Modern day slavery
March 12I saw him, I listened to him, and I even shook his hand. It all seemed real enough. And yet as I sat in the auditorium trying to understand what this person was telling us, part of me must have though I was at the movies. Reality seemed so unreal, so anachronistic that my mind had difficulty digesting the meaning of words. It was a rare encounter with the real world, that brutal place I live so far away from. Last Thursday, a handful of Tufts students had a unique opportunity to hear what Francis Bok, a former slave from Sudan, had to say. He shared with the audience his horrific experience as a slave. Yes, a slave in 2003. Unbelievable isn't it? We turn on CNN and we hear about wars and famine all over the world, and even though most of us will never truly understand the meaning of those words, we accept these facts as true. But we don't hear about slavery in the news. It seems like a ghost of the past, a terrible reminder of the sins of man. We have cleansed ourselves from its memory, filing it away in a dusty corner of our collective consciousness. Yet slavery is still among us. We cannot ignore the facts. Francis got up from his seat quietly and calmly. He is a very tall, very skinny black man in his twenties. His speaks English remarkably well given that he started learning it only a short time ago. His coolness is striking; he talks about horrible injustices and tragic losses with no emotion. You can tell this man is scarred inside. But that does not keep him from actively denouncing slavery and helping others regain their freedom. One day, Francis was sent by his mother to buy some eggs at their village, and he never came back. He was seven years old. He was captured by the Sudanese militia and sold into captivity to a farmer. He was forced to work under pitiful conditions, beaten up constantly by his master and his sons, and given food barely fit for animals. In fact, that is exactly what his masters considered him: an animal. He was even forced to sleep with the cattle. I hear him saying that, and I understand what he says, but the notion is so overwhelmingly foreign to me that I need to convince myself that this is real. This man was actually enslaved. His is not an isolated case. In every continent, millions of people are forced to work without pay under the threat of violence. Slavery did not end in 1865; it thrives still under our noses. From the rainforests of Brazil, to the camel racetracks of the United Arab Emirates, to the brothels of Bangkok, men and women of all ages are seized and forced to work in deplorable conditions. Debt bondage is widely operational throughout Asia, and trafficking of sex slaves is still common in Eastern Europe. Even here, in the United States people are forced to work without compensation. According to the American Anti-Slavery Group's website (www.iabolish.com), the "CIA estimates that 50,000 people are trafficked as sex slaves, domestics, garment and agricultural slaves." It is simply mind blowing to realize how many people are deprived of the most fundamental rights. As I read these statistics I couldn't help to think how much we all take freedom for granted. Francis was enslaved for nearly ten years. Ten years of solitude, fear, and backbreaking labor. He had lost everything: his liberty, his family, and his dignity. But he did not lose hope. He tried to escape twice but was caught by his master. He beat him up and threatened to kill Francis if he dared to escape again. Francis waited two more years, but his longing for freedom was stronger than his fear of death. One morning, Francis escaped and never came back. He was fortunate to find people who helped him once he was out. In Cairo, the UN Refugee Office gave him an opportunity to leave Africa and he was resettled in North Dakota in the US. Some years later, the American Anti-Slavery Group contacted Francis, and he moved to Boston to work with them against slavery. He now gives speeches all over the country about his experience. It took a while for the power of his words to sink in my head. Once they did, I realized what an extraordinary story we had just heard. Francis was extremely lucky. Sadly, most other slaves around the world do not share the same luck. They do have the means or the opportunity to flee and pursue a better life. Who is going to set them free? We all have a responsibility to rid our world of this brutal practice. Learning about modern day slavery and understanding its worldwide scope is the first step. Let us not ignore the suffering of our fellow human beings. If you feel strongly about this cause there are great ways of getting involved. Visit www.iabolish.com, the American Anti-Slavery Group and learn more about the things you can do to help stop slavery.
