We all went to school and know that during the colonial empires it was customary to seize new lands and turn local residents into slaves and use them as manpower. The owners forced the poor, powerless blacks to work tirelessly, and if someone did not want to work, they were severely punished - they were deprived of food, water and even life. What has changed in recent centuries? And the fact that slavery only changed its form, but remained.
Modern office slavery
Today slaves are ordinary people, you and me. And the owners are large commercial corporations, banks and states. How so? - you ask - After all, I am free, I have personal time, no one beats me with a whip, and I live relatively well. But all these are just illusions. Illusions of freedom and equality. What distinguishes a free person from a slave? First of all, it is an opportunity to think and act freely. Unfortunately in modern world A person no longer has such an opportunity. And I will prove it to you:
Creating a Matrix
Have you ever wondered why all people in the world follow the same path - first they go to kindergarten, then to school, college and almost until the end of my days to work. Then, when they can no longer cope with their responsibilities, they retire as waste material. This system has been working for hundreds of years and has become commonplace. Ask anyone you know why he sent his child to school and why he himself goes to work. Most likely, no one will be able to clearly explain to you why this is being done.
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When we are born our mind is free, we are interested in everything, we learn the world around us. From about the age of 3 years, a proven program begins to take effect on us - all our thoughts, ideas and endeavors are limited by templates. This is called a beautiful term - the education system. We are only served necessary information, lay the foundation of future slaves in us. The school curriculum is not just the basics of applied subjects, it is a carefully prepared and approved system that greatly influences the subconscious of the little man. Best example the influence of the education system on the minds of millions of people - the birth of Nazi Germany. When children were already told at school that they were an exceptional, dominant nation capable of healing and bringing reason to the whole world. Millions of German soldiers voluntarily went to destroy all living things, only because the state made them believe in their dominance.
If you, unlike the majority, begin to show your individuality, you will at least be considered crazy. And if at the same time you begin to violate the usual principles of the owner and try to open the eyes of others, you will be isolated from society.
Restriction of Rights
Restricting freedom of thought is just the beginning. Slaves should not have rights. Today we are not far from this either. As soon as we are born, we automatically become a citizen of a country and are obliged to comply with its laws. Most often these are restrictive measures - you are prohibited from doing something. If you criticize your bosses, you will go to prison; if you don’t want to pay taxes for what you earn with your labor, you will go to prison. If you engage in dissent, it’s all the same. The citizen is obliged and that’s it, period. We are only obliged to work and benefit our master. Did you agree with the law by which you are obligated to live your whole life? You may not agree with them, but no one will ask you, you are a slave, you cannot have your own opinion, you must do everything they ask.
Financial dependence
We all work for money. And money, in turn, is a unit of measurement for the value of a product. That is, in fact, we work in order to purchase any product. According to statistics, 70% of the family budget of Russians goes to pay for food and housing. What does it mean? And the fact that we all work for food, and the opportunity to spend the night between going to work in comfortable conditions. Most of us are always short of money, the salary seems small - that’s how it is. The level of wages is specially regulated by the state - your salary should be enough for exactly a month of your existence, in order to force you to work all your life, to create wage and financial slavery. The owner does not benefit from a rich slave, because he can soon accumulate sufficient wealth and leave him.
Creation of a credit system is also one of the ways to force a slave to work. Credit slavery consists of creating intolerable conditions for a person from the very beginning and offering him a solution in exchange for freedom. To buy yourself a box made of concrete and metal, you need to save money for at least 10 years and live on the street. Or solve the problem by taking out a loan and paying it off for 20 years. That is, a person is guaranteed to work for at least two decades.
Artificial demand. Some people are provided with housing, the salary allows them to live well and save a day, how to encourage them to work? It’s very simple to force people to buy unnecessary things. Expensive foreign cars, branded items, iPhones, all-inclusive vacations - all this is stupid, expensive and not worth the money. But it fits perfectly into the image successful person, who will work hard for a whole year for something that he can completely do without.
Inflation. This is another mechanism of financial slavery. The concept itself implies an increase in prices over a long period. When they say that inflation was 5%, it means prices for basic goods and services increased by 5 percent. However, inflation can be official and real, that is, the one that the state gives us - according to it, salaries, pensions, and benefits are indexed. And the one that actually exists is 2-3 times higher than the official one. As many have already guessed, inflation contributes to a decrease in the real incomes of citizens, depreciating them. No one will fight it; it is beneficial to any state in the world.
Devaluation of labor
How much does your company or the state earn? And how much do they pay you in the form of wages? You'll never know. Because this is commercial, confidential information not available to ordinary mortals. Payment for your labor is just a part of the company’s expenses, insignificant, small. Add to this all sorts of fees in the form of taxes, insurance, pension contributions, and it turns out that you simply give away half of the money you earn. For what - so that in retirement you don’t die of hunger and buy bread and a carton of milk?
The state as a monopoly
What the state system represents today is the supremacy of power and law. That is, those in power control the lives of their slaves. This was again done with the help of laws and restrictions, and loyal people are monitoring this - security forces, judges, prosecutors, etc. Is there a choice? No. In exchange for your imaginary security, you must be ready to be useful, work for the benefit of the state, and live according to the pattern. At the same time, all wealth and resources go into the pockets of the chosen ones, but in fairness, if we were members of the same tribe, the common fund would be divided equally among everyone. But there is no point or hope in searching for the truth; the system has been working for hundreds of years and cannot be changed instantly. You need to change yourself.
How to free yourself from slavery?
First of all, there is no need to put on the armor of a savior hero and try to prove to others that we are all blacks. No one will believe you, much less follow you. Moreover, it is criminally punishable. You don't need to stand out among everyone, what you do for yourself is enough! The most rational solution would be to change your vision and lifestyle.
- You need to expand your horizons - read more philosophical books, get involved in history, learn languages and get to know new cultures. Believe me, this is a great way to understand how strong and diverse our world is. Rediscover yourself, make the gray matter in your head move.
- Refuse from waste information - TV, radio, media portals. They won't do anything good anyway. Over time, you yourself will realize and see that 90% of the population thinks completely linearly, they process only the information they are fed.
- Reconsider your attitude towards material values. You need to understand what you are working for, losing most of the time of your only life. Do you need the same iPhone for 90 thousand or is it better to use this money more prudently?
- Strive for financial freedom. You must make sure that every year you depend less and less on outsiders - on the salary paid by the employer, on benefits or pensions provided by the state. You must create multiple, passive sources of income that can provide you with a comfortable future. Strive to not work at all.
- Make others work for you. Many people remember from history lessons that in ancient Rome, slaves, in order to gain freedom and wealth, joined the troops of their country. They captured territories and served their overlords. For this they were given freedom, land and... their own slaves. And what do you think, did they release their brothers into the wild? No matter how, they exploited their labor. This is the whole meaning of modern slavery - if you don’t want to work yourself, force someone else. The founders of the company and business owners are a kind of slave owners - after all, the lives of hundreds, thousands of people depend on their benevolence and justice.
Conclusion: If you were able to read the article to the end, then you probably understood the essence - you need to work not in order to live, but in order to become free. I hope now you dare to remove the shackles.
Thank you for your attention!
At school we are taught that a slave is someone who is whipped to work, poorly fed, and can be killed at any moment. In the modern world, a slave is someone who does not even suspect that he, his family and all the people around him are slaves. The one who doesn’t even think about the fact that, in fact, he is completely powerless. That his masters, with the help of specially created laws, law enforcement agencies, public services and, above all, with the help of money, can force him to do whatever they need from him.
Modern slavery is not the slavery of the past. It's different. And it is not built on forceful coercion, but on a change in consciousness. When a proud and free person, under the influence of certain technologies, through the influence of ideology, the power of money, fear and cynical lies, becomes a mentally defective, easily controlled, corrupt person.
What are the megacities of the planet like? They can be compared to giant concentration camps inhabited by mentally broken, absolutely powerless residents.
As sad as it is, slavery is still with us. Here, today and now. Some people don't notice this, others don't want it. Someone is trying very hard to keep everything that way.
Of course, there was never any talk about complete equality of people. This is physically impossible. Someone is born 2 meters tall with a gorgeous appearance, in a good family. And some are forced to fight for their survival from the cradle. People are different, and what separates them the most are the decisions they make. The topic of this article is: “The illusion of equal rights of people in the modern world.” The illusion of a free world without slavery, which for some reason everyone unanimously believes in.
Slavery is a system of society where a person (slave) is the property of another person (master) or the state.
In paragraph 4 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN expanded the concept of a slave to any person who cannot voluntarily refuse to work.
For thousands of years, humanity lived in a slave system. The dominant class of society forced the weaker class to work for them under inhumane conditions. And if the abandonment of slavery had not been an empty shake of the air, it would not have happened so quickly and practically throughout the world. Simply, those in power have come to the conclusion that they will be able to keep people in poverty, hunger and get all the necessary work for pennies. And so it happened.
The main families, the owners of the largest capital on the planet, have not gone away. They remained in the same dominant position and continued to profit from ordinary people. From 40% to 80% of people in any country in the world live below the poverty line not by their own free will or by accident. These people are not disabled, not mentally retarded, not lazy, and not criminals. But at the same time, they cannot afford to buy a car, real estate, or adequately defend their rights in court. Nothing! These people have to fight for their survival, working hard every day for ridiculous money. And this is even in countries with enormous natural resources and in peacetime! In countries where there is no problem of overpopulation or any natural disasters. What is this?
Let's return to paragraph 4 of the Declaration of Human Rights. Do these people have the opportunity to give up work, move, or try themselves in another business? Spend a couple of years changing your specialty? No!
From 40% to 80% of people in almost every country in the world are slaves. And the gap between rich and poor people is getting deeper and deeper, and no one even hides this fact. Ruling families hand in hand with bankers they create a system aimed only at enriching themselves. And ordinary people are left out of the game. Do you really think that real estate should cost that much in terms of working hours? common man? I’m already silent about how many territories, in fact, stand idle in almost any country. And it’s not about the inflated price of real estate, it’s about the undervalued price of human life. We are worth nothing to our “masters”. We huddle in slums or concrete multi-story chicken coops. Then and with our own blood we earn enough for bread, clothes and 1 short semi-homeless holiday trip to the seaside per year. While the privileged classes of people (for example, bankers) draw any amount into their pockets with a simple stroke of the pen. Big capital dictates laws, fashion, and politics. Forms and destroys markets. What can an ordinary person oppose to a corporate machine? Nothing. If you have large capital, you can lobby your interests in the government and always win, regardless of the quality and nature of your activities. All these hopelessly flawed automobile factories, weapons factories, intermediaries in the raw materials industry, all these are feeding grounds for the elite. Which we serve together and fill for them.
Those in power send us to war, put us in cages for debt, limit the possibility of resettlement or the right to own weapons. Who are we if not slaves? And the saddest thing is that we ourselves are no less to blame for this than those who are now at the helm. They are to blame for their blindness and passivity.
Modern slavery takes sophisticated forms. This is the alienation of a people (community, population) from its natural resources and territories through unfair privatization (monopolization) of rights to generally useful territorial resources (miners, rivers and lakes, forests and lands. For example, laws protecting the monopoly ownership of huge resources of a community, people (population) ) territories, regions, countries, imposed by unscrupulous rulers (officials, “elected people”, representative power, legislative power) is such a form of alienation that allows one to argue about slave labor conditions and monopolies of the oligarchy; in essence, alienation and ownership schemes are implemented due to “defeat in rights" of part of the population and social groups. The concept of excess profits and inadequate wages is characteristic feature and a private definition of slavery - loss of rights to use the natural resources of territories and alienation of a share of labor with inadequate payment. Such loss of rights by decision of the courts is used in raider takeovers, corruption schemes and in cases of fraud. For enslavement they use traditional debt schemes and lending at inflated prices. interest rates. The main feature of slavery is a violation of the principle of fair distribution of resources, rights and powers, used to enrich one group at the expense of another group and dependent behavior with a loss of rights. Any form of inadequate application of benefits and inequality in the distribution of resources is a hidden (implicit, partial) form of slavery of certain groups of the population. None of the modern democracies (or other forms of self-organization of social life) are devoid of these remnants on the scale of entire states. A sign of such phenomena are entire institutions of society that are focused on combating such phenomena in the most extreme forms.
And the situation is only getting worse. Even if we assume that you are happy with your situation or can simply tolerate it. This system of enslavement needs to be stopped now, as it will be even harder for your children to do so.
Modern slaves are forced to work by the following hidden mechanisms:
1. Economic coercion of slaves to permanent work. A modern slave is forced to work non-stop until death, because... The funds earned by a slave in 1 month are enough to pay for housing for 1 month, food for 1 month and travel for 1 month. Since a modern slave always has enough money for only 1 month, a modern slave is forced to work all his life until death. The pension is also a big fiction, because... The pensioner slave pays his entire pension for housing and food, and the pensioner slave has no free money left.
2. The second mechanism of hidden coercion of slaves to work is the creation of artificial demand for pseudo-necessary goods, which are imposed on the slave with the help of TV advertising, PR, and the location of goods in certain areas of the store. The modern slave is involved in an endless race for “new products”, and for this he is forced to constantly work.
3. The third hidden mechanism of economic coercion of modern slaves is the credit system, with the “help” of which modern slaves are increasingly drawn into credit bondage, through the mechanism of “loan interest”. Every day a modern slave needs more and more, because... A modern slave, in order to pay off an interest-bearing loan, takes out a new loan without paying off the old one, creating a pyramid of debts. The debt that constantly hangs over the modern slave well stimulates the modern slave to work even for meager pay.
4. The fourth mechanism to force modern slaves to work for the hidden slave owner is the myth of the state. A modern slave believes that he is working for the state, but in fact the slave is working for a pseudo-state, because... The slave's money goes into the pockets of the slave owners, and the concept of the state is used to cloud the brains of the slaves, so that the slaves do not ask unnecessary questions like: why do slaves work all their lives and always remain poor? And why don't slaves have a share of the profits? And who exactly is the money paid by slaves in the form of taxes transferred to?
5. The fifth mechanism of hidden coercion of slaves is the mechanism of inflation. The rise in prices in the absence of an increase in the slave's salary ensures the hidden, unnoticeable robbery of slaves. Thus, the modern slave becomes more and more poor.
6. The sixth hidden mechanism to force a slave to work for free: deprive the slave of funds to move and buy real estate in another city or another country. This mechanism forces modern slaves to work at one city-forming enterprise and “endure” enslaving conditions, because... The slaves simply have no other conditions and the slaves have nothing and nowhere to escape.
7. The seventh mechanism that forces a slave to work for free is the concealment of information about the real cost of the slave’s labor, the real cost of the goods that the slave produced. And the share of the slave's salary, which the slave owner takes through the accounting accrual mechanism, taking advantage of the ignorance of the slaves and the lack of control of the slaves over the surplus value, which the slave owner takes for himself.
8. So that modern slaves do not demand their share of the profits, do not demand to give back what they earned from their fathers, grandfathers, great-grandfathers, great-great-grandfathers, etc. There is a silencing of the facts of plundering into the pockets of slave owners of resources that were created by numerous generations of slaves over a thousand-year history.
Human trafficking has become global and is modern form slavery. Most modern slaves are women. The problem of modern slavery affects all countries of the world.
The indirect culprit in the persistence of human trafficking is considered to be the rapid economic development humanity and the process of globalization. In many countries of the world, the industrial revolution led to the destruction of traditional village societies and the massive relocation of the rural population to cities. Employers are interested in cheap labor, and in those states where legislation protecting the rights of hired workers is not developed, various forms of slavery and forced labor may exist . The inability or unwillingness of states to fight organized crime, drug trafficking, etc. also plays a role.
Whether or not a person is a slave is determined on the basis of three main criteria: 1. the person's activities are controlled through violence or the threat of violence; 2. a person is in this place and is engaged in this type of activity against his will and cannot change the situation of his own free will; 3. for the work he receives insignificant payment or does not receive it at all.
The exact number of modern slaves in the world is unknown. In 2005, the UN came to the conclusion that about 700 thousand people fall into slavery every year; the US Department of State a year later named a similar figure - from 600 to 800 thousand people. The Human Rights Watch organization believes that the actual number of people sold into slavery annually reaches 800-900 thousand. According to estimates by the Human Security Center (now operating at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada), up to 4 million are sold into slavery annually. Human.
The International Labor Organization published a report in 2006, according to which 12.3 million people in the world are engaged in forced (that is, actually slave) labor. There are even more shocking estimates. Experts from the Anty-Slavery organization claim that there are up to 200 million slaves in the modern world.
According to UN estimates (a report entitled “Trafficking in Persons: Global Patterns” was published in 2006), people are sold into slavery (kidnapped, lured by deception, etc.) in 127 countries around the world, in Foreign victims of human traffickers are exploited in 137 states. Eleven countries reported a “very high” level of kidnapping activity, including Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova and Lithuania. In Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan this level is “high”. 10 states are favorite destinations for modern slaves; among them are the USA, Israel, Türkiye, Italy, Japan, Germany, Greece.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that 5.7 million children are victims of forced and bonded labor (a phenomenon often called “debt slavery”), and another 1.2 million children are victims of child trafficking. Every year, 1 million children, mostly girls, are forced into prostitution. These girls are sold as sex slaves or used to produce pornography. There are known cases where children were used as donors of human organs and tissues for illegal operations. Currently, approximately 300 thousand children are used as soldiers in approximately 30 conflict regions around the world. Many kidnapped girls who are turned into soldiers are also forced into sexual slavery.
According to UN estimates, every year human traffickers (which include modern slave owners and smugglers who help illegal immigrants move to other countries) earn more than $7 billion (this amount only includes income received from the sale and resale of people; income generated by slaves to their masters, not taken into account). The US State Department claims that the underground slave trade is the third most profitable criminal business in the world (second only to the arms and drug trade), with revenues reaching $32 billion a year.
Every year, about 1 million people illegally move to the United States and the countries of the European Union. Many of these emigrants use the services of smugglers. According to estimates by the US Congressional Research Service, every year 1-2 million people (mostly women and children) are trafficked to other countries for subsequent resale.
According to the International Organization for Migration in 2005, in Belarus, Bulgaria, Moldova, Romania and Ukraine, 225 thousand people annually fall into the networks of slave traders. Previously, it was believed that the number of victims of human trafficking in Europe as a whole was 200 thousand people. The IOM study concluded that these estimates are seriously underestimated.
Slavery, in the traditional sense of the word, and modern slavery are significantly different. Under "classical" slavery, the slave owner had legal rights to the slave, who was treated as chattel. This, in turn, ensured fairly high prices for slaves, which did not make it possible to obtain extremely high profits from the use of a slave. Because of high prices the supply of new slaves was, in most cases, limited. The slave and the slave owner were in a long-term relationship with each other, and often the slave owner felt (or the laws of that time obliged him to feel) a certain responsibility for the fate of the slave. In addition, under slavery, racial and ethnic differences between slave owner and slave were significant.
The "new" slavery has no legal basis- It is prohibited in all countries of the world. The cost of a slave has dropped significantly. In some countries of the world, a slave can be bought for less than $100 or exchanged for a goat. According to the Free the Slaves organization, in 1850 in the American South, the average slave was sold for an amount equal to $40 thousand, taking into account changes in the purchasing power of the US dollar - now in the same place a “slave” can be “bought” for $120, which brings significant profits to slave owners. The slave owner and the slave have a short-term relationship, and racial, linguistic, ethnic, religious, etc. differences between the slave and his owner practically do not play a role (for example, there are numerous cases where modern slave traders forced prostitution or simply sold their neighbors, friends, relatives and even children. Most modern slaves are employed. agriculture, mining, prostitution. In fact, many household servants are in the position of slaves.
Traffickers use threats and violence to force victims to work in conditions comparable to slavery. Modern slavery can take other forms, such as children and teenagers being kidnapped for carrying military service, women and children can be used as domestic servants under bonded conditions, etc. Modern slaves often become victims of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, they suffer from alcoholism or drug addiction. In many countries around the world, victims of the slave trade are afraid to turn to the authorities for help, as they may face imprisonment or deportation from the country.
Traffickers find potential victims in a variety of ways. They advertise in the media offering good job with high earnings. They use the services of fraudulent recruiting, modeling, marriage agencies, and travel agencies. In villages, slave traders often pose as "friends of friends" and convince parents that their children will be safer and better off under the care of a "friend" or promise parents that they will marry off their daughters (sometimes the marriage actually takes place, but the husband forces the wife to do hard work and takes everything earned). In some situations, traffickers may simply kidnap victims. Human trafficking does not require large investments and often involves only a minimal risk of prosecution by law enforcement. Gilbert King, author of Woman, Child for Sale: The New Slave Trade in the 21st Century illustrates this very effectively: “every 10 minutes, a woman or child is smuggled into the United States for training prostitution or forced labor." Kathryn Farr, author of the book "Sex Trafficking: The Global Market in Women and Children" Sex Trafficking: The Global Market in Women and Children claims that 1 million people are sold into sexual slavery every year.
The vast majority of countries in the world, to one degree or another, are faced with the problem of slavery. According to various sources, there are constantly from 400 thousand to 1 million people in slavery in Europe. According to the non-governmental organization Abolish, countries in Europe mainly face the problem of female slavery. Women and girls (40% of them came from the states of the former USSR) are deprived of documents and forced into prostitution. According to the International Organization for Migration, in 2000 alone, 120 thousand women from post-Soviet states were trafficked to European countries. For example, in Belgium or Germany, according to the results of a 2001 UN study, a prostitute from Russia brings her owner $7.5 thousand every month. Of this, the woman receives only $500.
There are frequent cases when men trying to find work abroad fall into slavery. Problems usually start when they use the services of recruiting firms associated with organized crime. As a result, guest workers end up in bondage to foreign employers, which is also considered a form of slavery. Employers (and often the intermediary company itself) take away their documents, refuse to pay for work, restrict freedom of movement and often beat them in order to suppress the will to resist. Cases of murder of modern slaves have also been recorded.
Kevin Bales, author of "The New Slavery in the Global Economy" Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy writes: "It is quite possible that slave labor was used to make your shoes or the sugar you put in your coffee. Slaves laid bricks, that make up the wall of the factory where your TV is made. In Brazil, slaves make them. charcoal, which goes into the production of steel from which the parts of your car are made. Slavery lowers the cost of goods around the world, which is why slavery is so attractive today."
The FBI estimates that organized immigration crime earns up to $12 billion annually. recent years the flow of illegal migrants is constantly growing. There are price lists for services according to which, for example, moving from China to the UK costs $30 thousand, from Turkey to Germany - $1-3 thousand, from Mexico to the USA - from $200 to 1 thousand. Criminal gangs organize relocations for citizens one country to another, legalization of migrants and even help with employment. Numerous cases have been recorded in which these criminal communities have been extorting money from people whom they once helped move to another country for years and even decades.
Several years ago, another type of modern slavery became known: foreigners - employees of international organizations working in the United States, prefer to bring servants from their homeland. Maids and cooks are actually in the position of slaves. They are mostly women, often poor and uneducated, who are abused and have nowhere to turn for help. For example, one woman from Brazil lived as a slave for twenty years near Washington. The human rights organization Human Rights Watch conducted an investigation and found that, on average, these people receive 3-4 times less than the minimum wage in the United States, and their working day lasts, on average, 14 hours.
The UN calls on all states of the world to solve four main tasks necessary to end the modern slave trade. First, the government must prohibit human trafficking and punish acts of trafficking. Second, the government must impose penalties commensurate with those for serious crimes such as rape for intentionally committing human trafficking in some of its most reprehensible forms. Third, for the intentional commission of any act of trafficking in persons, the government of the country must impose a penalty that is sufficiently severe to deter and adequately reflect the heinous nature of the crime. Fourth, the government must make serious and sustained efforts to eliminate trafficking in persons.
Many countries around the world help slaves in different ways. For example, in 2002, a new type of visa was created in the United States - the “T” visa. It is specially designed for foreign citizens who became victims of modern slave traders. The visa is issued on the condition that victims of the slave trade agree to cooperate with law enforcement authorities. Victims of the slave trade are allowed to remain in the United States if it is determined that they would face "extreme circumstances involving extreme and serious consequences" in their home countries. After three years of residence in the United States, these individuals can apply for permanent residence in the United States. In addition, victims of the slave trade are now allowed to apply for temporary residence permits for their family members. September 22, 2007 Washington ProFile
Facts On The Topic
The international community has adopted a number of fundamental conventions that prohibit trafficking in persons.
In 1926, the League of Nations (the forerunner of the UN) adopted the Slavery Convention, and in 1930, the Forced Labor Convention (which generally prohibited the use of this type of labor). The baton was picked up by the UN. In 1949, the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others was adopted. In 1956 - the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery. In 1957 - the Convention on the Abolition of Forced Labor. In 2000, the UN General Assembly adopted the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.
Provisions on the fight against slavery are also found in other UN documents. Article 4 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (adopted in 1948) prohibits slavery. In 1966, the UN General Assembly approved the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights - Article 8 also prohibits slavery. September 22, 2007 Washington ProFile
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The Australian Walk Free Foundation, created by billionaire Andrew Forrest with the support of actor Russell Crowe, annually measures the state of slavery on planet Earth. It was they who, after interviewing forty-two thousand people in twenty-five countries of the world, found out what was living in the world right now. Samizdat "My Boy, You're a Transformer" contacted Katharine Bryant, the organization's scientific director and European representative, to discuss whether 21st-century slavery surpasses the golden era of the slave trade in scale.
Your 2016 study says there are about forty-six million slaves living in the world; do you have more recent data?
This is indeed the most recent report to date, and we still note that there are 45.8 million people in the world living in modern slavery. However, towards the end of September we are going to release new reports in collaboration with the International Labor Organization, so we will provide updated figures, but at the moment we are still relying on the number 45.8 million: there are slaves in every country on the planet.
What forms of slavery do you include in this figure? What phenomena do you understand as slavery?
Modern slavery for us is an umbrella term that includes various forms of extreme exploitation, including slave labor, forced marriage and commercial sexual exploitation. By slave labor we mean situations where a person is forced to work and is unable to escape the situation. By forced marriage we consider children and adults who are unable to give voluntary consent to marriage. All types of slavery have one common feature- this is exploitation to the highest degree, from which the individual cannot free himself or voluntarily escape.
The most common type of slavery is forced labor, which includes various aspects: commercial exploitation, sexual exploitation, forced prostitution, state forced labor - for example, in prisons or the army. There are also many examples of forced labor in the private sector of the economy.
If we compare the number of modern slaves as a percentage of the total population of the Earth, do we see an increase or decrease in the number of slaves compared to the heyday of slavery?
This question is difficult to answer. Looking at the Transatlantic Slave Trade of the 19th century, we believe that the number of people enslaved today is actually much higher. Our judgment is limited, however, because records of the slave trade were less clear before the 19th century, so it is difficult to say whether more people are enslaved today than ever before, but yes, there are certainly more people than during the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
The most common type of slavery is forced labor.
Describe the portrait of a modern slave.
Modern slavery looks different in every country. It is important to remember that slavery does occur in any of the one hundred and sixty-seven countries that make up our Global Slavery Index. There are men who are forced to fish on fishing boats. We found numerous accounts of men being kidnapped from Burma, smuggled across the border into Thailand, and forced to work on fishing boats that never entered port. In the European part, there are cases of refugees who fled war from Syria or Libya and were trafficked and forced into sexual slavery. We are particularly concerned about refugee children who have become exploited throughout Europe and have disappeared from refugee programs. In Russia and Central Asia we also see cases of forced labor and marriage. In Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, forced labor is sanctioned by the state: there people are forced to collect coal, there brides are kidnapped and forced to marry a certain person. So there are many types of slavery, but again: the common factor is that the individual cannot escape the situation.
What does a modern slave owner look like?
In the cases of missing emigrants in Europe, these slave owners are members of organized crime, they benefit from the sale and purchase of slaves because they perceive them as an accessible and disposable commodity. More traditional forms, historical forms of slavery where there is a "master" and his children inherit slaves, in places such as Mauritania in West Africa. In other countries, slave owners can make quick profits at the expense of slaves, either in the supply chains of multinational corporations or in more informal structures: for example, in South Asia there are many cases of bonded labor in the brick industry, where a person is forced to work for free until he pays off a debt. Sometimes these debts are passed down from generation to generation.
Modern slavery affects corporations around the world. Fortunately, in Europe, as well as the UK, US, Australia and Brazil, governments are beginning to take action to require retailers and multinational corporations to monitor their own supply chains for evidence of modern forced labor. We also welcome requirements for businesses to publish reports and statements outlining what they are doing to prevent forced labor. We support and encourage other countries to take similar measures.
What is the current situation with slavery in former colonial countries?
There is evidence confirming the existence of slavery in every country in the world, including the former countries of the English Empire. In Australia, where the Walk Free Foundation is headquartered, we estimate that around three thousand people experience various forms of modern slavery. In countries such as Australia and the UK, it is mainly emigrants and displaced workers who are subject to exploitation. This can be seen in different areas: For example, a person who came to a country to get married is forced into domestic servitude, or a person is there on a temporary visa that does not provide him with sufficient labor protection. In India, the population is exploited in informal structures, such as fishing enterprises, which do not have large quantity regulations, unlike other organizations.
in 2012, income from modern slavery was $165,000,000,000
Which country has the worst situation with slavery?
In 2016, the highest percentage of the population exposed to modern slavery was recorded in North Korea - where 4% of the population are enslaved, engaged in forced labor in prisons and camps. The situation is bad in Poland and Russia, and high rates of slavery are observed in countries such as Uzbekistan, Bangladesh, India and conflict zones around the world.
How much money is there in this area?
According to our data, in 2012 the income from modern slavery was $165,000,000,000 - it is clearly an incredibly profitable business. On the other hand, what is interesting is that very few financial resources are used to combat slavery. So while slavery is a big moneymaker, and an average of only $120,000,000 a year is spent on fighting it.
How can you fight slavery?
In our assessment of the anti-slavery efforts of one hundred and sixty-one governments around the world, we include many different aspects of good and effective practices, such as victim assistance programs, criminal justice measures, the presence of anti-slavery laws, coordination and accountability mechanisms, rapid response to risks, and the role of trading enterprises. We therefore argue that the best government response to modern slavery must cover all these aspects. The government should educate law enforcement agencies anti-slavery, study all forms of modern slavery, pass laws, work with other governments to ensure a transnational approach to this problem. The government should also make sure that it provides security for its population and employees. Help can come in the form of proper labor laws and inspections to identify any cases of forced labor. Finally, we strongly encourage businesses and governments to work together to try to investigate modern slavery.
Based on our research, the North Korean state is the most loyal to slavery. There are many cases and examples of forced labor in labor camps, and forced labor is used as punishment for political prisoners. Even more interesting is the fact of the use of forced labor of North Koreans in Europe. A 2015 study by Leiden University found that North Koreans were exported to Europe, where they were forced to work and were paid meager wages and little freedom while working. In North Korea, the government does little to prevent slavery and forced labor, and in some cases even actively promotes slavery.
Does the Walk Free Foundation only keep statistics or somehow contribute to improving the situation in the world?
Our foundation was founded in 2012 by Australian businessman Andrew Forrest after his daughter, Grace Forrest, volunteered at orphanage in Nepal - there she learned that most children are from orphanage were victims of the sex slave trade and were sold from Nepal to India. Grace raised this issue with her family and they decided to study what was happening in the anti-slavery and anti-slavery areas around the world and determine where they could bring greatest benefit. As a result, they realized that anti-slavery organizations lacked funding, businesses were not very interested in fighting this issue, and there was very little research on this topic. As a result, they founded the fund and Global Slavery Index, where I work. We are trying to determine the number of people around the world affected by modern slavery and what governments are doing to combat it; We also cooperate with many UN agencies.
We mainly focus on estimating the number of people in slavery, but we also provide very specific policy recommendations on what governments should do to respond. So, in addition to identifying and raising awareness of the extent of the problem, we are also trying to provide tools to combat it. We are currently preparing our new report, which will dedicate a separate chapter to the role of business in the rise of modern slavery and explain what businesses can do now to identify labor exploitation within their ranks.
August 23 is the International Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Slave Trade and its Abolition. In our article, we have collected scary facts about human trafficking in the modern world in order to remind you that the slave trade is a real problem of our time.
1. Approximately 75-80% of victims of the slave trade are used in the sex industry.
2. Researchers note that sexual slavery plays a significant role in the spread of HIV.
3. More people are enslaved today than at any time in history.
4. Experts estimate that approximately 27 million adults and 13 million children are victims of the slave trade in the world.
5. Human trafficking does not only involve sexual or labor slavery, people are also trafficked for their organs.
6. Slave traders often use the Sudanese phrase “to use a slave to catch slaves,” meaning that traders may send “slave girls” to recruit younger girls into sexual slavery. Traffickers often train the girls themselves, raping them and teaching them sexual skills.
7. Eighty percent of North Koreans fleeing to China are women. Nine out of ten of these women are victims of the slave trade, often sexually. If the women complain, they are sent back to North Korea, where they are imprisoned in camps or executed.
8. Approximately 30,000 victims of sexual slavery die each year from violence, disease, torture and neglect. Eighty percent of those sold into sexual slavery are under 24 years of age, and some are barely six years old.
9. Ludwig "Tarzan" Feinberg, a convicted slave trader, argued: “You can buy a woman for $10,000 and get the money back in a week if she is young and beautiful. After that, you get one benefit.”
10. A slave trader can earn 20 times more from a girl than he paid for her. If the girl is not physically roughed up to the point where she loses her beauty, the pimp can sell her for a high price, since he has trained her and broken her spirit, which saves future buyers unnecessary hassle. A 2003 Dutch study found that, on average, one sex slave earns her pimp at least $250,000 a year.
11. Although human trafficking is often a secret crime and precise statistics are difficult to come by, researchers estimate that more than 80% of victims of the slave trade are women. More than 50% of victims of human trafficking are minors.
12. Completion Cold War led to increased regional conflicts and deviation of borders. Many rebel groups have turned to human trafficking to finance their war efforts and recruit soldiers.
13. According to a 2009 article in the Washington Times, the Taliban buys children as young as seven to use as suicide bombers. Child suicide prices range from $7,000 to $14,000.
14. UNICEF estimates that 300,000 children under 18 are currently trafficked to serve in armed conflicts around the world.
15. Slave traders are increasingly targeting pregnant women for their unborn babies. Babies are sold on the black market, where profits are divided among slave traders, doctors, lawyers, border guards and others. Mothers are usually paid less than promised, citing travel costs and the creation of false documents. As a result, a mother may receive only a few hundred dollars for her child.
16. More than 30% of all cases of child trafficking in 2007-2008 involved the sale of children into the sex industry.
17. The Western presence in Kosovo, such as NATO troops and civilian personnel, prompted a sharp increase in the sex slave trade and forced prostitution. Amnesty International reports that NATO soldiers, UN police and Western aid workers "operated with virtual impunity to exploit victims of the sex trade."
18. Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" video is about human trafficking. In the video, a Russian bathhouse sells the singer into sexual slavery.
19. Human trafficking is the only international crime area in which a significant number of women are involved - as victims, perpetrators and activists in the fight against these crimes.
20. Global warming and severe natural disasters have left millions of desperate people destitute and destitute, susceptible to easy exploitation by slave traders.
21. More than 71% of trafficked children are suicidal.
22. After sexual slavery, forced labor is considered the most common form of modern slavery. Researchers argue that the worsening economic crisis will lead to an increase in the number of people sold into labor slavery.
23. Most human trafficking in the United States occurs in New York, California and Florida.
24. According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), over 30 million children have been sold into sexual slavery over the past 30 years.
25. Among all countries, the largest sources of people sold into slavery are Belarus, the Republic of Moldova, Russian Federation, Ukraine, Albania, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Romania, China, Thailand and Nigeria.
26. Among the countries that receive the largest number of people sold into slavery, the leaders are Belgium, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Thailand, Turkey and the United States.
27. Women brought to the United States by slave traders are used primarily in the sex industry (including strip clubs, peeping and touching shows, massage halls offering sexual services and prostitution). They are also exploited in heavy non-mechanized labor production, domestic slavery and agricultural work.
28. Sex slave traders use various methods to “pacify” their victims, subjecting them to hunger strikes, rape, including gang rape, physical violence, beatings, restrictions on movement, threats to the victims themselves and their families, and moral humiliation; In addition, victims are often forced into drugs.