Slide Show: Slavery Around the Globe Today
If you think slavery ended long ago, these pictures will tell a different story.
The movie "Amazing Grace" tells the story of the successful struggle to end slavery in Britain 200 years ago. Sadly, though, the practice remains a tragic reality around the globe in the 21st century. Click through this gallery to learn more about this problem, and then find out how you can help .
Kay Chernush for the U.S. State Department
You may think that slavery is a thing of the past, but as these slides attest, human trafficking is a major problem around the world today. This photo shows a woman in her early 20s who was trafficked into a blue jean sweatshop in Thailand, where she was made to work 20 hours a day with little to eat and no pay, before escaping.
[Image: Kay Chernush for the U.S. State Department]
Peggy Callahan, Free the Slaves
A former slave in northern India, this woman and her entire village were part of "The Silent Revolution," during which thousands of slaves have risked violence and death to free themselves.
[Image: Peggy Callahan, Free the Slaves ]
Photo by Mikel Flamm, World Vision
These three Vietnamese girls have been trafficked into Cambodia from Vietnam to work as prostitutes. The brothel across the street is known to employ girls as young as 12 years old.
[Image: Photo by Mikel Flamm, World Vision ]
This desperate mother traveled from her village in Nepal to Mumbai, India, hoping to find and rescue her teenaged daughter, who was trafficked into an Indian brothel. "I will stay in Mumbai," said the mother, "Until I find my daughter or die. I am not leaving here without her."
[Image: Kay Chernush for the U.S. State Department]
Camel racing, often using small children as jockeys, is a popular sport in the United Arab Emirates. Several years ago, the government announced that using children under 15 and lighter than 45 kilograms to race camels would be banned. But this 2004 photograph, at the Nad Al Sheba racecourse in Dubai, shows that the practice continues.
[Image: CDP, Anti-Slavery International ]
At Neavear Thmey Trauma Recovery Center in Phnom Penh, a transitional residential home for girls who have been sexually exploited, psychiatrist Rany Khoy uses finger puppets, dolls, and stuffed animals in her therapy sessions with the girls, many of whom will be reintegrated with their families or transitioned to foster care homes.
[Image: Jon Warren, World Vision ]
This so-called "death train" illustrates the risks people will take because of economic desperation to illegally emigrate to the U.S.--a major cause of human trafficking. Many people fall from the train and lose limbs, and rape is so common many women begin to take birth control pills weeks before going.
[Image: Lives for Sale ]
Kay Chernush for the U.S. State Department.
Young men sew beads and sequins in intricate patterns onto saris and shawls at a "zari" workshop in Mumbai, India. The boys, who arrive by train from impoverished villages across India, often work from six in the morning until two in the morning the next day. If they make the smallest mistake, they might be beaten.
[Image: Kay Chernush for the U.S. State Department.]
Peggy Callahan, Free the Slaves
A current slave in India, this woman said in an interview: "I know it's wrong but I have no choices. Where will I go? What will I do? Even if he beats me, abuses me. This is my house. This is my home. This is the only way I can survive because I have no money and that is all I can do."
[Image: Peggy Callahan, Free the Slaves ]
Visayan Forum, Anti-Slavery International
Children used as domestics, like this girl in the Philippines, are often deprived of the chance for an education and work in harmful conditions. They are isolated from family and friends and are under their employer's complete control. Children in this situation frequently suffer a wide range of abuse, including physical or verbal abuse and sexual violence.
[Image: Visayan Forum, Anti-Slavery International ]
Monika Parikh, Free The Slaves
It's estimated that thousands of children are enslaved in the fishing industry around Lake Volta in Ghana. Boys are forced to dive to disentangle nets caught on tree stumps below the surface, while girls are forced to cook and sell fish.
[Image: Monika Parikh, Free The Slaves ]
Peggy Callahan, Free The Slaves
These boys were all slaves in carpet looms, where they were often beaten, worked 15 hours a day, and had just enough food to survive for another day at work. This photo was taken at a rehabilitation home for child slaves, where the first thing they learn is how to play again.click here.
[Image: Peggy Callahan, Free The Slaves ]
