Slavery has not been consigned to history

[struggle4progress]

By Tim Smith
Last modified: January 02. 2007 8:42AM

... We are backing Anti-Slavery International’s on-line petition which demands world leaders take action to help free at least 12 million modern day slaves ...

“The word ‘slavery’ conjures up images of abuses that many believe were consigned to history. But the truth is, slavery continues today. At least 12 million people worldwide are forced to work through the threat or use of violence. They are denied freedom, dehumanised and treated as property or bought and sold.

“Even though it is illegal under international law, slavery is found in most countries and no region is free from this abuse.

“In Sudan, thousands of people have been abducted and forced into slavery; in the Philippines, young girls are used as domestic slaves; boys as young as four years old are abducted from their families in South Asia to be used as camel jockeys in the Gulf; young men in Brazil are used as forced labour to clear the Amazon making way for cattle farms; and women and girls are trafficked from Albania and forced into prostitution” ...
http://www.theroyalgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070102/NEWS/101020181
http://www.antislavery.org/2007/actionsign.html