HUMAN T RAFFICKING: THE NEW VOLUME &&, NUMBER ( The following text (except for the introduction and the conclusion) is The second passage reminds us how God’s people, the adapted and edited from Kevin Bales, Disposable People: New Slavery very people whose ancestors were liberated from Egyptian in the Global Economy, Revised Edition (Berkley and Los Angeles: slavery, can become complacent in their comfort, blind University of California Press, 2004) and is used in Therefore with to oppression, and complicit to the practice of slavery in permission. their own contexts. These ancient texts not only address Introduction post-Exodus Hebrews at ease in Zion. They also precisely lavery looms large in the story of the Exodus, describe and directly address us as well, for we too are sur- recalled here in two important passages from rounded by enslaved people and are more or less oblivious SDeuteronomy: to their plight. We too claim God’s liberation of Hebrew When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, slaves from Egypt as our spiritual legacy, but find ourselves both complacent in our comfort and unwittingly co-depen- by imposing hard labor on us, we cried to the LORD, dent upon slavery to maintain our comfort. the God of our ancestors; the LORD heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. That we find ourselves in this untenable situation becomes doubly ironic in the light of a memory we do not The LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display share with the ancient Hebrews: the trans-Atlantic slave of power, and with signs and wonders. trade of indigenous Africans. Even as we recall the bitter (Deut. 26:6-8) and bloody struggle to free African slaves in America and even as we assure ourselves that this struggle was not in When the LORD your God has brought you into the vain but effected worldwide legal sanctions against slavery, land that he swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, to we strangely find ourselves living among a growing num- Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—a land with fine, bers of slaves in the dawn of the third millennium. large cities that you did not build, houses filled with Fortunately, the scriptural texts which indict us can all sorts of goods that you did not fill, hewn cisterns also empower us. Just as the powerful biblical stories of that you did not hew, vineyards and olive groves that liberation helped to propel the abolitionist movement cen- you did not plant—and when you have eaten your turies ago, so these stories call us to eradicate slavery today. fill, take care that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house The New Slavery of slavery. (Deut. 6:10-12) Despite the fact that slavery has been outlawed in The first passage reminds us of the raw terms of every country except North Korea and Myanmar (Burma), enslavement—harsh treatment, hard labor, affliction, approximately 27 million people are presently enslaved oppression, slaves lives controlled and exploited by slave across the globe. Put in perspective, this figure represents masters, human beings reduced to economic assets. The more than double the number of Africans taken from their first text also reminds us of God’s response to slavery: the homelands during the entire trans-. LORD hears the cries and sees the affliction of enslaved While present-day slaves are not bought and sold at people, and the LORD reaches out to deliver slaves from public auctions and their owners cannot hold legal title to their oppression. Central to the story of the Exodus is the them, this technicality offers little solace to people who astonishing claim that are just as trapped, con- God’s “mighty hand” trolled, exploited, and and “terrifying display of brutalized as the slaves power” is embodied not described in American in the deployment of history books. In fact, armed forces to counter in some ways con- the hosts of Pharaoh, temporary slaves are but in the recalcitrant worse off than their agency of a single ante-bellum counter- individual—Moses, the parts. In the 18th and Hebrew raised Egyp- 19th centuries, slaves tian. Emboldened and constituted a sizeable empowered singly by economic investment. the omnipotent word of In 1850, a typical the LORD, Moses faces agricultural slave in down the Empire and Alabama sold for brings Pharaoh to his $1,000 to $1,800—an knees “with a terrifying amount which equates display of power, and Young men sew beads and sequins in intricate patterns on saris and shawls at a slave to $50,000-$100,000 in with signs and wonders.” shop in Mumbai, . (Kay Chernush for the U.S. State Department) contemporary currency. 2 By contrast, bonded slavery in all its forms laborers in India today depends on violence are indentured with to keep slaves in place. small (less than $50) For some, violence usurious loans while looms in the form of generating enormous threats, while for others annual profits for slave- threats escalate into holders. terrible abuse. In the words of Modern slaves are Kevin Bales, modern typically used in simple, slaves are “disposable non-technological people.” When they labor, most commonly get sick, injured, or in agriculture, but otherwise incapaci- also in brick-making, tated, they are literally mining, quarrying, thrown out with the gem working, jewelry trash and replaced by a making, cloth and never ending supply of Young women used as slave prostitutes wait for customers/exploiters in a city in India. carpet weaving, domes- new captives. In con- (Kay Chernush for the U.S. State Department) tic service, prostitution, temporary terms slavery can thus be defined as the holding and pornography. Slaves are also forced to clear forests, to of people against their wills to exploit their labor. Slaves make charcoal, and to work in shops. today are held captive not by the force of law, but by the The products of slave labor reach into homes around raw exercise of power and violence. the world. Large international corporations, sometimes Contemporary Forms acting in ignorance through subsidiaries in the developing world, take advantage of slave labor to improve the bottom Bonded labor, the most common form of modern slav- line and increase dividends to shareholders. Slave-made ery, occurs when people are forced to work to repay loans carpets, fireworks, jewelry, metal goods, as well as grains, or monetary advances. Typically, these loans amount to sugar, and other foods harvested by slaves are imported $50 or less but are coupled with extremely high interest directly to North America and Europe. rates so that recipients are perpetually indebted to lenders. The value of slaves to their masters resides not so Worldwide, 20 million people work as bonded laborers, much in products or craftsmanship, but in the sheer primarily in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Brazil, and the Carib- volume of work they are driven to perform. Some slaves bean. are forced to sleep next to looms or brick kilns, while Forced labor occurs when people are illegally recruited others are chained to work tables. For slaves across the by governments, political parties, or private individuals globe, to be awake is to be at work for the slavemaster. and forced to work under the threat of violence. Mul- One of the standard explanations that multinational titudes of children across the globe are forced to work in corporations give for closing factories in the developed dangerous or exploitative conditions. Many are inhu- world and opening them in the developing world is lower manely compelled to do manual labor, while many others labor costs. Whether corporations realize it or not, slavery are bought or kidnapped to be exploited in prostitution sometimes constitutes a significant part of these savings. and pornography. Tens of thousands of women are bought, The engine of modern slavery is thus economics rather kidnapped, or lured by false promises and then trafficked than race or ethnicity. The question is no longer “Are they into domestic and manual work or sexual exploitation. In the right color to be enslaved?”, but “Are they vulner- some cultures women and girls are forced into marriages in able enough to be enslaved?” Slaves in a given area may which they function as slaves. tend to be ethnic minority in background, but the primary Finally, traditional or chattel slavery continues even now reason for their enslavement is simply that their as people are bought and sold as commodities in direct and powerlessness has left them easy prey for those power- violation of current law. Chattel slavery is most common ful and ruthless enough to enslave them. in West Africa, particularly Mauritania, where people are abducted from villages and sold locally as slaves. Slavery as Legal Fiction These categories are not mutually exclusive and Modern slavery often hides behind the mask of fraudu- frequently overlap. Contracts may be issued to chattel lent labor contracts which are used to entrap and conceal slaves in order to conceal their enslavement. Girls may be people into slavery. The appearance of well-spoken and trapped into prostitution by and will some- well-dressed recruitment agents armed with apparently times have contracts that specify their obligations. The official documents commands attention in poverty- one dimension common every type of slavery is violence; stricken, rural areas of the developing world. Assured that 3 the fraudulent contracts guarantee good treatment, legal Government Corruption and Social Chaos rights, and fair wages, hopeful workers sign and surrender In Europe and North America the police fight orga- over their lives. Once enticed into custody and isolated by nized crime; in Thailand the police are organized crime. If distance, the new slaves are trapped in perpetual servitude. slavery can be concealed in countries like Great Britain, The use of false contracts allows slaves to be taken it is not hard to imagine how slavery thrives in countries both into countries where their enslavement is tolerated where government officials profit from it. The extreme (e.g., Filipinas taken to Saudi Arabia) and also into coun- profitability of slavery means that slaveholders can buy tries where their enslavement is concealed. It is estimated political power and acceptance. In Thailand, Pakistan, that there are up to 1,000 domestic slaves in London, all of India, and Brazil, local police serve both as enforcers of whom are covered by contracts of employment. fraudulent contracts and as bounty hunters for runaway Contributing Factors slaves. Population This disintegration of civil order often occurs in times of rapid social and political change. A community under Several factors have contibuted to the rise of the new stress—whether precipitated by disease, natural disaster, slavery. The first is the tripling of world population since economic depression, or war—can rapidly descend into World War II—from 2 to 6 billion—largely in countries chaos. These conditions are found, for example, in the where slavery is most prevalent today. Across Southeast frontier areas of Brazil and at the rural/urban interface Asia, , the Indian subcontinent, Africa, and in Thailand. Transitional economies in these locales the Arab countries, exploding populations are overwhelm- drive farming families off the land and into poverty while ingly young and poor. As sheer numbers overrun resources fostering a demand for unskilled labor in cities. Destitu- and employment opportunities, people become desperate tion leads to the collapse of traditional systems of family or and life becomes cheap. Especially in those areas where community support for the most vulnerable, and these sys- slavery had persisted or was part of the historic culture, the tems are not replaced with effective state welfare measures. population explosion enlarged the pool and lowered the Without a safety net, the poor become powerless and easily price of new slaves. exploited by the ruthless. Social and Economic Change Slavery blossoms in precisely these circumstances. The second factor is rapid social and economic change. To control their slaves, slaveholders must be able to use In many developing countries modernization has tended violence with impunity, and the decentralization of vio- to enhance the wealth of the elite few and to deepen the lence in the hands and weapons of local police or soldiers poverty of the masses. During the past fifty years, Africa provides slaveholders with the control they need. and Asia have been scarred by civil wars and dictato- These factors—exploding population, economic rial regimes which have confiscated national resources, change, and government corruption—have collaborated to often with the active or tacit support of one of the super- fuel the new slavery. More than any other time in human powers. Although history, there is a super- modernization has abundance of potential in some instances slaves. Consistent with been accompanied by the law of supply and improvements for the demand, slaves are now larger society in terms so cheap that they have of better access to become cost effective health care and educa- in many new kinds of tion, the concentration work, thus revolution- of land in the hands izing how they are of the privileged and regarded and used. Like powerful, the forced appliances which are shift from subsistence cheaper to replace than to cash-crop agricul- to repair, slaves are now ture, and government disposable commodi- policies that suppress ties. Slaveholders get farm income in favor all the work they can of cheap food for the out of their slaves and cities have all helped then throw them away. bankrupt millions of It is this element of disposability which peasants and drive This brothel keeper and her slaves work a red-light district in Mumbai, India. (Kay them from their land. Chernush for the U.S. State Department) chiefly distinguishes the 4 new slavery from These docu- the old. Slaves ments violate in the American local laws and South were pro- excuse the tected like valuable abandonment livestock. Owner- of ill or injured ship was legal and slaves with no long-term. In their responsibility own self-inter- on the part of est, slave owners bond holders. had incentive to ™ Laborers protect the health are distin- of slaves and to guished less by encourage them to their ethnicity have offspring since than by their raising new gen- poverty and erations of slaves vulnerability. was cheaper than ™ Slave buying slaves as Street children, runaways and children living in poverty can fall under the control of traffickers laborers gener- adults. By contrast, who force them into begging rings. (Kay Chernush for the U.S. State Department) ate enormous today’s slavery is profits for slave holders. relatively short-term, lasting only as long as profitability allows. If slaves get sick, they are allowed to die. If slaves Venkatesh’s Story become disabled, they are discarded. If female slaves Venkatesh, 58 years old, borrowed 4,250 rupees ($110) become pregnant, especially those exploited in prosti- from a quarry owner in Southern India. To pay back the tution, they suffer violent, forcible abortions. The old loan, he worked in the quarry six days a week, 12 hours a slavery was horrific, but the new slavery is horrific beyond day. He was paid 55 rupees ($1.40) for a tractor load of measure. crushed stone. If he did not cut the stones to a near-per- The New Slavery: Specific Examples fect 4 inch x 3 inch size, he would not be paid for any of his load. Debt Bondage in India When Venkatesh declared that he had repaid his loan With three times the population of the U.S. inhabit- and would like to leave the quarry, the quarry owner’s ing one-third the space, India’s agricultural labor force is as thugs beat and chained him. The price of the thirty-three bountiful as its agricultural land is scarce. In this environ- pound iron chains and the welder’s fee to secure the chains ment free labor constantly competes with slave labor, and to his legs was added to his “debt.” Venkatesh worked the resulting downward pressure on agricultural wages in chains for two years before eventually finding freedom pushes free laborers toward debt bondage. When free through the work of a local organization. farmers run out of money or suffer crop failure or endure a Iqbal’s Story family emergency, they typically have no alternative but to borrow money from a local landowner with no collateral Iqbal Masih was enslaved at a carpet loom in Pakistan other than their own lives. The debts against which such at the age of four on the basis of a small loan (less than persons are bonded usually amount to less than $25, and $18) which his parents had secured from a slave holder. the bond which claims their freedom is not satisfied until Tied to his loom, he was forced to hand-tie tiny knots the lender says so. Through fraudulent accounting and for twelve hours a day, seven days a week. After he had usurious interest rates, debt bondage may last for genera- worked for six years, Iqbal went to his boss demanding tions. This arrangement well illustrates the essential freedom and was told that his debt had risen to $480. features of the new slavery: Following his liberation through the efforts of an abo- litionist organization, he dedicated his life to helping other ™ Legal ownership of bonded laborers is not enslaved children. For the next two years, Iqbal spoke out claimed even though they are held captive by against bonded labor, traveling to Europe and the United means of intimidation, threats, and violence. States where he urged young people his own age to get ™ Laborers are essentially responsible for their involved in campaigns to end child labor in the carpet own upkeep, even though they receive no industry. In December, 1994, he received a human rights wages. award for his work. ™ Laborers are bound by fraudulent legal docu- Iqbal was shot to death on April 16, 1995, while ments which they have been forced to sign. cycling with two relatives in Pakistan. In the weeks before 5 his death, he had received multiple The form of Buddhism prac- death threats. Although the Paki- ticed by Siri’s parents has facili- stani government reported his death tated her slavery in several ways. as accidental, it is widely believed She has been taught that women that he was killed for his advocacy are distinctly inferior to men, that on behalf of enslaved children. simply to be born as a female is a Following Iqbal’s death, the great gift which carries an equally global campaign against child labor great obligation to her parents, and in the carpet industry accelerated that to be fed and raised through and effected the development of the early childhood carries still “Rugmark” label, which guarantees another obligation. She will spend to consumers that carpets have been her lifetime repaying her debt made without forced or child labor. and contributing to her family’s The success of Rugmark in Europe income. In extreme cases this and the U.S. has liberated thousands obligation means being sold into of child laborers across the globe. slavery and thus sacrificed for the Sex Trade in Thailand good of her family. The small number of children As in India, the twin factors sold as slaves in Thailand’s past has of exploding population and rapid become a torrent today, reflect- economic change in Thailand have ing the prevalence of conditions fueled widespread poverty and which typically accompany the provided a deep pool of slave labor. new slavery, especially in the rural Girls are often lured from poor rural north. Though she is only fifteen, areas with the promise of work in Siri is resigned to her life as a restaurants or factories. slave-prostitute. She is sure that Whether sold by their parents A Romany gypsy child begs by a roadside in northern she is a bad person who deserves to brokers or tricked by agents with Italy. Poverty and discrimination make Romany children her fate and that she must duti- false promises, the girls are removed vulnerable to trafficking. (Kay Chernush for the U.S. State Department) fully accept her karma, just as her from their homes and then brutal- parents have taught her to do. ized, enslaved, and sold to brothel owners who force them into prostitution until their purchase price plus interest is Child Domestic Servitude “repaid.” Here again, the calculation of debt and interest Sent by their parents and lured by agents from rural is manipulated by brothel owners to keep slaves in prostitu- areas to the city with the promise of making enough tion as long as their bondage is profitable. money to send back home, children are trafficked into Girls between twelve and fifteen years of age can be domestic servitude across the globe. The overwhelming purchased for $800-$2,000, and profits for slave holders majority of child domestic servants are girls between 12 often run as high as 800 percent per year. This level of and 17 years of age. Once removed from their homes, return can be sustained for three to six years until the girls they are forced to work long days filled with cleaning, become HIV-positive or in some other way undesirable, at cooking, laundry, and child care. Although they live which time they are abandoned. with the employer’s family, these children are usually not Siri’s Story granted privacy or a room of their own. Often they are forced to sleep on the floor in the corner of a room or When Siri awakes about mid-day, the soreness of her under a table, and their meals consist of leftovers. genitals provides an instant reminder of her situation in Confined to the home and unable to seek help, child life. At fifteen years of age, she has been sold into prostitu- domestics are typically subject to verbal, mental, physical, tion, not by a kidnapper or some other brand of criminal, and sometimes sexual abuse from the very family members but by her own parents. Siri lives and works in a brothel they serve. Slaves by any other name, these children are housed in a squalid, dilapidated building in northeastern deprived of everything we want for our own children— Thailand. About five hours after waking, Siri is told to put parental nurture, freedom, education, nutrition, love, on a dress and makeup and to prepare for a typical night of respect, and the chance to be a child. work during which she will be purchased by ten to fifteen men. Because Siri looks younger than her age, she can The New Slavery and the Global Economy be sold at the “new girl” price of $15, which is double the Slaves can be found in virtually every country. Inves- normal rate. Like many rural Thai girls, Siri was woefully tigations have discovered young girls held as slaves and ignorant of what it meant to live in the city as a prostitute. forced into prostitution in Great Britain. Enslaved domes- 6 tic workers have been found and freed in London and consumers look for bargains and rarely reflect on the likeli- Paris. In the United States farm workers have been found hood that slave labor played a role in the manufacture and locked inside barracks and working under armed guards as relatively low cost of the items they purchase. In today’s field slaves. Enslaved Thai and Philippine women have global economy all of us must face the increasing likeli- been freed from brothels in New , Seattle, and Los hood that slave labor helps both to produce the goods we Angeles. While the vast majority of slaves are held cap- buy and to underwrite our purchasing power. tive on the Indian subcontinent and in the Far East, slaves What Can Be Done are held across the globe and constitute a sizeable work- force within the global economy. What can be done about the new slavery must center Precisely how much slave labor contributes to the on the causes described above related to population global economy is difficult to determine because of the growth, economic change, and government corruption. underground status of contemporary slavery, but certain While no quick fixes are available to us, each cause sug- rough calculations are possible. After an initial loan gests responses which invite our involvement. (purchase price) of $50 or less, agricultural bonded labor- Population ers generate up to 100 percent net profit for slaveholders. For decades, the connection between overpopulation Given the estimate of 18 million such workers, the annual and poverty has been well understood and clearly docu- profit generated would be approximately $860 million, dis- mented. Long-term development which addresses the root tributed to as many as five million slave-holders. There are causes of poverty slows population growth. When people probably more than 200,000 women and children enslaved are given access to education, opportunities for gainful worldwide in prostitution who generate annual profits in employment, and protection against poverty in old age and excess of $10.5 billion. If these sums are adjusted to reflect illness, birth rates decline. As we support worldwide relief a world population of 27 million slaves, the total yearly and development efforts, we directly address a primary profit generated by slaves approaches $13 billion. cause of the new slavery. Economic development not only While the direct value of slave labor in the context of helps to slow population growth, but also insulates indi- the global economy may seem relatively small, its indi- vidual families against slavery. Less poor families are less rect impact ripples throughout the economy. In Brazil, likely to succumb to slavery in the face of family emergen- for example, slave-produced charcoal is crucial to steel cies, and better educated families are less likely to be duped manufacture. Much of this steel is used to make cars, car by bogus contracts and dishonest accounting. parts, and other metal goods which constitute one-fourth Economic Change of Brazil’s exports. Great Britain imports $1.6 billion in goods from Brazil each year, and the United States imports Major economic changes over the last decades have significantly more. Slave labor lowers production costs, pushed global businesses into closer contact with workers and these savings are passed up the economic stream, ulti- vulnerable to enslavement. International trade agree- mately reaching retailers in Europe and North America as ments have facilitated the search for the cheapest labor, lower prices or higher profits. often through subcontractors, and sometimes this search Slave labor also has led to the use of impacts the livelihood slaves. Recently, the of free laborers. Workers push for competi- making computer parts tive advantage has on or televisions in India some occasions given can be paid low wages way to social pressures in part because food against the use child, produced by slave labor slave, and other forms is so cheap. The depres- of exploitative labor. sion of free labor costs The shift away from by slave labor contrib- exploitative practices utes to making European associated with labels and North American like Nike, GAP, and factories uncompetitive Rugmark serves as a and in some cases leads reminder that corpora- to their demise. Slave tions do respond to the labor anywhere threat- the social concerns of ens real jobs everywhere. consumers, especially This woman in her early twenties was trafficked into a bluejean sweatshop where she At the end of the when these concerns and other young women were held captive and made to work 20 hours a days with are effectively commu- economic pipeline, little to eat and no pay. (Kay Chernush for the U.S. State Department) nicated. We have to 7 be willing to ask questions about corporate practices ™ We will learn more and—to put our money about human traffick- where our mouths are—to ing and the new slavery pay somewhat more for through abolitioist slave-free products. organizations like Free Government Corruption the Slaves (www. freetheslaves.net). Organizations such ™ We will contribute Anti-Slavery Interna- to and support efforts tional, Free the Slaves, and to alleviate the poverty Amnesty International which renders people vul- watch, listen, study, moni- nerable to slavery. (Link tor, investigate, and report to World Hunger Offer- human rights abuses by ing at www.bgct/clc). corrupt regimes and share their findings with the ™ We will learn how public and international slave labor intersects bodies. Public disclosure our own purchasing and has consequences. The investing practices and current military dictator- support slave-free brands ship in Myanmar (Burma), and corporate policies for example, which enslaves (www.freetheslaves.net). its own citizens, has faced ™ We will support law censure in the media, the enforcement efforts to United Nations, and the stop European Union following Debt bondage slaves from the “untouchable” castes work as carpet weavers in in the U.S. (See www. reports from these groups. Southeast Asia. (Kay Chernush for the U.S. State Department) state.gov/g/tip). Naming and shaming con- ™ We will follow the findings of organizations which stitute an important first step toward change. track human rights abuses in other countries and Conclusion support initiatives which move in the direction of In his sermon at Nazareth, Jesus said, “The Spirit of the ending trafficking and slavery. LORD... has sent me to proclaim release to the captives” (Luke Resources 4:18). In inaugurating his public ministry, Jesus affirmed Bales, Kevin. Disposable People: New Slavery in the a consistent biblical refrain: God hears the cries of the Global Economy, Revised Edition. Berkley and Los Ange- oppressed and sends prophets to liberate them. As follow- les: University of California Press, 2004. ers of Jesus, we are God’s prophets called to respond to the unconscionable and growing reality that millions of people Batstone, David. The Return of the Global Slave have been and are being trafficked into slavery. When Trade—and How We Can Fight It. New York: Harper- we reflect on the stories of Venkatesh, Iqbal, and Siri, it is Collins Publishers, 2007. difficult not to be overwhelmed by the apparent hopeless- Bethell, Lauren. “Human Trafficking.” 2007 Statewide ness of their plight and paralyzed by the intractible powers Christian Life Conference. CD or cassette tape, $3. Order which enslave them. Too many of us recoil in despair and from Christian Life Commission. turn away to busy ourselves with the immediate demands Lucas, Terry. “Human Trafficking.” 2007 Statewide Chris- which frame our lives. But the simple and undeniable tian Life Conference. CD or cassette tape, $3. Order from truth is that hope for people like Venkatesh, Iqbal, and Siri Christian Life Commission. rests in the hearts and hands of people like us. If we allow Trafficking in Persons Report. Washington, D.C.: U.S. it, the Spirit of the LORD will come upon us even now and State Department, 2006. Free download available at www. empower us to find faithful and effective ways to proclaim state.gov/g/tip. release to the captives:

Therefore is the periodic publication of the Christian Life Commission of the Baptist General Convention of Texas • 333 N. Washington, Dallas, TX 75246-1798 • (214) 828-5190 • fax (214) 828-5187 • e-mail: [email protected] • Therefore is published four times per year and is distributed free of charge. H. Joseph Haag, Editor • Suzii Paynter, Director