Job title: 2nd year student
Educational institution: Vladimir State University named after A.G. and N.G. Stoletovs
Locality: Vladimir region, city of Vladimir
Name of material: essay
Subject:"Does slavery exist in modern world? What are its features?"
Publication date: 28.11.2017
Chapter: higher education
is being considered
existence
modern society, about its forms and methods of influencing humans. Her
the main idea is that no matter how we try to fight it,
in a capitalist society its existence is inevitable.
Key words: slavery, capitalism.
In this article, the question of the existence of slavery in modern society, its
forms and methods of influencing a person. Its main idea is that no matter how we
try to fight it, in capitalist society its existence is inevitable. Key words: slavery,
Does slavery exist in modern society? What are his
peculiarities?
Currently, we are feeling the impact of some
social
factors
life by doing
Society
neglects
spiritual
prefers
material, which, in their opinion, will bring much more benefit. So,
some start working in a hated company, take out loans, becoming
chronic debtors. Others spend considerable sums on clothes made from
boutiques, gadgets and parties in nightclubs. Therefore such dependence
people can be equated to slavery. But the slave system appeared in
Slavery existed in the world long before there was a state
called "Ancient Rome". Here's what we read about the history of slavery in
famous
encyclopedic
dictionaries:
“Slavery appears with the development of agriculture approximately 10,000
use
p l e n n i k o v
agricultural work and forced them to work for themselves. In the early
civilizations
remained
source
source
were
criminals
pay your debts. The growth of industry and trade further contributed to
more intensive spread of slavery. There is a demand for labor
a force that could produce goods for export. And therefore slavery
reached its peak in the Greek states and the Roman Empire.
Slaves performed the main work here. Most of them worked in
mines,
handicraft
production
agriculture.
used in household as servants, and sometimes as doctors or
poets. In the ancient world, slavery was perceived as a natural law
existed
few
writers,
influential people saw in him evil and injustice.”
modern
exists,
taking
forms: economic,
social,
spiritual
kinds. In addition, some government agencies protect forms
modern slavery and define them as “good”.
relevance
is
modern
feels
free
personal
self-determination,
existing
called
"debt
economics",
imposed
ideological
traditions of culture and morality. Therefore, it is important to understand what depends on us in
this situation and give it an adequate assessment.
Today, slavery has completely different characteristics. It's gone
underground, that is, it became illegal, or acquired forms that allowed it
coexist with modern laws.
Work
System
public
relationships,
it is allowed for a person (slave) to be owned by another person
(Mr.
slave owner,
states.
physical,
I exist
“Oxygen”, 2014. – 166 p.
"economic"
"social"
"hired"
"capitalist"
“indirect”, “spiritual”, “debt”, etc.
For example, “social” slavery in the modern world has divided society
into classes of rich and poor. Since it is very difficult to get into the rich class,
If you are born in it, many people become hostages
his position, throwing all his strength into achieving the level of this class.
“Spiritual slavery” in the modern world is characterized by the fact that people
often face depression, psychological disorders,
makes them withdraw into themselves, that is, become a slave to their consciousness.
most
in detail
consider
"economic
slavery". This
human dependence on economic factors as forms of the slave system.
Reasons
development
economic
capitalist
Modern capitalism and various forms of slavery represent
increase
capital
appropriation
product,
produced
worker.
No one doubts that we live today under capitalism
(our authorities, however, do not like the word “capitalism”, replacing it completely
the meaningless phrase “market economy”)
and therefore
the modern economy rests on the fact that everyone does their
work: someone manages, and someone does the dirty work - isn’t this
an example of slave-owning relations?
A modern person working under an employment contract sometimes has no time
think about analogies and compare yourself to a slave Ancient Rome. More
hint
similar
analogy,
be offended.
Especially if a person occupies some kind of leadership position, if
automobile,
apartment
attributes
modern
Katasonov V.Yu. Capitalism. History and ideology of “monetary civilization” / Scientific editor
O.A.Platonov. – M.: Institute of Russian Civilization, 2013. – 1072 p.
"civilization".
differences
classic
Ancient
modern
employee.
For example,
received a bowl of food, and the second one receives money to buy this bowl.
stop
last
has
the “privilege” of ceasing to be a slave: that is, to be dismissed.
Even though the work that people do is paid, and,
it would seem that they cease to depend on anyone, in fact it is
a myth, since most of the money received for their work they
spent on various payments and taxes, which then go to the budget
states.
We should not forget the fact that we live in a modern society
"civilization"
Beautiful",
meet all the standards of the modern “elite”, regardless of
what is his income? But the remaining funds are sometimes not enough to
satisfaction
needs.
turns on
mechanism
economy
coercion
start
sinking deeper into debt.
Such a phenomenon as inflation is not uncommon and, it would seem, it is understandable, but
rising prices in the absence of growth in worker wages provides hidden
stealth robbery. All this makes the average person
kneel lower and lower, bowing before the modern
bourgeoisie, making him a real slave.
Thus, we can conclude that no matter what times come, in
conditions
capitalist
civilization
Society
free
fully.
limited in its capabilities, there will always be someone who subordinates and who
obeys. Whether it is problems in his mind or state policy, in
Katasonov V.Yu. From slavery to slavery. From Ancient Rome to Modern Capitalism, publishing house
“Oxygen”, 2014. – 166 p.
where he lives, problems at work or in social life, in all these
spheres, a person is subjected to hidden slavery.
Bibliography
Katasonov
Ancient
modern capitalism,
publishing house "Oxygen", 2014. - 166 p.
ISBN: 978-5-901635-40-7
Katasonov
Capitalism.
ideology
"monetary
civilization"
editor
O.A.Platonov.
Institute
Russian civilization, 2013. – 1072 p. ISBN 978-5-4261-0054-1
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE OF THE RF
Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution
higher professional education
"Vladimirsky State University name
Alexander Grigorievich and Nikolai Grigorievich Stoletov"
Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies
Essay on the topic of:
“Does slavery exist in modern society? What are
its features?
Performed by a student from group TSB-116
Sakhanina Ekaterina Alexandrovna
Checked:
Associate Professor of the Department of Science and Technology
Alexandrova Olga Stepanovna
According to Global Slavery Index 2018, more than 40 million people around the world are subject to slavery-like conditions. A study published by the Walk Free Foundation defines modern slavery as human trafficking, forced labor or debt bondage. The report also addresses situations such as forced marriage, child trafficking and exploitation.
Here's what the top ten countries with the largest number of modern slaves look like.
Estimated prevalence of modern slavery by country (10 countries with the highest prevalence of slavery are noted. Victims per 1,000 population are estimated).
10. Iran
Modern slavery in Iran affects approximately 16.2 people for every thousand inhabitants. This country is home to some of the worst forms of violence against people - organ harvesting and child smuggling. Women and girls from Iran are trafficked across the border and sold into neighboring countries.
Iran is also used as a transition zone for human traffickers operating between South Asia and Europe. Although the Iranian government has technically made slavery legal, its slow response and lack of resolutions on the issue indicate that the situation with modern slaves will not be resolved for a long time.
9. Cambodia
About 16.8 people out of every 1000 people in the country are in slavery. The biggest problem regarding modern slavery in Cambodia is human trafficking. Women and children in Cambodia are either sold by families or forced into forced labor or forced prostitution. They are also forced into early and unwanted marriages.
8. Pakistan
Debt slavery or bonded labor is the most common form of modern slavery in Pakistan, according to the Global Slavery Index. It is most common in the provinces of Punjab and Sindh. At the national level, 16.8 out of every 1,000 Pakistanis are “debt slaves.” Poor families fall into slavery after borrowing money from a rich man. All family members are forced to work long hours for low wages. wages, of which half remains with the lender. This loan sometimes has to be “repaid” by children and grandchildren, and until then the entire family will remain living property. And for women this is one of the...
In Pakistan, many rich people own brick kilns, coal mines, and carpet factories. These enterprises widely use the labor of modern slaves.
7. South Sudan
One of the youngest countries in the world is also one of the leading countries in the modern slave trade. The victims are 20.5 people for every thousand inhabitants. For decades, South Sudan and North Sudan were areas ravaged by brutal civil war and genocide. It is difficult to get an accurate picture of the situation in South Sudan as the country is plagued by many conflicts.
6. Mauritania
The country, located in western Africa, is known for being one of the largest sources of human trafficking in the world. Experts estimate that 21.4 out of every 1,000 Mauritanians are victims of the slave trade.
Not in the country official programs support for victims of the slave trade. In Mauritania, there is a phenomenon where forced labor is passed down from generation to generation, causing a cyclical problem.
5. Afghanistan
This small country is both the source and location of the illegal slave trade. It is estimated that about 22.2 out of every 1,000 people in Afghanistan are modern slaves. Many victims (and often children) are trafficked to neighboring countries such as Pakistan and India.
One of the most common forms of slave labor in Afghanistan is forced begging. As with South Sudan, it is difficult to get a full picture of the scale of the problem in Afghanistan due to frequent internal conflicts.
4. Central African Republic
Human trafficking is rampant. Many of the victims, estimated at 22.3 for every thousand people, are children. Child slaves were often forced into the army. And the Central African Republic government's efforts to combat human trafficking have been criticized by Walk Free Foundation experts as insufficient.
3. Burundi
Burundi has the third highest rate of forced labor in the world, involving every 40 people in a thousand. Like other countries on this list, Burundi suffers from a weak government and a very poor quality of life. Many children in this country do not go to school. HIV infection rates are also high in Burundi, with about one in 15 adults having it. Most slave labor in Burundi is forced upon citizens by the state.
2. Eritrea
The Eritrean government, according to a report by the Walk Free Foundation, is “a repressive regime that abuses its conscription system to keep its citizens in forced labor for decades.” About 93 out of every 1,000 people in Eritrea are victims of modern slavery.
1. North Korea
One in ten people in North Korea is considered a modern slave. Moreover, “the clear majority is forced to work for the state.” To compile the “slave” rating, the researchers spoke with 50 defectors from North Korea. They spoke about the inhumane conditions and forced unpaid labor of adults and children involved in agriculture, construction and road construction. There is also speculation that the North Korean government is sending workers abroad (including to textile factories in neighboring China).
At the same time, one of the defectors named Zhang Jin-Sung said that North Koreans do not consider themselves slaves. “They’ve been encouraged all their lives to think that whatever they do for the state is good,” he said.
Overall, 2.6 million North Koreans live under modern conditions of slavery, the study said. That is why North Korea ranks first in the ranking of states with the largest number of slaves.
Who is responsible for modern slavery and what can be done?
The 2018 Global Slavery Index measures more than just the extent of modern slavery in different countries, but also steps taken by governments to address this issue. The index summarizes various estimates of the prevalence of slavery, measures of the vulnerability of a country's population, and the actions of governments. It provides insight into how best to respond to modern slavery, as well as how to predict and prevent future oppression of man by man.
The report says responsibility for modern slavery lies with developed countries, as they import $350 billion worth of goods from developing countries annually. These products are produced under questionable conditions.
Products that may be associated with the use of slave labor include: coal, coca, cotton, timber and fish. The study also says two problems allow modern slavery to flourish. The first is repressive governments that use forced labor. And the second is conflicts in different countries that lead to destruction social structures and existing public protection systems.
Russia's place in the list of modern slavery
Russia did not make it into the top 10 countries in terms of the ratio of free citizens to modern slaves. There are 794 thousand slaves in our country, according to the Walk Free Foundation. She ranks 64th in the ranking. But in terms of the total number of slaves on the territory of the state, Russia still made it into the top ten. Its neighbors were India, China and North Korea.
Exactly 155 years ago in Russia it was abolished serfdom. We are publishing an article written three years ago, but still popular with our readers.
In 2013, news agencies reported a seemingly fantastic fact: in the state of Mississippi (USA), slavery was formally legalized until February 7th. Due to a bureaucratic error, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which ended slavery and was ratified by the US Congress back in 1865, was not formally legal force within this state. In 1995, Mississippi ratified the amendment, but did not submit a copy of the document confirming the abolition of slavery to the US Federal Register.
Let us trace how the fate of this shameful invention of mankind developed throughout history. Let us note that 50-60 years ago slavery existed in some states of the East and Africa. And Mauritania was the last to officially ban slavery; this happened just 32 years ago.
Venice— 960 g.
London— 1102: the slave trade, slaves and serfdom were prohibited. It is curious that in England as a whole slavery continued for another century.
Iceland- 1117
City Korcula(territory of modern Croatia) - 1214
England, 2nd stage - 1215 Magna Carta in its 30th paragraph, better known as Habeas Corpus, contains a law prohibiting slavery in English law.
Bologna- 1256 The collection Liber Paradisus proclaimed the prohibition of slavery and the slave trade, serfdom in Bologna, all slaves on its territory were freed.
Norway— 1274. The law prohibiting slavery was contained in the Land Law (Landslova).
France, territorial mainland - 1315
Sweden- 1335
Dubrovnik Republic(territory of modern Croatia) - 1416
Spain- November 20, 1542 King Carlos I of Spain approved a law against the enslavement of the American Indians.
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth- 1588 The law prohibited slavery, but serfdom was not prohibited.
Portugal, 1st stage - 1595 The trade in Chinese slaves was legally prohibited.
Japan- 1500s. The law prohibited slavery, but did not prohibit serfdom.
Portugal, 2nd stage - February 19, 1624. The King of Portugal prohibited keeping Chinese and slaves throughout the kingdom.
Chile— 1683 Royal Spanish law ends slavery in the colony. In practice, slavery in Chile continued for almost a century and a half, until 1823.
Rhode Island- May 18, 1652 The former English colony was the first in North America banned slavery.
England, 3rd stage - 1701 The High Court of England freed all slaves who arrived in the country.
Russian empire— 1723. The decree of Peter the Great banned the slave trade, but did not prohibit serfdom (repealed in 1861).
Portugal, 3rd stage - 1761 Slavery was prohibited both on the mainland and in the Indian colonies.
Madeira Island— 1777
State of Vermont(from 1777 to 1791 - independent Republic of Vermont) - 1777
Scotland— 1778
State of Pennsylvania(USA) - 1780 Anti-slavery law freed child slaves. The law became an example for other northern states. The last slave was freed in 1847.
Massachusetts- 1783
Crimean Khanate— 1783 Catherine II’s decree abolished slavery.
Bukovina(as part of Austria-Hungary) - 1783. The decree banning slavery was signed on June 19, 1783 by Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II.
Sierra Leone— 1787 Freed slaves (351 Africans) move to West Africa from Great Britain.
Upper Canada(British colony in North America) - 1793
France, First Republic - 1794 In 1802, Napoleon I reinstated slavery in the French colonies.
New York State(USA) - 1799 Child slaves and all common slaves were finally freed for almost 30 years. The last slave was freed on July 4, 1827.
Lower Canada(province of the British Empire in North America) - 1803
State of New Jersey(USA) -1804 Law prohibits slavery and frees child slaves.
Haiti— 1804 Slavery abolished with the declaration of independence.
USA- 1807 On March 2, 1807, US President Thomas Jefferson signed an anti-slavery law. The law prohibited import slaves and took effect on January 1, 1808.
Great Britain— 1807 The British Parliament passed the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act, outlawing the slave trade in the colonies. Slavery was finally abolished in the colonies in 1833.
Prussia— 1807 Serfdom was abolished.
Great Britain— 1807 The Royal Navy begins an operation against the slave trade on the coast of West Africa and frees about 150 thousand slaves by 1865.
Mexico- 1810. The last slave was freed in 1829.
Spanish colonies— 1811 Spain abolished slavery in its colonies, with the exception of Cuba, Puerto Rico and Santo Domingo.
Netherlands- 1814
Uruguay- 1814
Portuguese colonies north of the equator- 1815. For the ban on slavery in the colonies of Portugal, Great Britain paid her 750 thousand pounds. Slavery was finally banned in the Portuguese colonies in 1869.
Estland— 1816 Serfdom was abolished.
Courland(Kurzeme, territory of modern Latvia) - 1817. Serfdom was abolished.
Cuba, Puerto Rico and Santo Domingo- 1817 Spain paid Great Britain about 400 thousand pounds to end the slave trade. In Cuba, slavery was finally abolished only in 1886.
Livonia— 1819 Serfdom was abolished.
Greece- 1822
Central American Republic- 1824
Uruguay- 1830
Bolivia— 1831
British colonies West Indies, Mauritius and South Africa— 1833-1834 The British law prohibiting slavery in the colonies freed about 760 thousand slaves.
Texas(Mexican province) - 1835 President Anastasio Bustamante proclaimed the abolition of slavery in Texas. Clashes between American settlers and Mexican troops led to the defeat of Mexico and the declaration of independence of Texas, where slavery remained until 1865.
Tunisia— 1846 Bey (ruler) of Tunisia ends slavery under pressure from Britain.
African possessions of the Ottoman Empire— 1847
Saint Barthélemy Island(former French possession, passed to Sweden) - 1847
State of Pennsylvania(USA) - 1847
West Indian Colonies(Denmark possessions) - 1848
All colonies of France and Denmark— 1848
New Granada(Spanish Viceroyalty in South America, which included the territories of modern Colombia, Venezuela, Panama and Ecuador) - 1851.
Kingdom of Hawaii— 1852 Land slavery (serfdom) was abolished.
Argentina— 1853
Peru— 1854
Venezuela— 1854
Moldova— 1855 Serfdom was partially abolished.
Wallachia— 1856 Serfdom was partially abolished.
Dutch colonies— 1863
Southern states of the USA- 1865 In 1865, the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution was adopted, prohibiting slavery throughout the country.
Alaska— 1870 The United States abolished slavery in Alaska after purchasing the territory from Russia.
Puerto Rico— 1873
Golden shore(British colony in the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa) - 1874
Bulgaria— 1879
Ottoman Empire— 1882
Brazil— 1888
Congo, Ottoman Empire and East African coast- 1890 The official ban on slavery and the slave trade on land and sea was adopted at the Conference in Brussels.
Korea— 1894
Madagascar— 1896 France abolished slavery in its protectorate.
Zanzibar— 1897
 |
| A group of slaves and Arab slave traders on board a ship. Zanzibar, late XIX V. |
Siam— 1897. Slavery was finally banned in 1912.
Ethiopia— 1902. Slavery was finally banned in 1942.
China- 1906
Nepal— 1921
Morocco— 1922
Afghanistan— 1923
Iraq— 1924
Iran— 1928
Abyssinia— 1935 The abolition of slavery was proclaimed by the High Commissioner of Italian East Africa, General Emilio De Bono.
Northern Nigeria— 1936 Great Britain officially abolished slavery in its protectorate.
Ethiopia— 1942
Prohibition of slavery in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (clause 4) - 1948
Qatar— 1952
Tibet— 1959 China abolished slavery in the Tibet Autonomous Region.
Nigeria— 1960
Saudi Arabia— 1962
Yemen— 1962
United United Arab Emirates — 1963
Oman— 1970
Mauritania— 1981
 |
| Fragment of a monument to slavery. Stonetown, Tanzania. Photo: Eric Lafforgue |
With the legal oversight corrected and slavery de jure abolished in the United States, its history is formally over. However, in fact, treating a person as a thing still takes place in our lives, and slave labor is still used in various countries and regions of the globe.
Slavery did not become a thing of the past, but instead became a big and profitable business. We may not notice it, but today there are several tens of millions of people in the world who work against their will. It is possible that every day we buy goods in stores that are made by their own hands - new shoes or even smartphones. Apparat studied a report by human rights organization Walk Free and compiled several maps that explain the phenomenon of modern slavery.
What is labor slavery: The world has changed somewhat, although there are still examples of classical slavery in the manner of Ancient Rome on the planet. But the authors of the Walk Free report understand modern slavery as any control over people, due to which they are deprived of their basic freedoms - the freedom to change jobs, the freedom to move from one place to another, the freedom to independently dispose of their own bodies. Obviously, this is usually done with the goal of making a profit. The number of labor slaves includes children extracting “blood diamonds” in the mines of the Congo, who have lost their passports, prostitutes from of Eastern Europe or migrant workers from Central Asia held in inhumane conditions.
How big of a problem is this? Huge. According to the Walk Free report, there are now almost 36 million people in the world working against their will. Slavery became a large and profitable, albeit hidden in the shadows, business. It is possible that every day you use things that were created with the help of slaves - this could be your latest smartphone, or frozen shrimp bought at the supermarket. The International Labor Organization estimates annual revenue from illegal forced labor at $150 billion.
How much can you trust this data? It is impossible to accurately determine the number of labor slaves on the planet - criminals who sell women and businessmen who use children in factories do not keep statistics, which they carefully submit to the tax service every quarter. Therefore, researchers rely on anonymous sociological surveys and extrapolation of the data obtained. But reports from others international organizations also estimate the scale of modern slavery at several tens of millions of people. Walk Free is a newly launched fund that is backed by many well-known businessmen, such as Virgin founder Richard Branson and Australian billionaire Andrew Forrest.
Russia, Ukraine and Central Asia
Situation in the region: About 2.5 million modern slaves live here - less than 10% of them total number on the planet. The authors of the report call Russia, as the richest country in the region, a “hub of forced labor” in Eurasia - imagine a huge airport where illegal workers come from all nearby countries. The problem of modern slavery is best solved by the Georgian authorities, according to Walk Free.
Uzbekistan. In the fall of every year, the cotton harvest begins in Uzbekistan - the country's main export item. Thousands of people - students, officials and farmers - are taking to the fields under pressure from the state: they are threatened with being expelled from the university or fired from their jobs. Every year people die while picking cotton. Recently, under pressure from international partners, Tashkent began to gradually abandon the use of child labor in the fields. But this has led to increased workload for adults.
North Africa and Middle East
Situation in the region: Abundance natural resources brings large numbers of people from Africa and Asia to the Middle East. Many of them are engaged in low-paid hard labor - working on construction sites or serving local residents. Often, the employer deprives them of documents and prohibits them from leaving the country. The situation has been exacerbated by the civil war in Syria and the Islamic State campaign in Iraq, with hundreds of thousands of refugees flocking to neighboring states in search of safety.
Country worth paying attention to: Qatar. In eight years, the small but very rich in oil and gas state on the shores of the Persian Gulf is due to host the next World Cup. For this event, the authorities of the absolute monarchy are building spectacular futuristic stadiums and entire cities in the desert. This is done by the hands of hundreds of thousands of immigrant construction workers from India, Nepal and other developing countries. The Guardian newspaper, in its investigation, describes the conditions in which visitors are forced to work: their passports are taken away, they are kept in unacceptable conditions and are poorly fed. As a result, more than a thousand people have already died since construction began. This is partly to blame for the so-called Kafala system, a Middle Eastern variation of serfdom, according to which a guest worker cannot leave the country without the permission of his employer. The authors of the Walk Free report note that, given its almost limitless economic opportunities, Qatar could do more to combat labor slavery.
Tropical Africa
Situation in the region: Poverty and hunger civil wars, climate disasters, political instability - all this contributes to the constant migration of the population of “Black Africa” from rural areas to cities. Often those who went searching better life people end up in slavery.
Country worth paying attention to: Mauritania. This West African state was the last in the world to ban slavery - only in 1980. However, more than a hundred thousand people still remain deprived of free will: slavery is too strongly intertwined with the local culture and built into the mechanisms of Mauritanian society. The slave owners are usually white Berbers, and the slaves are black Berbers. The government of the country is making attempts to change the situation that has developed over centuries, but not too actively. And at the beginning of this month, when mysterious circumstances Biram Dah Abeid, one of the most famous anti-slavery activists in Mauritania and a candidate in the country's previous presidential elections, was arrested. You can read more about Abeid in an article in The New Yorker magazine.
Southeast Asia and Oceania
Situation in the region: Asia is the mecca of forced labor. Almost two-thirds of all people on the planet who can be considered modern slaves live here. The large number of slaves is due to the fact that the region is the main production base of the world economy, providing factories from all over the world with cheap labor.
Country worth paying attention to: India. Here, vast opportunities open up for a person to end up in slavery. Forced marriage, sexual exploitation, child labor, illegal human trafficking - every form of modern slavery you can think of is available. Women and representatives of lower castes are especially susceptible to them, and in total the number of enslaved people exceeds fourteen million. Over the past few years, the Indian government has been trying to combat what is happening, but given the scale of the problem and the relative poverty of the country, this may take a very long time.
South and North America
Situation in the region: A relatively prosperous region: slightly more than one million people are in labor slavery. The USA, Canada and other developed American countries are making great efforts to combat the problem.
Country worth paying attention to: Haiti. In one of the poorest countries in America, the custom of “restavek” is still popular, when parents send their children to rich families in order to provide them with food and a minimum education. In practice, such children often do dirty housework (Russian Reporter has a huge series of photo reports on this topic). The situation worsened noticeably after the 2010 earthquake and the subsequent humanitarian disaster: Haitians forced the children of their dead relatives into labor slavery because they could not support them. According to Walk Free, there are now more than 200,000 slaves living in Haiti. Most of them are children.
Western Europe
Situation in the region: Europe, in the context of forced labor, is the most prosperous region on the planet, according to the report's authors. Although there are hundreds of thousands of people in modern slavery, the countries of the European Union are fighting its manifestations most actively. Sweden and Holland have the most effective policies.
Country worth paying attention to: Türkiye. The country with the maximum number of modern jobs in Europe is almost two hundred thousand people. Some of the main problems are forced child marriage and sexual exploitation.
Cover Art: Fred Wilson
“People are taken to order”
Every day, thousands of people flock to Moscow from regions and neighboring countries to work. Some of them disappear without a trace, not having time to leave the capital's station. Novaya Gazeta studied the Russian labor slavery market.
Those who fight
Oleg asks not to name the place of our meeting or even the region. The case takes place in the industrial zone of a small town. Oleg “guides” me by phone, and when I reach the “Tire Service” sign, he says: “Wait, I’ll be right there.” Arrives in 10 minutes.
- It's not easy to find you.
- That's the whole point.
The conversation takes place behind a plywood shed. There are garages and warehouses around.
– I started fighting slavery in 2011, says Oleg. – A friend told me how she bought a relative from a brick factory in Dagestan. I didn’t believe it, but it became interesting. I went myself. In Dagestan, I visited factories with local guys, posing as a brick buyer. At the same time, I asked the workers if there were any forced laborers among them. It turned out yes. With those who were not afraid, we agreed to escape. Then we managed to take out five people.
After the release of the first slaves, Oleg sent out a press release to the media. But the topic did not arouse interest.
– Only one activist from the movement got in touch "League of Free Cities": They have a small newspaper - about two hundred people probably read it. But after the publication, a woman from Kazakhstan called me and told me that her relative was being held in grocery store V Golyanovo(district in Moscow. – I.ZH.). Remember this scandal? Unfortunately, it was the only one, and even ineffective - the case was closed.
About how much the topic of human trafficking worries Russians, Oleg says this:
- Behind last month we collected everything 1730 rubles, but spent about 70 thousand. We invest our money in the project: I work at a factory, there is a guy who works as a loader in a warehouse. The Dagestan coordinator works in a hospital.
Oleg Melnikov in Dagestan. Photo: Vk.com
Now in "Alternative"– 15 activists.
– In less than four years, we have liberated approximately 300 slaves, says Oleg.
According to Alternatives, in Russia every year about 5 000 people, total in the country - almost 100 000 forced laborers.
How do you get into slavery?
The average statistical portrait of a Russian forced laborer, according to Oleg, is this: this is a person from the provinces who does not understand labor relations, wants a better life and is ready to work for this as anyone.
“A person who came to Moscow without a specific plan, but with a specific goal, is immediately visible,” says Oleg. – Recruiters work at the capital’s train stations. The most active is in Kazansky. A recruiter approaches a person and asks if he needs a job? If needed, the recruiter offers good earnings in the south: from thirty to seventy thousand rubles. The region is not named. They say about the nature of the work: “unskilled worker” or something else that does not require high qualifications. The main thing is a good salary.
The recruiter offers you a drink during the meeting. It doesn't have to be alcohol, you can also have tea.
– They go to the station cafe, where there are agreements with the waiters. Barbiturates are poured into the recruit's cup - under these substances a person can remain unconscious for up to a day and a half. After the drug has begun to take effect, the person is put on a bus and taken away in the right direction.
Oleg tested the scheme for getting into slavery on himself. To do this, he lived at the Kazansky railway station for two weeks, masquerading as a homeless person.
– It was in October 2013. At first I tried to pretend to be a visitor, but it didn’t look convincing. Then I decided to play a homeless person. Usually slave traders do not touch the homeless, but I was new at the station, and on October 18, a man approached me who introduced himself as Musa. Said he had good job in the Caspian Sea, three hours a day. He promised 50,000 a month. I agreed. In his car we went to the Prince Plaza shopping center near the Teply Stan metro station. There Musa handed me over to a man named Ramazan. I saw Ramadan give money to Musa. I couldn’t see exactly how much.
Then Ramazan and I went to the village of Mamyri, near the village of Mosrentgen in the Moscow region. There I saw a bus to Dagestan and refused to go, saying that I knew there was slavery there. But Ramazan said that the money had already been paid for me and that it needed to be either returned or worked off. And to calm me down, he offered me a drink. I agreed. We went to a nearby cafe and drank some alcohol. Then I don’t remember well. All this time my activist friends were watching us. At the 33rd kilometer of the Moscow Ring Road, they blocked the way for the bus, and they took me to the Sklifosovsky Institute, where I lay under a drip for four days. They put me on an antipsychotic drug azaleptin. A criminal case was opened, but it is still under investigation…
“There are no markets as such, no platforms where people could be bought,” says the coordinator "Alternatives" in Dagestan Zakir. – People are taken “to order”: the owner of the factory told the slave trader that he needed two people - they would bring two to the factory. But there are still two places in Makhachkala where slaves are most often brought and from where their owners take them: this bus station behind the Pyramid cinema And North Station. We have a lot of evidence and even video recordings in this regard, but law enforcement agencies are not interested in them. We tried to contact the police but were refused to initiate cases.
“In fact, the slave trade is not only Dagestan,” says Oleg. – Slave labor is used in many regions: Yekaterinburg, Lipetsk region, Voronezh, Barnaul, Gorno-Altaisk. In February and April of this year, we freed people from a construction site in Novy Urengoy.
Returned
Andrey Erisov (in the foreground) and Vasily Gaidenko. Photo: Ivan Zhilin / Novaya Gazeta
Vasily Gaidenko and Andrey Yerisov were released by activists "Alternatives" from the brick factory on August 10. They traveled from Dagestan to Moscow by bus for two days. Activist Alexey and I met them on the morning of August 12 in the parking lot of the Lyublino market.
– Came to Moscow from Orenburg. At the Kazansky station I approached the security guard and asked if they needed employees? He said that he didn’t know and that he would ask the boss, who was not there at the moment. While I was waiting, a Russian guy came up to me, introduced himself as Dima and asked if I was looking for a job? He said that he would get me a job as a security guard in Moscow. He offered me a drink.
Andrei woke up already on the bus, two more slaves were traveling with him. Everyone was brought to the Zarya-1 plant in the Karabudakhkent region of Dagestan.
- At the plant, everyone works where the owner says. I was transporting bricks on a tractor. I also had to work as a loader. Working day from eight in the morning to eight in the evening. Seven days a week.
“If someone gets tired or, God forbid, gets injured, the owner doesn’t care,” says Vasily and shows a huge ulcer on his foot. I when Jangira(that was the name of the owner of the plant, he died a month ago) showed that my leg was swelling, he said: “Apply plantain.”
Nobody treats sick slaves in brick factories: if the condition is very serious and a person cannot work, he taken to the hospital and left at the entrance.
“A slave’s usual food is pasta,” says Vasily. - But the portions are large.
At Zarya-1, according to Vasily and Andrey, they worked involuntarily 23 person. We lived in a barracks - four in one room.
Andrey tried to escape. He didn’t get far: in Kaspiysk he was caught by the foreman. Returned it to the factory, but didn't beat it.
The relatively mild conditions at Zarya-1 (they are fed tolerably and not beaten) are due to the fact that this plant is one of four legally working in Dagestan. In total, in the republic, according to Alternative, about 200 brick factories, and the vast majority of them are not registered.
In illegal factories, slaves have much less luck. In the archive "Alternatives" there is a story by Olesya and Andrey, two prisoners of a plant code-named “Crystal” (located between Makhachkala and Kaspiysk).
“They didn’t beat me, but they strangled me once,” Olesya says along with the video recording. – It was Brigadier Kurban. He told me: “Go, carry buckets, bring water to water the trees.” And I replied that I’ll rest now and bring it. He said I couldn't rest. I continued to be indignant. Then he started strangling me, and then promised to drown me in the river.”
Olesya was pregnant at the time she fell into slavery. “Having learned about this, Magomed, the plant manager, decided not to do anything. After some time, due to hard work, I began to have problems in the female area. I complained to Magomed for more than two weeks before he took me to the hospital. The doctors said that there was a very high probability of miscarriage and demanded that I be kept in the hospital for treatment. But Magomed took me back and forced me to work. When I was pregnant, I carried ten-liter buckets of sand.”
Volunteers "Alternatives" managed to free Olesya from slavery. The woman kept the child.
“The liberation of people does not always resemble some kind of action-packed detective story,” activists say. “Often, the owners of factories prefer not to interfere with us, because the business is completely illegal and has no serious patrons.”
About patrons
According to volunteers "Alternatives", human trafficking in Russia does not have a serious “cover.”
“Everything happens at the level of local police officers, junior officers, who simply turn a blind eye to the problems,” says Oleg.
The Dagestan authorities expressed their attitude towards the problem of slavery in 2013 through the mouth of the then Minister of Press and Information Nariman Gadzhieva. After the release of more slaves by Alternative activists, Gadzhiev said:
“The fact that slaves work in all factories in Dagestan is a kind of cliche. Here is the situation: activists said that at two factories in the village of Krasnoarmeisky, citizens from central Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. We asked operatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Republic of Dagestan to check this information, which was done within just a few hours. The operatives arrived, gathered teams, found out who the newcomer was. And the word “slaves” turned out to be more than inappropriate. Yes, there were problems with salaries: people, in general, were not paid, some actually did not have documents. But they worked voluntarily..."
"Money? I buy everything for them myself.”
Volunteers "Alternatives" gave Novaya's correspondent two telephones, one of which belongs to the owner of a brick factory, where, according to activists, involuntary labor is used; and the second - to a reseller of people.
– I absolutely don’t understand what you’re talking about. I help people find work - reseller nicknamed "Maga Merchant" reacted violently to my call. – I don’t work in factories, I don’t know what’s going on there. They simply ask me: help me find people. And I'm looking.
The “merchant,” according to him, had not heard anything about barbiturates mixed into drinks for future slaves. For “help in the search” he receives 4-5 thousand rubles per head.
Magomed by nickname "Komsomolets", who owns a factory in the village of Kirpichny, upon hearing the reason for my call, immediately hung up. However, in the archives
