Disposable People- The Truth About Modern Day Slavery

‘Slave’ is often a word I would use to describe myself when I was an intern at several companies during college. I was unpaid, forced to take on all the dirty work that my superiors abandoned, unable to receive benefits and left feeling more like an office utensil rather than a human being. Why did I do it? Perks such as recommendations for future job applications, a snazzy notch on the resume, and plain old experience helped me to get through the boring, tedious work and gave me a light at the end of the tunnel to strive towards. Yes, I was taken advantage of and was not offered a job at the end of my semester-long stint. Why hire a paid employee when another intern will come along and work for free? Internships allow the student to feel as if they are gaining valuable experience in the real world and give the employer the benefit of having a free worker. While I am not suggesting that this form of volunteering is anywhere near the brutality of modern slavery, it is as close to a legal form of slaveholding in the United States as I could think of.

But in parts of the world, some not as remote as you might think, slavery in the most vicious, ancient and inhumane way exists and its influences reach even you and me in our every day lives. This is the topic of Kevin Bales’ book, Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy and is something that while appears to be hidden and affecting few in number, is actually a modern day, worldwide crisis. It is something that few too people know about and not enough is being done to prevent it.

The book starts off with a story of a slave living in the most unexpected of places- present day France. From this point on, you understand that slavery is not a thing of the past, that it reaches all corners of the globe and a slaveholder can be the well-respected businessperson down the road. And the scariest thing about modern slavery is that it is no longer race-related- almost anyone who is weak or vulnerable enough can be forced into slavery, without ever knowing that’s what they’re in. While someone’s religion or color of their skin might be a justifiable reason to enslave someone in the slaveholder’s eyes, they will also not hesitate to capture someone who is just like themselves or like their sister. It makes you question the sanity and humanity of people in this world, how they can so easily take a life all for the sake of economic gain.

From prostitute slaves in Thailand, to the old-school slaves born into a family in Mauritania, to the bonded charcoal laborers in Brazil, to those in Pakistan and India forced to work off debts incurred through generations of family members working through the same fate, slavery is alive around the world and very well hidden. One of the most horrifying aspects of slavery is that those abused are all types of people- men, women and children. If a person is able to work, they’re a slave. And yet, slavery is illegal everywhere! How does it become possible to capture, use and throw away human beings for one’s own economical gain? Several factors allow this system to thrive.

Extreme overpopulation leads to extreme poverty. Recruiters who offer well-paying jobs, housing and food for a seemingly simple jobs lure families, who are on the verge of starvation, to a location with which they are not familiar. They are often offered advanced wages for travel but when they arrive to the job site, are told that they have racked up a large debt that must be paid back to the owner until they can start earning wages. Then they are dumped into a miserable existence, housing not fit for dogs and only enough food to keep them from passing out. The money they do earn, if any, is never enough to pay back the owner and become financially independent. Instead, they continue to have to borrow money for family members and every day living expenses until their debt is so high that even the next generation will be accountable for it. In legal terms, these workers will be called bonded laborers, which is accepted by their third world governments. The slaves will put in excruciatingly long hours, in the worst of conditions and brainwashed into thinking that their debt is an appropriate reason for why they have to work this way.

If somehow a slave figures out the unfairness of their situation, the owner will quickly use violent measures to make them subservient. They will add to their debt or take a family member hostage in order to force work out of them again. Constant fear and a bit of hope of escaping the situation by paying off their debt is what keeps these slaves working, even though the chance of getting out of the situation is slim. The slaves are worked until they are useless and tossed aside without a second thought. There are always more starving people willing to do the work.

Even though slavery is illegal, it is easy to conceal and corruption in government and law enforcement allows it to continue. Poverty brings out greed in the easily corruptible. Police will respond to those with the most money to offer them. If the price is right, they will help with the capture and violence against slaves. People wonder why a government would allow such things to happen to their own people. If a huge portion of the economy of a country is based on the free labor used with slaves, once the slaves are taken away, the business or entire economy could collapse. Profits drive the entire system. Also, pointing the finger at one culprit as become increasingly difficult. Since slavery is illegal, and hence, a touchy subject for well-known and respected businessmen, they will deny any involvement in such a thing. Instead, they will hire layers of “managers” to keep the blame away from themselves. With this sort of convoluted business design, the person at the top is easily disguised should things come to light.

With all the corruption, greed, and blatant disregard for human life, how can the world free itself from dependence on slavery? The first step is to acknowledge that slavery actually exists. Most people from 1st world countries are not even aware of the fact that many of the items they buy may have come from slaves or bonded laborers. Every once and a while, a hard-hitting news story will appear in the media where several prostitutes held as slaves were freed or a business using child labor was shut down, but these occurrences are rare and far between. People just assume that it was an isolated incident. Reality is that there are over 27 million people in slavery today (page 240).

The second step is to bring pressure on governments and businesses to stop slavery. With international scrutiny and calls for bans, a government will try and appease the protesters, so long as they’re reaching enough people to actually affect profitability. With increased research and documentation of an area, the officials will be forced to stop what they’re doing to avoid conflict. People must start being looked at as more valuable than property (page 249).

Consumers and stockholders must become more aware of what products they are buying and supporting. By realizing that certain things come made by slaves, most decent people will stop buying them. Stockholders must take a deeper interest in the companies they buy in to and ban the ones who invest in slavery. Awareness and education should be made on all levels: the consumers and the slaves. With more education on their basic human rights, slaves will not be as easily seduced by certain types of recruiters and they will know how to get out of that situation should it occur.

But if we do achieve the mass freedom of slaves, we cannot just leave it there. “A person denied autonomy, who has never had to make choices, can be paralyzed when faced with making decisions” (page 256). What good is someone’s freedom when they are forced in starvation or re-enslaved? Just like anyone who has gone through a traumatic experience, ex-slaves must be looked after and helped reach rehabilitation. Liberation is a process, not an event (page 256).

Just with anything bad, it takes a lot of work and effort to make it good. People can decide whether or not they want to ignore it or they can do something about it. Slavery is something that will take a lot of work to abolish but it is possible. Being educated and aware, researching products and companies and advocating human rights for slaves can make a big difference. The media can be a powerful tool in stirring up human emotions and forcing people to take action. Governments can be persuaded to change if the demand is high enough. Individuals can realize their strength and break the cycle of slavery in their own family. When something is possible, there is no excuse not to help.