Human trafficking: Slave labor

Slavery in the 21st century? Who

could believe such a thing could exist.

Sadly, tragically, it does. It takes different forms in different countries. Sometimes whole families are trapped in debt bondage, and since their labor only pays off the interest, the indebtedness may be passed down for generations. Sometimes desperately poor parents with too many mouths to feed will sell a child to an agent who falsely promises that the child will send them money and maybe even get an education, while in reality the child

becomes someone else's property. Runaways and illegal migrants, young girls and boys may be imprisoned in sweatshops or brothels, private homes or factories, or co-opted into begging syndicates. Wages are meager or may consist of only a handful of rice or may be withheld altogether. Any protest is met with threats, violence and coercion. There is no way out -- that is slavery.