Modern Day Slavery

[praxis1966]

I already posted a link to the article in the Newswire, but I&#39;ve started this thread for discussion purposes. Apparently, a work camp employing slave labor was just busted the other day here in Florida. Makes me real proud that I&#39;m a Floridian (<-----note the sarcasm here).

The Newswire Thread (http://www.revolutionaryleft.com/index.php?showtopic=37141)

[cormacobear]

I have a bunch of links regarding slavery today I&#39;ll post them by the end of the weekend. Good article I have nothing on american slavery

[Ian]

Although not Slavery in the eyes of the law in Australia (similar to the U&#036;A) the &#39;Correctional&#39; System is pretty terrible, 83 cents an hour isn&#39;t too far removed from fuck-all an hour. The prison systems of the west seem to be quite effective at this wage slavery game, maybe the rest of society will learn a thing or two from them in years to come

[codyvo]

Yeah I read about this in The Militant, I also live in Florida, it sucks here, their have been five accounts of slavery in the past five years here, really sickening.

[praxis1966]

Originally posted by [email protected] 25 2005, 06:48 AM
Although not Slavery in the eyes of the law in Australia (similar to the U&#036;A) the &#39;Correctional&#39; System is pretty terrible, 83 cents an hour isn&#39;t too far removed from fuck-all an hour. The prison systems of the west seem to be quite effective at this wage slavery game, maybe the rest of society will learn a thing or two from them in years to come
And the thing is, in cases like the U&#036;, alot of these prisoners are doing work on behalf of for-profit business, unlike in the past where inmates did public works projects. To give an example, in California, there&#39;s a prison where the inmates have been running a call-center for Continental Airlines which handles the overwhelming bulk of bookings made over the phone. It&#39;s been going on since the early 1990s, so, chances are, if you&#39;ve made flight reservations over the phone with Continental in the last 10 years or so you were speaking to a prisoner when you did.

This usually occurs in places where prison administration and operation has been privatized. Some of the largest prison exclusive corporations are companies like CCA, which in my hometown allowed an inmate to die of an overdose after they refused a request for medical treatment. The track records of these companies are atrocious in the way of human rights violations, let alone the wage slavery issue. Anyhow, like Codyvo said, there have been alot of outright slavery cases in Florida over the last 10 years or so. It&#39;s totally disgracefull.

[Anarchist Freedom]

Slavery is the worlds 3rd largest illegal Trade. 2nd is weapons 1st is drugs.

[cormacobear]

Slaves are cheaper now than at any time in the last thousand years. With some of the more conservative estimates around 27 million. Endentured servitude accounting for the largest potion of this deplorable trade in human suffering. The four countries with the lion&#39;s share of these being India, Pakistan, Bangledesh, and Nepal.

The U.S. government estimates that between 14,000 and 17,500 are smuggled into the united states where they are sold into the sex trade, as domestic slaves, or agricultural slaves. Current estimates place the number of current foriegn born slaves in the U.S. at between 52,000 and 87,000. ( Canada likely having figures comparable to pop. size although the article was conspicuously silent for a Canadian paper)

According to a Department of Justice report released in June 600,000- 800,000 are illegaly and forcibly transported across international borders every year, and millions more within their own countries. Females making up about 80%, of these 70% are bound for the sex trade. The United Nations estimates 9.5 billion dollars went into criminal coffers from slaving last year, behind only narcotics, and arms. Slavery is expected at current rates to pass both these revenue streams in ten years.

Brazil was the last country to officially abolish slavery in 1888, however it has turned a blind eye to the problem for most of the last century. As many as 40,000 slaves are currently being held under some of the worlds worst conditions in the Brazilian rainforest, according to their own government. Most involved in coal mining and deforestation.

Brazils new president has set out to change this. Doubling his governments efforts, with some promising results in the first year. President Lula&#39;s well armed mobile anti slavery units, with the aid of the Catholic Church&#39;s Pastoral Land Commission, where freed slaves are given an oppertunity to heal and rebuild their lives, have freed 4, 932 slaves so far this year more than double those freed in the previous 12 months.

In 1850 a slave cost about &#036;40,000 of todays dollars, currently you can buy a life on the Ivory Coast for 30 us dollars.