chained at night to prevent their escape. They are put to work on road-building and stone-quarrying, rug weaving, made camel jockeys and more.  Some are kept in brothels and have a short life expectancy due to disease and mistreatment.
 

Child labour, often hard and hazardous, damages health for life, deprives children of education and the normal enjoyment of their early years.
 

Non-governmental organizations have proposed an international timetable for the wiping out of the worst forms of child exploitation.

(From UN Office for the High Commission of Human Rights-Fact Sheet No.14, Contemporary Forms of Slavery)         (Learn more about Child Slavery)

Sexual Slavery  is a horrific form of slavery for several reasons.  It often targets the very young, including many children.  By it's very nature, it is destructive not only physically, but shredding the very soul and self worth of those so used. 

Both forced prostitutes and personal sex slaves are some of the most violently abused of all people.  This includes beatings, internal injuries from rape and assaults, abortion, pregnancy, and venereal disease, including AIDS

In North Africa,the Mid-East and other places,  the average life span of these slaves is  2 years! (from Anti-Slavery International)

Sexual slavery is probably the most prolific of all types of slavery, being found in some way in almost every place on earth.    (Learn more about sexual slavery)

Bonded Labor is an ancient form of enslavement, using the rationale of supposed "debts" to enslave the debtor.  Although varying from place to place, a "bonded laborer" is a person, family, or generations of families, who are either tricked, deceived or forced to labor without pay for long periods of time, even their entire life.  

This is extremely common and even a tradition in Pakistan, India and surrounding areas.  Although it is usually illegal, as other forms of slavery, it is overlooked and not not prosecuted. 

Forced Slave Labor  Young men, women and children are kidnapped, bought or tricked into many situations where they are not able to leave and must work long hours.  This includes many slaves in Brazil who, work in the rain forests as lumberjacks, road clearers, diggers, miners, charcoal makers and more.  They also work on large farms and plantations all over the world where they may ever leave alive, due to the dangerous and rough conditions. 

Even in the US, some Latino, Philipine and others nationalities and smuggled into the country and forced to work in farms, homes or brothels.  The US breaks up such rings and prosecutes those who are responsible when authorities are aware of this.  Recently a law was passed to make stiffer penalties for traffickers in the US.