Fact: Debt Bondage is the Most Common Way to Enslave a Person

Pakistani farmers in debt bondage. Photo: BBC

Debt bondage, also know as bonded labor, is the most common method of enslavement and yet it is also less known, than other forms of slavery.

 What is Debt bondage? Debt bondage is when an individual's services as a laborer -a bonded laborer- are required or forced as a form of repayment for a loan. The individual is then coursed, fraudulently tricked or trapped into working off their debt. Individuals -and often entire families- are forced to work for very little, or no pay, in order to repay their debt -often for seven days a week.

Bonded laborers are forced to work to repay debts their employer state they owe, and not allowed to work for anyone else -including themselves. To hold a bonded laborer captive various forms of force are used; including physical threats and violence, surveillance, sometimes they are physically held under lock and key. The laborer is then charged many new and inflated fees for food, shelter, transportation, documents, etc. While the value of their work alone is worth more than the original sum of money borrowed or associated, the slave holder ensures that the debt continues to grow -most often to a never ending amount that then forcibly binds the laborer to their now slave master, the land, job or act for life -often a family may still be tied to a debt of another who has passes on years or even decades ago.

The UN Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery recognizes that some 20 million people are still held in debt bondage around the world. However many estimate that the number of bonded laborers are substantially higher.

Fact: You Have Slaves Working for You

Did you know that you have slaves working for you? We know you are shaking your head in horror right now saying, "no, way...it's not true I wouldn't ever do such a thing!" But the sad truth is you are -we all are! How is this possible you ask? Well have you been shopping lately? Did you buy a smartphone, computer, T-shirt, cup of coffee, a bar of chocolate? Well then the chances are, slaves made them. Modern Slavery and forced labor are sadly alive and well and it's tainting the supply chain and the consumer products we buy every day. The people who picked the cotton that made your T-shirt; the gold and diamonds in your jewelry; and harvest the coffee or cocoa beans in your mocha latte; may have all been slaves -and all were working for you. Some 27 million people are enslaved worldwide and they are supporting the lifestyle and cheap consumer products we have all grown used too. Slavery Footprint, a website and mobile app has been created to help us all measure the role forced labor plays in supporting our lifestyles. Therefore while we would all like to think that there are no slaves working for us, there are, but the great news is once we become more educated on what our "slavery footprint' is then we can begin to reduce it. While having no slaves at all impacting our 'slavery footprint" is the goal it is a long battle as even the most conscientious of consumers -like BTFF- are not exempt—according to the calculator -we all have slaves forced to work against their will for us, but by taking this first step we can begin to set them free.

Modern Slavery News Round-Up

Human trafficking legislation added to defense bill
U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Rob Portman of Ohio co-chair the bipartisan Senate Caucus to End Human Trafficking. With the assistance and influence of their efforts, the Senate voted to add the End Human Trafficking in Government Contracting Act to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013. A few months ago, President Obama signed an executive order that prohibits government contractors and subcontractors from engaging in activities tied to trafficking.

Car wash accused of using forced labor
Five people were detained by Chinese police for suspicion of forced labor at the Guangliang Car Service in the Hedong district of Tianjin. The police rescued eleven workers, including a mentally disabled man who had been working at the car wash since August and claimed that he had been beaten. Another mentally disabled man was rescued by his brother, but has not received his salary, unlike some of the other rescued workers.

Bonded labour ensnares entire families in Afghanistan
Bonded labour in brick kilns is one of the most common forms of hazardous labour in Afghanistan. Over half of the brick kiln workers are children, most of them are under 14 years old and have been working at the kilns since they were about 7 or 8 years old. So much time is spent working at the kilns that most of the children do not obtain an education. Families are often tied to the kilns because of their needs to pay off loans. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), 64% of the families surveyed had worked in the kilns for at least 11 years, while 35% had worked in the kilns for over 20 years.  

Modern Slavery News Round-Up

National Human Trafficking Hotline Bill Passed 
Great news everyone! The Human Trafficking Hotline Act has passed the PA legislature. It is now on to the Governor's Office for final approval. Once the Governor signs the legislation, it will take effect in 60 days. House Bill 235 was introduced by Rep. Paul Clymer (R-Bucks) as a companion bill to Leach's Senate Bill 338. The bills would require the Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline number to be placed prominently in certain establishments and locations in an effort to curb the incidence of human trafficking in Pennsylvania and help victims. You can view the Press Release here: SB 338 Press Release

Shrimp Exports to West tied to bonded labor
In the third chapter of Siddarth Kara's new book on bonded labour, she explores the shrimp industry of Bangladesh. Chingri (shrimp) harvesting provides a highly illustrative case study of the very powerful ways in which environmental change can directly contribute to human trafficking, debt bondage, and forced labor exploitation, especially in the far reaches of the developing world. Each of the stages of Bangladesh's shrimp industry supply chain is tainted by some form of severe labor exploitation.

Increase in Teen Sex Trafficking in DC
If you think human trafficking is something that happens only in other countries, think again. It's happening to girls as you as 12 years old right here in the area of the Nation's capital. FAIR Girls is a non-profit organization that helps victims of human trafficking to survive. Asia Graves of Northwest DC works for the organization, speaking out in high schools and telling her story. At age 16, she was bought, beaten, raped, choked and sold again. She's 24 today, a college student, an advocate and a true inspiration. But her path wasn't easy. This college student, and now-women's right advocate has scars you can see, and many you can't. She says her hell started when she ran from her drug-addicted mom and alcoholic dad, "The support I found was from young men as well as men who were actually pimps who told me they loved me. They were the father figure that I never had," she said.

Forced Migration in the 21st Century: Urbanised and Unending
More than 70 million people have been forced to leave their homes because of conflict, political upheaval and disasters, as well as by climate change and development projects, and are now living as migrants, the International Red Cross said on Tuesday. The World Disasters Report 2012 said most forced migrants are displaced for the long term or are  permanently dispossessed, requiring governments and humanitarian agencies to adopt more flexible approaches to migrant and integration. The cost to the international community of forced migration is at least $8bn (£4.9bn) a year, according to the report.

New Human Trafficking Law to Make Prosecutions in Scotland Easier
It is hoped that the statutory aggravation legislation will make it easier to prosecute the perpetrators. The move was one of a series of measures agreed at a summit on human trafficking held in Edinburgh. The meeting came on the day it was revealed there were 93 suspected victims of the crime in Scotland last year. The inter-departmental ministerial group also showed the majority of trafficking victims north of the border came from Romania, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.