Ending Slavery: How We Free Today’s Slaves

Customer Reviews

Modern slavery is largely hidden from view because, unlike in the 19th century and earlier, slavery today is illegal everywhere and- like drugs- the problem has gone underground. There are an estimated 27 million slaves in the world today – by comparison in the entire 350 year history of the African slave trade, about 13 million slaves were brought to the New World. When talking about modern slavery this comparison to the African slave trade is often made, and for good reason, our culture is saturated with the history of slavery from the movie “Roots”, the book “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” or Civil War history. If this cultural outrage of history were channeled to help modern slaves alive and toiling away today, imagine the good, but it starts with awareness. Most people don’t know the basics of modern slavery: What is a modern slave? Where are they? What do they do? What can we do about it? This book answers those questions.

As the cover-picture of the book suggests, a happy discovery awaits within. After slavery comes freedom. New found freedom is one of the most rewarding experiences imaginable, both for slaves and those who help free them. It is no accident Lincoln, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Desmond Tutu and others are among the most revered and popular leaders; or that the first and oldest human rights organization in the world is an anti-slave group (which still exists in England, connected to Kevin Bales). The struggle for freedom is far from over, and its happening everywhere from the suburbs of Washington DC to the cocoa (chocolate) plantations of Africa. Take the time to learn how slavery impacts us all, and what to do about it.

There are a number of free films online that tie into the book. In particular _Slavery: A Global Investigation _and _Dreams Die Hard_ detail some of the same people and stories in the book, including interviews with Bales.

We do not address problems of global poverty and slavery with our sympathy or pity. Bales’ ability to articulate concrete, positive steps is invaluable.

This book goes far beyond its issue. By addressing the tangible, achieveable mechanisms by which we address the roots and causes of slavery, Bales also manages to shine a light toward ways we can help smooth the iniquities and anti-democratic tendencies resulting from the current mania for “globalization.”

Ending Slavery is not luxury reading, a do-gooder tome for those of us with the leisure to care about poor foreigners in unimaginable situations. It’s a technical manual for how we in the First World can save ourselves. As Bales has previously written (I hope I get this quote right), “slave labor anywhere threatens free labor everywhere.” Slavery in a globalized world is not only wrong, but dangerous.