Slavery: Shall we archive it or not?

Most ancient cultures had slaves, people who were bought and sold and forced to work without being paid. The Great Pyramids in Egypt were built with slave labour and most people who worked on farms in the Middle Ages in Europe were also slaves. If your parents were slaves, then you automatically became a slave, or you could become a slave if your people lost a war, or if you owed money you could not pay.

By the 16th century most workers in Britain and other European countries were free (if not very well paid), but around this time Europeans, especially the British, started to trade in slaves from Africa. It was known as the triangular trade because there were three stages. First the British traders took goods to Africa, where these goods were exchanged for slaves. Then the slaves were taken to the West Indies and North America and sold to work growing sugarcane, tobacco, coffee and cotton. Finally, the products that the slaves had grown were sold in England. It is estimated that around 6 million Africans were taken to the Americas as slaves, with a third of them on British ships.

At least 15% of slaves died on the journey.

The Slave Trade made a great deal of money for Britain, but many people wanted it stopped. After a huge campaign, the slave trade was abolished in 1807. This was a great victory, but we must remember that children in Britain continued to be forced to work for little or no pay for many years after that, and that slavery, in different forms, continues today. Slavery did not end when the slave trade was officially abolished in 1807. It continues to exist around the world in many different ways. For instance, many people think that cotton is no longer grown using slaves. However, one of the world’s largest cotton producing countries was, until very recently, still forcing children to work picking cotton. And, while this seems to have stopped now, adults in this country are still having to work unpaid or pay a large fine.

It is not just the way that cotton is produced which can involve slavery. Many factories which produce clothing have such bad conditions that they are almost slave labour. Some workers are paid as little as 50 cents an hour, and factories often employ children. According to the International Labour Organisation, 170 million children are doing work which is unacceptable for their age. The cost of buying clothes is getting cheaper and cheaper, but who is paying the price? Food is another product which may involve slavery, especially chocolate. Cocoa for making chocolate is often grown by child slaves, some of whom have been stolen from their families. Other products which are often produced using slave labour include palm oil, diamonds and shrimps. Consumers need to start asking more questions about where the products they buy come from, and exactly how they are produced. Every item we buy has a back story. From electronics to textiles, from handmade carpets to coffee, tea and chocolate, each of these products might include child or adult slavery. Consider a product as innocent as chocolate. While the chocolate bar itself may have been produced in your country, the cocoa in the chocolate probably came from West Africa, where 60 per cent of the world’s cocoa is produced. As you read this, thousands of children and adults live in slave-like conditions on cocoa farms. Unknowingly, your purchase might support slavery. However, consumer demand for ethically-sourced products and services can send a powerful message to producers. Imagine if we all refused to purchase goods that have a back story of slavery. Company sales, and therefore profits, would fall. Look around at items in your home and workplace and ask yourself the simple question, ‘Where did this come from and who made it?’

Slavery today- According to the Global Slavery Index 2018, over 40 million people are victims of modern slavery, and of these, 15 million are in forced marriage. Slavery involves violence, physical or psychological, and control – often in the form of threats in order to generate profit. To quote Kevin Bales, ‘Slavery is when one person controls another, uses violence to maintain that control and exploits them economically.’ This violence may be physical and/or psychological, and the control may be verbal threats – but at the heart of slavery is exploitation and ‘ownership’ of another human being for profit. Forms of modern slavery include forced labour, human trafficking, commercial sexual exploitation, domestic servitude and forced marriage. Surprisingly and sadly, forced marriage is included. Forced marriage involves the same lack of choice, power imbalance, coercion and labour exploitation as other forms of slavery.

Slavery behind closed doors- Another form of slavery is domestic servitude. Across the globe, domestic workers, mostly women, migrate abroad to support their families back home. Employment agents in their country of origin promise a generous salary and good working conditions with a caring host family. This, in contrary , may be far from reality. Domestic workers are sometimes forced to work long hours and their passports and mobile phones are taken away. In extreme cases, behind closed doors of private homes, they are locked up, starved, deprived of sleep and often physically and sexually abused. They are trapped, scared and unfamiliar with their new surroundings. Domestic servitude happens globally, including in the UK.

Why didn’t I learn about modern slavery at school ? Did you ever learn about modern slavery at school? History lessons may have included the horrific practice of slavery, however, it was probably considered something that was very much ‘in the past’. But slavery still exists and it is the everyday reality for millions of people. It takes brave educators to raise awareness of the difficult, upsetting and invisible reality of modern slavery. The good news is that thousands of individuals and anti-slavery organisations are taking action. One such organisation is The NO Project, which focuses specifically on the education of youth and young adults. ‘Youth are the next generation of corporate leaders, policy makers and consumers,’ says the founder of The NO Project. ‘How we choose to spend our money says a lot about who we are. So, the question is – who are we? And remember, another time, in another place, that enslaved human being could be you.’