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Modern Slavery in AmericaHuman Trafficking Is Big Business and IllegalImmigrants come to America often looking for a brighter future, but in some recent cases there are people who find themselves sold to families and worked as a slave.
Slavery was a terrible chapter in American history and it was thought to have been over. Made illegal long ago during the 19th century, it is still in business today. Human Trafficking is known as Modern Slavery. According to website USINFO.state.gov, Mark Taylor, the senior coordinator for the State Department's Office to Monitor, has put the global value of trafficked labor at approximately $9.5 billion annually. Many of the victims are often women and children. The conviction of those who have participated in Human Trafficking has increased to 109 percent in five years according to the Department of Justice. Human trafficking is considered a heinous crime and human rights abuse. USINFO.state.gov reported that Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales said the victims of traffickers frequently are "vulnerable people who hope for a better job or a better education or a better life- only to fall prey to someone's evil plans of servitude and slavery." Sometimes victims are lured by promises of a better life. One of those victims was Given Kachepa, 19, from Zambia, now living in Colleyville, TX. Kachepa was orphaned at age 9, and then at age 11 he was brought to the United States to be part of a boys' choir, and according to blacknews.com he was told he would raise money for Zambian schools, siblings, a salary and an education. It turned out to be a lie nothing he was promised was completed and he and the other boys were made to sing 4-7 concerts each day. Blacknews.com reported that, "Food was withheld as a punishment and they received no education." Freed from servitude he is now dedicated to helping others who are victims of human trafficking. Getting infomation out about Human Trafficking will help in combating this growing issue. According to blacknews.com, "it is estimated that there are 27 million slaves in the world today, more than any other time in human history. Of those 13-17,000 are trafficked in the United States each year." Slavery in the United States consist of violence, no pay, and slaves are forced to work in agriculture, domestic service, prostitution, restaurants, and begging. The most common use for slaves in human trafficking is for sexual purposes. Kevin Bales of Free the Slaves told blacknews.com, "Slavery is not a horror safely consigned to the past; it continues to exist throughout the world, even in America. Slavery is not legal anywhere but thriving everywhere. Across the world slaves work and sweat and build and suffer."
The copyright of the article Modern Slavery in America in American Affairs is owned by Danielle Dawkins. Permission to republish Modern Slavery in America in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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