Human Trafficking Is In Plain Sight. Are You Supporting It Without Knowing?
Human trafficking is a growing epidemic. In addition to the estimated 21.3 million refugees around the world, there are also an estimated 45.8 million people who are currently being trafficked or enslaved. But enslavement is not what we in America often think it is. Those suffering unthinkable psychological, physical and social trauma are part of a global problem that we, as Americans, see, touch and support every day without knowing it. “The general public does not have a re
A Woman’s Death Sorting Grapes Exposes Italy’s ‘Slavery’
Her death of a heart attack at 49 in the fields has set off nearly two years of soul-searching in Italy over what the authorities, labor experts and union organizers described as an elaborate system of modern-day slavery — involving more than 40,000 Italian women, as well as migrant and seasonal laborers — that remains at the core of Italy’s agricultural economy, especially here at the country’s jagged heel. Full Article: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/11/world/europe/a-woma
New Report Details Exploitation of Hotel Industry Workers
Relaxing vacations mean little work for travelers, thanks to the host of people who work as housekeepers, bellhops and cooks. But a new analysis has found that the largely invisible nature of these jobs means workers can sometimes be exploited by those who market in human trafficking, even within the United States. Full Article: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/10/travel/new-report-human-trafficking-exploitation-of-hotel-industry-workers.html?_r=1 #forcedlabor #travel #hotelwo
Modern-day slavery is a lurking, pervasive problem in American restaurants
In too many cases, people working in the American food system—from the agricultural fields where laborers pick the nation’s produce to the restaurants and bars that serve consumers food and drink everyday—are trapped in those positions. Full article: https://qz.com/947220/modern-day-slavery-is-a-lurking-pervasive-problem-in-american-restaurants/ #forcedlabor #foodsupply
Child labour is part of most of what we buy today: what can we do?
Child labour is not something any business wants in its supply chain. Yet with an estimated 168 million children in some form of labour globally, 98 million of them working in agriculture and 12 million in manufacturing and industry, it is an uncomfortable reality of globalised commodities that businesses cannot afford to avoid. Full article: https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2016/nov/24/child-labour-what-can-we-do-africa-modern-slavery?CMP=share_btn_fb #childl
What Does Slavery Look Like Today?
Modern slavery looks different than the sailing ships and shackles we learned about in history class. People are now trapped by forces less visible but just as powerful.
The Modern-Day Abolitionist Movement
On an otherwise ordinary flight from Seattle to San Francisco, Alaska Airlines steward Sheila Fedrick noticed a disheveled teenager traveling with a well-dressed older man. She was silent; he was defensive. Fedrick's antenna went up. "She looked like she'd been through pure hell," Fedrick said. She whispered to the teen to look for a note in the plane's restroom. A three-word response was all it took: "I need help." Police were waiting at the airport when they landed. Thanks
Uzbek activist detained for forced labour monitoring
Anti-Slavery International is extremely concerned about the latest incarceration of prominent Uzbek human rights activist Elena Urlaeva. Elena has been working for over a decade to raise awareness of ongoing forced labour in Uzbekistan’s cotton sector. Her arrest demonstrates the hostile climate for independent forced labour monitors, and the lack of genuine commitment by the Government to end its use of forced labour. Full Article: https://www.antislavery.org/elena-urlaeva-
Slave saviors: the men risking their lives to free brick workers in Dagestan
It is a long, dusty drive through the mountains and valleys of Dagestan before the brick factory comes into view, its gassy haze hanging low on an otherwise empty horizon. Somewhere in this maze of kilns and clay is a man who claims he has never been paid for his work and cannot escape. Full Article: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/apr/01/slave-saviours-men-risking-their-lives-to-free-brick-workers-in-dagestan#img-1 #forcedlabor
