Modern Slavery

Intro: Imagine being cold, shivering wildly but your clothes still feel like they have been dunked in your own sweat. Your skin feels grimy and dusty, so do your lungs. You look around and see other abused men, women, and children, some coughing, working, and some resemble nearly dead skeletons. Now you see a bigger picture, a camp. You see slaves mining,spreading around mercury without knowing it, and unintentionally inhaling that deadly poison. Not a pretty picture right? This is one type of slavery out of many in the modern world which I will get to in a little bit. Modern slavery is a parasite of this world, it thrives in the shadows. An estimated 27 million people live in slavery today - yet we know about the plight of so few of them. The battle to end slavery begins by revealing it.

What is slavery? Forced to work without pay under threat of violence. Slavery is a system in which people are treated as property, to be sold and bought. Most slaves (some are born into slavery) are tricked into slavery by being asked the simple lie "would you like to make some money?" And most say "yes." They are then ripped from their homes and freedom to work 24-7, in extremely bad living conditions. How a person who is already vulnerable and destitute becomes a slave: the absence of the rule of law. Harvesting the vulnerable into slavery

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population explosion

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extreme poverty and vulnerability, due to civil war, kleptocratic government, climate change, or natural disasters

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corruption, especially police corruption

Harvesting the vulnerable into slavery. Slaves are like cheap paper napkins. You can get them cheap, use them and dispose of them. We are not about to run out of people. There has also been a price collapse in the cost of people. The average price of a person today is around 90$.

How are slaves used in specific areas around the world? A little broad overview

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America: Estimates by the US State Department suggest up to 17,500 slaves are brought into the US every year, with 50,000 of those working as prostitutes, farm workers or domestic servants, human trafficking. According to the CIA, more than 1,000,000 people are enslaved in the US today. Thousands of cases go undetected each year and many are difficult to take to court as it can be difficult to prove force or legal coercion.

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South America and Caribbean: Around 1.3 million people can be considered slaves in Latin America and The Caribbean. For example, in Haiti one out of 10 children are living in slavery. Some international campaigns and human rights organizations are trying to put this important issue on the table, but governments have not implemented public policies to confront the matter.

-Types of slavery there: Sexual exploitation, human trafficking, forced labor, domestic child labor, indigenous groups affected by debt bondage, child soldiers, and child pornography.

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Africa: Human trafficking, forced labor, domestic child labor, indigenous groups affected by debt bondage, child soldiers

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Asia: Asia has several types of slavery, sex trade (sexual exploitation), labor exploitation, and debt bondage. Many people are trafficked across borders, others within the same country, but all face extreme hardships in situations of slavery.

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The Middle East: Lots of sexual exploitation, and human trafficking routes go through the middle east. It seems like more of a buying and being bought place.

(show slavery map!!!!!!!!)

What is the population of the country vs. the slaves that inhabit it?

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North America:314,642,000,