Modern Slavery Essay Example

Has slavery been completely eliminated, or does slavery still exist today? This is a question that not a lot of people reflect on because there is an understanding that slavery is not an issue anymore. To answer these questions, the slavery that you have learned in primary school has been resolved to an extent, however, there is a new form of slavery that is affecting individuals all around the world known as Modern Slavery. 

Modern slavery is a new uprising issue and the percentage is increasing more than historical slavery ever was. “Experts have calculated that roughly 13 million people were captured and sold as slaves between the 15th and 19th centuries; today an estimated 40.3 million people - more than three times the figure during the transatlantic slave trade - are living in some form of modern slavery, according to the latest published by the UNs International Labor Organization (ILO) and the Walk Free Foundation” (Modern Slavery page 1). These individuals are being forced to work against their will, being threatened by intimidation and coercion, and are placed in unsanitary living conditions. According to the Global Slavery Index, modern slavery is most prevalent in Africa followed by Asia and the Pacific, more specifically China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, India, Indonesia, Iran, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Philippines, and Russia. These countries comprise 60% of the population in modern slavery today (Modern Slavery page 3). 

In the reading, One in Every 200 People is a Slave by Kate Hodal discusses what Modern slavery is and the situations that are happening in these industries. When reading One in Every 200 People is a Slave, there were many elements that resonated with me. Modern slavery unfortunately is a greater scale example of a human right violation. How these forced workers are being treated in inhumane environments is concerning because this is a threat to humanity and the numbers of forced workers that are increasing are very worrisome. All the power and control these corporations possess, demonstrates that there are many more corporations using and manipulating this system to make their products. In the video, Nike Sweatshops by Jim Keady gives a first-hand experience what the workers in Indonesia, outside of the capital are working 12+ hours for Nike and are paid 1.25 dollars a day. Keady visits Indonesia with his colleague Leslie Kretzu and shows the world how these workers are living off 1.25 dollars a day. Keady explains that the houses that these individuals live in have no heating in the winter, no cooling in the summer. The unsanitary conditions are unbelievable because of the tight and compact spaces for families with children. “Out of a dollar and twenty-five, a day after you have paid your rent, water, electricity, and major transportation costs you’re going to be on average with roughly seven thousand rupiahs per day...that’s going to buy you two simple meals of rice and vegetables, a bag of peanuts, a bottle of iced tea and some dish detergent”. Evidently, what Keady and Kretzu have demonstrated is a human rights crisis that needs to be resolve in order for the country to develop. These corporations are forcing their workers to work more than full time with little pay, leaving them with no choice but to live a life that barely feeds them. This reading also resonated with me because as a mother, and any mother in this society, wants the best for their child. Learning about these children who are working to the point of exhaustion is very infuriating because they belong in a classroom, in a playground, or even at home, but not to work and take responsibilities. These companies are stripping away these innocent childrens lives. They are taking away their childhood and leaving them with memories of all the painful hard work that they had done.  

Being fortunate enough to live in a country that offers its citizens many opportunities, we become ignorant of other people’s situations and conditions. This reading has opened my eyes that modern slavery still exists; slavery never went away, it just upgraded to something new and unfortunate. Reading about people’s experiences and watching the video, Nike Sweatshop showed me what other individuals are going through in order to live. It is damaging to find out that companies like Nike, Adidas, Starbucks, Apple, Walmart and other multi million companies are paying their worker’s such low wages for 12+ hours in such harsh and unsanitary conditions. It makes me question everything I buy, thinking about the people who made the clothes I wear, pick the fruits and vegetables I eat and the electronics I use. How the social construct of modern slavery has progressed, has eerily become normalized and systemized in countries and corporations makes me question, how can one dismantle such a system where it has deeply stemmed into the productions of merchandise? There is so dismantling this issue when not everyone knows about what is happening behind the scenes. There are many people who just like me are not aware of these conditions that corporations force their workers in. This has taught me the situation these slave laborers go through and not speaking about this issue will further damage these low income workers, and progress this predicament even more. 

In order to take preemptive actions towards modern slavery, there has to be rules and regulations that companies need to abide by. Senator Josh Hawley presents a solution to end slave labor and to hold companies accountable for violating their worker’s rights. Hawley comments, “Corporate America and the celebrities that hawk their products have been playing this game for a long time—talk up corporate social responsibility and social justice at home while making millions of dollars off the slave labor that assembles their products. Executives build woke, progressive brands for American consumers, but happily outsource labor to Chinese concentration camps, all just to save a few bucks.” Senator Hawley proposes that “The Slave-Free Business Certification Act would require American corporations to disclose their supply chains and mandate that they never rely on forced or slave labor. Under this bill, corporations would be frequently audited and punished for failures to protect basic human rights.” This policy is much needed in order for workers to gain the rights that they deserve to have, and if companies do not follow these procedures they will be punished. Without this policy, as it is, companies are putting their workers through harsh conditions without worrying that they will have to be questioned. Another policy that needs to be implemented is legal age and regulations to work for these big companies. According to UNICEF, “ Nearly 1 in 10 children across the globe (around 152 million) are subjected to child labor, almost half of whom are in hazardous forms of work.” Child labor has many consequences which result in mental and bodily harm, even death (UNICEF). Taking children’s right to be a child and preventing them to continue their education will be detrimental to their health the future of the country. These children are the countries future, and it depends on these children to either lift up the country to be economically stable, or eventually, the country will deteriorate. The third policy that is very crucial to have in order for these policies to be put in place is frequent inspections of the working environment. Having frequent unannounced inspections will 1. make sure workers are safe and healthy 2. workers needs are being met, and 3. make sure the workers aren’t underage. Currently, there are no inspections in these work places and this is causing a problem. These corporations are not meeting the needs of these people and only paid them enough money not to die. Executing these policies thoroughly will change the lives of these workers. Having their human rights being met, them being paid well, children going to school and corporations being held accountable for the injustices they are causing will create a healthy and a constructive working environment. 

Modern Slavery is becoming an issue in many poor countries and many multi million corporations are taking advantage of these individuals in order to profit from them. This matter is being increasingly systemized and these workers are being challenged; fighting for their rights that is not being given to them. These affected countries are at stake because without the proper education and without a decent paycheck, workers will keep suffering and so will each of these counrtries. Spreading awareness and using our platform as a learner, an educator, a mother, no matter what status you have, saying something and teaching people about situations that are violating workers humans rights will end modern slavery. 

Sources

Child Labour. 12 Mar. 2021, www.unicef.org/protection/child-labour. 

“One in Every 200 People is a Slave.”

“Senator Josh Hawley's Bill to End Slave Labor.” The American Conservative, www.theamericanconservative.com/state-of-the-union/senator-josh-hawleys-bill-to-end-slave-labor/. 

TeamSweat, director. Nike Sweatshops: Behind the Swoosh. YouTube, YouTube, 28 July 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5uYCWVfuPQ.