Modern slavery
A form of slavery that exists in the 21st century, in which people are illegally forced to work and prevented from escaping.
It is estimated that millions of people around the world are victims of modern slavery.
Oxford Dictionary
Page Description
Explore how modern-day slavery fuels cheap labor,
exploiting vulnerable individuals through forced work
and human trafficking for profit.
Modern Slavery: The Most-Afflicted Countries
Script:
Slavery used to look like this, then it evolved into this, and today it looks like this.
In fact, there are an estimated 45.8 million people living in modern slavery across 167 different countries. They fall into three general categories: children held in the commercial sex trade; adults held in the commercial sex trade; and any other laborer made to work through force, fraud, or coercion.
The trafficking victim often looks like anybody else at work in a mine, on a farm, in a factory. Many are lured by promises of a steady job in another country, only to have their passports confiscated when they arrive. However, many slaves work in their native countries or even the cities where they were born.
According to The Global Slavery Index, these ten countries are home to the most modern slaves. They each suffer from income inequality, discrimination and classism, and entrenched corruption.
Number ten, Indonesia, produces about 35% of the world’s palm oil. The many small palm plantations present an immense challenge to inspectors trying to crack down on child labor. The country’s many islands are also home to tens of thousands of enslaved fisherman trafficked from Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, and Cambodia.
Number nine is the Democratic Republic of Congo. 20,000 of the DRC’s more than 870,000 slaves live in one of the most hellish landscapes on the planet, a vast ore mine in the east of the country.
The terrorist group Boko Haram gets overshadowed by ISIS, although it kills more people. When it comes to enslavement, one of its tactics is to give Nigerian entrepreneurs loans and then force them to join their group if they fail to repay fast enough.
Seventh is Russia. 55% of the slaves there work in construction. Foreigners are lured mainly from nearby Azerbaijan, the “stans,” Ukraine, and North Korea—thanks to this border on the far eastern edge of Russia.
The North Korean government is the world’s largest single slaveholder. Not only does it force more than one million of its people to toil in labor camps and other similarly hopeless situations, but it actually loans out some people to work in neighboring China and Russia, then pockets most of their wages. This exploitation generates about $2.3B each year for the Kim Jong-un regime.
The fifth most enslaved country, Uzbekistan, is the world’s sixth largest producer of cotton. It has benefited from forced labor, as the government puts more than 1 million people to work using threats of debt bondage, heavy fines, asset confiscation, and police intimidation.
Slave recruiters in Bangladesh promise poor families that their boys will be given a job, only to be enslaved on a faraway island and beaten to clean fish for up to 24 hours straight. Often, these fish are exported as cat food for our pets. Sometimes, the boys meet a gruesome death when they are eaten by tigers while searching for firewood.
Third is Pakistan, which has suffered through decades of conflict, terrorism, and displacement—especially along its northwestern border with Afghanistan. Its provinces have not raised the minimum age of marriage, which has allowed the widespread problem of forced and child weddings to continue.
Over 250 million Chinese have migrated within the country to find better opportunities, creating the ideal conditions for human trafficking. Each year, 58 million children are ‘left behind’ as their parents search of work in the China’s many booming cities. Every year, up to 70,000 children fall into forced begging, illegal adoption, and sex slavery.
And number one is India, which has – by far – the most victims of modern slavery. While economic growth has greatly reduced the percentage of its citizens living in poverty, the country’s sheer size still results in more than 270 million Indians living on less than $2/day. It’s unsurprising that inter-generational bonded labor, forced child labor, commercial sexual exploitation, forced begging, forced recruitment into nonstate armed groups, and forced marriage all exist in India. The government has already created many of the laws necessary to fight the epidemic, but the challenge is enforcing those laws and tracking improvements and areas of continued need.
1 Modern slavery, hidden in plain sight | Kate Garbers | TEDxExeter
1 jun. 2018
If you think slavery is a thing of the past, think again. Millions of people around the world are trapped in modern slavery – and they could be working for you. In this powerful talk Kate Garbers makes the unseen seen and helps us spot the signs of modern slavery in our midst.
Kate Garbers is a founder and director of Unseen, a charity that provides safety, hope and choice to survivors of human trafficking and modern slavery. As well as providing 24/7 supported safe accommodation for survivors and the UK’s National Modern Slavery Helpline, Unseen works to raise awareness of this crime. Kate has spent the last ten years working directly with survivors, law enforcement agencies and governments to work out how we can effectively tackle the issue of trafficking and slavery.
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At TEDxExeter 2018 we focussed on making connections – and building bridges. Our speakers challenged us to reflect on how, in this interconnected, interdependent world, global issues affect all of our lives, and our actions affect others. In these turbulent times of shock political outcomes, “fake news”, data breaches, war, mass migration, rapid technological progress and climate change we believe that ideas have the power to change attitudes, lives, and ultimately, the world.
TEDxExeter Curator – Claire Kennedy @clairekennedy__ – http://tedxexeter.com
Production Manager – Andy Robertson @geekdadgamer – http://www.youtube.com/familygamertv
Film & Livestream – First Sight Media @firstsightmedia – http://firstsightmedia.co.uk/ Kate Garbers is a founder and director of Unseen, a charity that provides safety, hope and choice to survivors of human trafficking and modern slavery. As well as providing 24/7 supported safe accommodation for survivors and the UK’s National Modern Slavery Helpline, Unseen works to raise awareness of this crime. Kate has spent the last ten years working directly with survivors, law enforcement agencies and governments to work out how we can effectively tackle the issue of trafficking and slavery. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
IMPORTANT CONTENT
Very well done
2 Modern-day slavery in supply chains | Dan Viederman | TEDxBerkeley
26 mrt. 2015
3 Breaking the shackles of modern-day slavery | Cameron Harris | TEDxUGA
3 mei 2017
IMPORTANT CONTENT
4 Witness: Illuminating the World of Modern-day Slavery: Lisa Kristine at TEDxMaui
27 apr. 2012
IMPORTANT CONTENT
Forced labour in supply chains
BBC World Service Business Daily 12-01-2021
China is forcing hundreds of thousands of Uighurs and other minorities into hard, manual labour in the vast cotton fields of its western region of Xinjiang, according to BBC reports. As a result, apparel companies are facing mounting pressure to withdraw from economic ties with the region, and certainly to stop buying cotton from there. Chloe Cranston of UK-based Anti-Slavery International lays out the case for why companies need to avoid Xinjiang. But as we’ll hear from Andrew Morgan of veteran thread supplier Coats, even though the moral imperative is there, the apparel industry is not completely unified in motivation for change. And we’ll hear from two companies, boutique fashion brand Eileen Fisher and global furniture mainstay IKEA, on their efforts to have an ethical supply chain.
Producer: Frey Lindsay (Picture credit: Getty Images)
5 Slavery still exists. Here’s how to end it. | Richard Lee | TEDxCapeMay
9 jan. 2018
COMPELLING VERY WELL DONE TALK
MUST LISTEN TO
6 Modern Slavery Awareness
7 Modern slavery. How do we stop it?
12 sep. 2016
8 What Does Slavery Look Like Today?
22 feb. 2017
IMPORTANT CONTENT
9 Famous Companies That Use Slavery
23 aug. 2017
SUPERLATIVES
Although the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 officially outlawed slavery worldwide, approximately 30 million people remain slaves today, according to the Australia-based Walk Free Foundation. These include people enslaved by debt bondage, child labor, human trafficking, forced marriage, and forced labor. With many powerful companies moving their labour overseas to exploit cheaper, less strict labour laws, the very real problem of slavery is huge . While countries like India (14 million) China (3 million) and Thailand (.473 million) rank amongst the highest offenders, it is estimated that even in the US there are about 60,000 slaves! Watch as SUPERLATIVES takes a look at 5 Famous MAJOR Companies That Use Slavery.
1. COTTON Picking forced on civilians by Uzbekistan. Forever 21, H&M, Toys R Us and Urban Outfitters.
SOURCE: http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/02/opinion…
2. COCOA industry in the Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire) produces nearly half of the worlds Cocoa. 90% of it, is produced using slavery. Hershey’s, MARS, Kraft and Nestle have all been linked.
SOURCE: http://anonhq.com/7-famous-brands-tha…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-mgX…
3. FOXCONN is an electronics manufacturer in China who has been linked to major labour violations producing for companies like Apple, Amazon, Hewlett Packard and Dell.
SOURCE: https://www.theguardian.com/technolog…
https://www.cnet.com/pictures/the-mak…
4. CARPET BELT in India is tainted by an ugly truth of child slavery. Kidnapped children are placed into looms and forced to weave carpets that end up in major retailers like Macy’s, Target and IKEA.
SOURCE: https://cdn2.sph.harvard.edu/wp-conte…
https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghabah…
5. CLOTHING SEWING is often done by american companies going overseas and building factories that often outsource their labour to sweatshops who use slavery. Walmart has been linked to use this labour today and several companies were caught in 2000 using sweatshops in Saipan. Calvin Klein, Target, J.C. Penny and Abercrombie & Fitch just to name a few.
10 Special Report: Exploited: Britain’s Hidden Slaves
24 okt. 2017
11 ‘I was just a slave’: the foreign domestic staff living a life of five-star serfdom in London
11 jan. 2016
4 apr. 2011
Thousands of Asian women leave their homes each year to work as maids in the Arab World with the hope of securing a better economic future. Yet since their experiences are hidden behind closed doors, little is known of the fears and struggles they face while abroad.
Tracing women’s journeys from Sri Lanka to Lebanon, this film exposes the little known world of the domestic migrant worker. Since 1973 women have been migrating to Lebanon to work to fulfil the caring and cleaning needs of wealthier families. These women work for years to send money home for their financial futures. While some are able to succeed, many do not. Rather, their dreams are shattered in exploitive and abusive situations. In their own voices, the women in this film reveal cases of torture, rape, physical and mental abuse, and non-payment of wages.
The documentary provides an insightful and sensitive look into the lives of these migrant workers with interviews from family members, employers, hiring agents and specialists in the field. It explores the questions of why women migrate, why they often return to the Middle East multiple times, and why abuses occur.
Ultimately, the women’s harrowing accounts point to several solutions to the problems. As they speak of dreams, hard work, failed goals and triumphs, their stories reveal the immediate need for better legal protections at home and abroad.
Shot on location in Lebanon and Sri Lanka.
12 jun. 2014
14 Clandestine employment of Indians in Italy | DW Documentary (Migrant documentary)
15 okt. 2018
15 The African women trafficked to Italy for sex work
10 apr. 2018
16 Freeing girls trafficked to Italy for sex: ‘You will not be a slave for ever’
8 aug. 2016
17 Sex trafficking of African migrants in Europe is a ‘modern plague’
1 okt. 2016
18 Forced into prostitution: To hell and back | DW Reporter
19 ‘I had to pay the money back by having sex’ | DW News
20 Surprising Europe – Making ends meet
23 aug. 2011
21 Enslaved in Libya: What to do about exploited African migrants?
21 nov. 201
A slave auction – in 2017. The video aired last week on CNN, confirming what had come out in a long string of reports and testimony: that Libyans were preying on sub-Saharan migrants trying to make their way to Europe. A nation with rival governments and a whole myriad of militias has been prey to lawlessness since the 2011 fall of Muammar Gaddafi. But this reportedly happened in the capital, Tripoli. After the outrage that’s seen demonstrations and the recalls of ambassadors, what next?
23 Gambia: The business of human trafficking | Talk to Al Jazeera
24 jun. 2017
According to the United Nations, 26,000 unaccompanied minors crossed the Mediterranean to Europe last year, most of those coming from sub-Saharan Africa were Gambians.
In the past three years, almost 15,000 people lost their lives trying to reach European shores.
Undeterred, young men and women continue to take this route in what the UN’s describes as the biggest humanitarian catastrophe of our times.
The UN estimates the illegal trade of smuggling people to be worth more than $35bn, and it is booming.
Despite joint efforts by police forces from Europe and Africa, few smugglers have been arrested or prosecuted.
Mohammed Lamine Jammeh, also known as L-Boy, help many execute this journey. For many, he is a hero. Families save up for years and take loans in order to send one of their children on this journey.
But who profits from this? Do these young men and women know the risks they are taking? How much do they pay for this journey?
L-Boy, guides us through the business of human trafficking, and explain why travelling to Europe through Libya or the “backway” as it is known here is an open secret.
24 The Newsmakers: Libya’s Modern Slavery
19 apr. 2017
IMPORTANT CONTENT
25 Libya slave auctions: Reporting on the slavery trade (The Investigators with Diana Swain)
26 nov. 2017
26 Nima Elbagir – Uncovering Libya’s Modern Slave Trade | The Daily Show
IMPORTANT CONTENT
27 Libya’s slave trade: ‘They sell Africans over there’
28 nov. 2017.
The world’s most vulnerable, fleeing war and poverty back home, are being abused and auctioned off as slaves – a shocking danger facing migrants and refugees in Libya.
It has been reported that hundreds of people are being auctioned in modern day slave markets in Libya for as little as $400.
Libya is the main transit hub for refugees and migrants attempting to reach southern Europe by sea. They are coming from countries like Nigeria, Eritrea, Guinea, Ivory Coast,, Gambia, Senegal, Sudan and Somalia.
The power vacuum in Libya after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi has made human trafficking and people smuggling a booming trade.
And the European Union’s renewed strategy to stop migrants and refugees travelling across the Mediterranean has led to more people being stuck in the north African country without money or food.
Al Jazeera’s Bernard Smith reports.
28 Trapped in Libya, migrants face torture and slavery
11 dec. 2017
29 Migrants being sold as ‘slaves’ in Libya, IOM reports
30 Rescued African migrants say they are fleeing slavery
28 jun. 2017
31 Nigerians Return From Libyan “Slave Camps,” Tell Horror Stories
32 Workers compensation under fire: shoddy and “unethical practices” exposed | Four Corners
27 jul. 2020
33 Maid in Hell ⎜ WHY SLAVERY? ⎜(Documentary)
In première gegaan op 2 dec. 2020
Can an employment system hide a reality of torture and humiliation?
Maid in Hell introduces us to 35 year old Mary Kibwana, who is just one of the thousands of migrant women working as a domestic helper in Jordan. Following an incident at her employer’s residence, Mary is flown back to her home in Kenya – where she arrives wheelchair-bound, with burns covering 70 percent of her body. Two months later, Mary dies as a result of her injuries. This story offers a glimpse into the commonplace reality of harassment, abuse, rape and 18-hour work days which migrant domestic workers across the Middle East face. Trapped by the Kafala system, their passports are confiscated and they are bound to their employer. Unable to flee, they risk harsh punishments or imprisonments if they try. “Maid in Hell” gives unprecedented access to this frightening and brutal form of modern slavery. Following employment agents who vividly describe the trade, as well as maids who struggle to find a way home after harrowing, and sometimes, deadly experiences, we come to understand the grotesque reality faced by thousands of women each day.
Filmmaker: Søren Klovborg
Produced by: The Why Foundation
This film is one-part of the six-part WHY SLAVERY? Series. To find out more about the other films in our series head to thewhy.dk
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