Slavery in the Global Economy I. Definition of Slavery II. Differences between “Old” and “New” Slavery III. Factors Promoting Slavery IV. Types of Slavery V. Chocolate and Slavery
Slavery in the Global Economy What is slavery? When a person is “forced to work under physical or mental threat, and where the owner or employer controls the person completely – where a person is bought or sold. It includes restrictions on freedom of movement, no pay or very little and no say over hours, holidays and rest.” - Beth Herzfeld, Anti-Slavery International, London office for New York Times article interview, Sunday, April 22, 2001
Slavery in the Global Economy Fact: Slavery is outlawed in every part of the world by mandate of the l927 Slavery Convention. It is an illegal activity. The reality is that 27 million slaves are being held against their will across the globe today, almost the population of Canada. The number of enslaved people grows by 700,000 each year. - iAbolish: The Anti-slavery Portal - iAbolish: The Anti-slavery Portal
Old Versus New Slavery Old Slavery Legal Ownership Asserted High purchase cost ($40,000 equivalency) Low profits Shortage of potential slaves Long-term relationships Slaves maintained Ethnic differences important New Slavery Legal ownership avoided Very low purchase cost ($90) Very high profits An almost “limitless” supply Short term relationships Slaves disposable Ethnic differences not important -Free The Slaves (http:ww.freetheslaves.net)
Slavery in the Global Economy Modern Slavery is also called “Human Trafficking” or “The White Slave Trade.” Profits are second only to profits made by drug smuggling and illegal arms. -Free The Slaves (http:ww.freetheslaves.net)
Slavery in the Global Economy What promotes slavery? The population explosion affects poorer countries especially a large population supply lowers the purchase cost of a slave Rapid economic and social change due to globalization increases individual vulnerability to exploitation Corruption of governments growth of organized crime in wake of weakened national governments (as in former Soviet Union) police and government complicity police and government complicity - Free the Slaves, Washington, D. C.
Types of Slavery Chattel Slavery Chattel Slavery Ownership of another person Enforced through tradition, violence, threat Police cooperation with slaveholders Slaves captured in raids Slavery passed down through generations Examples: Sudan, parts of North Africa, Mauritania, The United Arab Emirates – children are kidnapped to become camel jockeys -Free The Slaves (http:ww.freetheslaves.net)
Types of Slavery Most common form of slavery A person places himself as collateral against a loan Loans are high interest – impossible to pay back All labor of the slave belongs to debt holder Debts can be inherited from generation to generation 20 million slaves in Bangladesh, Nepal, India and Pakistan Braceros – Haitian workers in the Dominican Republic who work on plantations. Debt Bondage (Bonded Labor) -Free The Slaves (http:ww.freetheslaves.net)
Types of Slavery Forced labor Forced labor A person is promised job in another country The lure becomes entrapment and enslavement Migrant workers are vulnerable “The CIA estimates that 50,000 women and children a year are trafficked into the U.S. as forced labor slaves.” They work as prostitutes, domestics or in sweatshops. - iAbolish- the Anti-Slavery Portal -Free The Slaves (http:ww.freetheslaves.net)
Types of Slavery Sex Slavery Young girls are forced into prostitution: Sold by family members or kidnapped Forced to work in brothels Many are kept “until they contract AIDS then sent back to villages to die alone and in disgrace.” Examples: Asia, former Soviet Republics, European Union, U.S. Central and South America -Free The Slaves (http:ww.freetheslaves.net)
Types of Slavery “An estimated two million women and children are sold into the global sex trade each year.” “More than 15,000 women are trafficked into the U.S. for prostitution every year, many of them young girls from Mexico.” “More than 15,000 women are trafficked into the U.S. for prostitution every year, many of them young girls from Mexico.” - U.S. research group Project Projection, Sex slavery: The growing trade, CNN.com./World. - U.S. research group Project Projection, Sex slavery: The growing trade, CNN.com./World.
Slavery in the Global Economy “ The woman suggested that she could help me to get work somewhere abroad. She told me she had an acquaintance in Germany, a woman who could connect me with a family for whom I could be a housemaid. “ Upon arrival…”She said I owed her 2,000 German marks and said that I could earn that money by providing sexual services to men. I was shocked!” - Marsha, a trafficking survivor From: U.S. Department of State International Information Programs, “Be Smart, Be Safe…Don’t become a victim of trade in people.”
Types of Slavery Not all child labor is banned across globe. Sometimes parents give children to another person for money or loans, sometimes it’s under false pretenses Children are also kidnapped and enslaved. Carpet mills in India – children are enslaved for their “nimble fingers.” Working 14-hour days at carpet looms Ghana – children bought or captured to work in fishing industry. They dive to untangle fishing nets under water. A highly dangerous job which often results in death Child Slavery -Free The Slaves (http:ww.freetheslaves.net)
Slavery and Chocolate The Chocolate Industry Chocolate faces global competition. Sourced in West, Africa, South America, the Caribbean, and Asia. $5 billion sold each year. The Ivory Coast produces 43 percent of cocoa used in the U.S. This is where most widespread abuse of children has occurred. - The Miami Herald, November 7, 2002
Slavery and Chocolate Children (an estimated 200,000) are treated as slaves on Ivory Coast cocoa farms and beaten. - The Miami Herald, November 7, 2002 Picture taken by Free the Slaves, Washington, D.C.
Good news! In 2001, the chocolate industry agreed to work toward ending child labor on West African cocoa bean farms by 2005. Monitoring plan created by U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin (Iowa) and Rep. Eliot Engle (New York)
Why is it important to be aware of Slavery in the Global Economy? “If schools cannot help students see beyond themselves and better understand the interdependent nature of our world, each new generation will remain ignorant, and its capacity to live confidently and responsibly will be dangerously diminished.” - Earnest Boyer, President, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (Dateline 2000)
The importance of Awareness “The worst sin towards our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them; that is the essence of humanity.” -From the Devil’s Disciple by George Bernard Shaw