Modern Slavery: The Secret World of 27 Million People

by Kevin Bales, Zoe Trodd, Alex Kent Williamson

There are 27 million slaves alive today, more than at any point in history, and more than were stolen from Africa during four centuries of the transatlantic slave trade. Written by the world’s leading experts, this shocking and powerful examination combines original research with first-hand stories from the slaves themselves to provide a reliable account of one of the worst humanitarian crises facing us today. Conservative estimates place the number of slaves living in the US right now at 40,000 with 17,000 individuals being trafficked a year. Around half of these will be forced into the sex industry while others labour in plain sight in hotels and restaurants. Only a few slaves are reached and freed each year, but the authors offer hope for the future with a global blueprint that proposes to end slavery in our lifetime. Kevin Bales is president of Free the Slaves and advisor to the UN and the US and British governments. He lives in Takoma Park, MD. Zoe Trodd teaches in the history and literature department at Harvard University. Dr. Alex Kent Williamson works at Children's Hospital Boston, Harvard University.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, History, Sociology, True Crime, Economics

240 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2009

About the author

Why I had to write Blood and Earth ...

For years I traveled the world meeting people in slavery trying to understand the depth and truth of their lives. What I saw, heard, and learned changed me, and led me deeper into the work of ending slavery, but I was missing something important. Where there are slaves, the environment is under assault, forests are being destroyed, endangered species are dying, and climate change is worsening – and all of this destruction is driven by profits from products we buy.

Children, especially, are suffering: in the fish camps of Bangladesh, in the mines of Eastern Congo feeding the electronics industry, in mercury-saturated gold pits in Ghana, and when brutally used and disposed of by criminals decimating the Amazon forest. And beside the children, endangered species are being wiped out, or pressed to fight back - like the ‘protected' Bengal tigers that prey on child slaves in fishing camps.

After seven years of research and travel we now know that if slavery were a country it would be the third largest producer of CO2 in the world after China and the USA, though its population is only the size of Canada’s. The scale of this joint disaster has been too big to see, until now. Yet, it is precisely the role that slaves play in this ecological catastrophe that opens a new solution, one that unleashes the power of abolition to save and preserve the natural world.

To hear more about Blood and Earth tune in to NPR’s Fresh Air on Tuesday 19 January, and check out an excerpt in Scientific American HERE.

I'm a guy that grew up in Oklahoma thinking if the whole world is as quiet as this place I better cram life to the fullest. The good news: the world is often much more interesting than Oklahoma. I lived a long time in London, and now live in DC. For the last 14 years all my work has been about modern slavery - real slavery, not sweatshops, or bad marriages, or not being able to stop shopping. Back in 1999 I published a book about contemporary slavery that changed my life. It went into 10 languages, got made into a movie, won some prizes, stuff like that. Since then I've published three more books, and three more will come out in 2008.

In Sept 2007 I published a book that is a plan for the eradication of global slavery. It's called Ending Slavery: How We Free Today's Slaves. This is what people said about it:

“None of us is truly free while others remain enslaved. The continuing existence of slavery is one of the greatest tragedies facing our global humanity. Today we finally have the means and increasingly the conviction to end this scourge and to bring millions of slaves to freedom. Read Kevin Bales' practical and inspiring book and you will discover how our world can be free at last.” -- Archbishop Desmond Tutu

“I was enslaved at age 11 as part of a human trafficking plot. I know modern slavery from the inside, and since coming to freedom I am committed to end it forever. Every human life has value. People have been sold for far too long and it's time to stop it. This book shows us how to make a world where no more childhoods will be stolen and sold as mine was.” Given Kachepa, former child slave in the United States.

“Ever since the Emancipation Proclamation, Americans have congratulated themselves on ending slavery once and for all. But did we? Kevin Bales is a powerful and effective voice in pointing out the appalling degree to which servitude, forced labor and outright slavery still exist in today's world, even here. This book is a valuable primer on the persistence of these evils, their intricate links to poverty, corruption and globalization--and what we can do to combat them. He's a modern-day William Lloyd Garrison.”
--Adam Hochschild, author of Bury the Chains: Prophets and Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empire's Slaves


Here's the other bio. stuff: My book Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy published in 1999, was nominated for the

Reviews

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book reminds us that slavery did not disappear with its legal abolition. In fact, more people are enslaved now than ever before in human history. But because slavery is illegal everywhere, it has taken on many forms that are hidden in our societies—forced labor in farms and factories, domestic servitude, prostitution, debt bondage, subjugation as soldiers (such as the case of child soldiers), as well as forms that bear more resemblance to classical slavery, such as hereditary, ritualistic, or ethno-religiously derived slavery. Many of these forms interconnect with human trafficking and international organized crime, some are enabled by government neglect and corruption, and almost all of them thrive in conditions of poverty and socioeconomic disadvantage. Bales, Trodd, and Williamson make the point that in all cases "slaves have lost free will, are under violent control, are economically exploited, and are paid nothing."

This book is a brisk read best suited to anyone seeking a quick introduction to modern slavery. It includes a brief backgrounder on historical slavery and abolition movements (Chapter 1), an analysis of the current economics of slavery (Chapter 3), a closer look at female slavery (Chapter 4), a linkage of conflict and environmental damage with slavery (Chapter 6), an interesting exploration of the implications for public health (Chapter 7), and a concluding chapter focused on recommendations and tactics for effecting slavery's abolition as soon as possible.

The actual chapters of the book fly by in 167 pages, so some of the discussions are necessarily rudimentary. That said, Modern Slavery is an eye-opener that takes a holistic look at one of the great crimes confronting humanity today.

[Kara Corthron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riveting. A must-read for anyone with a serious interest in human rights.

[Mia Fernand · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fascinating read about the impacts of history, different countries laws and cultures and economy effect the modern slave trade, which is rarely spoken about but evidently present. It was a sad read but opens one’s eyes too what’s going on around us.

[Rinku · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a real hard book to read. It spoke of the darker elements of our world society but it also gave clear ways to end slavery. This book inspired me to take action and to learn more about modern day slavery.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a exposition of human trafficking and slavery, exposing the historical journey that brought us to this modern slavery, as well as in-depth studies of push and pull factors, and what can be done about this horrific issue.

[Beckyjmcc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! This book is very well written, it is easy to read and catches your attention. It was quite shocking to learn the truths of modern slavery and I respected that this book did not try to sensationalise it. This book presented facts, explained why slavery is a problem and offered solutions. Excellent.

[Lynn Coburn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A real eye opener. This book inspired me to do further research about modern slave labor.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has a wider scope than some others on the subject of modern slavery, beginning with a chapter on the history of slavery to set a context. After a chapter defining the forms of modern slavery we come to the central portion of the book which offers chapters on various aspects of modern slavery: its relation to the global economy, enslavement of women and girls, child soldiers and environmental destruction, health risks related to slavery, and the influence of race, ethnicity and religion on slavery. Finally, the book concludes with a chapter on some ways to work toward ending slavery.

Overall, this is a good book that educates the reader on slavery in the world today. It is filled with statistics as it covers a lot of ground. At the same time, this may be its biggest fault, all the statistics and the large scope may turn off readers new to the subject. If you have not read a book on modern slavery, it would be better to start with Not for Sale by David Batstone, or perhaps some other work by Bales, for such books contain more stories of real people and thus put a more human face on the issue. This book is great, a must read that will educate and move the reader to action, but it is not a place to start.

[Suzi]

This book was fascinating, a real eye opening read about modern slavery and what we can all do as individuals to stop it. Made me sit up and think and caused a few double takes on the tube too. Very accessible and easily digested, except the chapter on sex slavery, that I found hard going, made me cringe a few times.

[Naomi Woo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A heart-wrenching, factual account of the current state of slavery in our world. It was well-written and I learned a lot. May God bring freedom to the captives!

[Wendy Lu · Rating 5 out of 5]

i now have extensive notes on this book so, you know, message me if you want them