U.S. anti-human trafficking Czar Luis CdeBaca talks with CNN about the role of governments and businesses in fighting slavery and also the historical context of slavery in the United States.
"One of our big problems with this under-reported crime is to not only find it, but then recognize it when we see it," CdeBaca says. FULL POST
(CNN) -- If you have $90 then you could own your slave.
Depending on the kind of person you are that sentence could be at once shocking, saddening or darkly comical. However you might feel though, it’s the plain truth, says Kevin Bales.
The modern-day slavery expert explained to CNN that the current $90 rate for a human slave is actually at an historic low. Two hundred years ago, a slave cost about $40,000 in today’s money. The reason for this price slide: a massive boom in the world’s population, especially in developing countries, has increased the supply of “slaveable” people. FULL POST
Slavery takes on many different forms, from the child soldier to the child prostitute on the street. But wherever there's slavery it doesn't just happen in isolated instances. Its invisible tentacles may touch you in ways you may not even know.
By Tony Maddox
Executive Vice President and Managing Director of CNN International
You know that moment when you read something, and then immediately have to re-read it because you cannot believe it is true? That happened to me when I read that the levels of slavery and people trafficking today are greater than at any point in history.
Surely that cannot be right? FULL POST
Though the traditional chains of slavery are gone, slavery is still very much with the world. CNN's Isha Sesay reports.
In 1809, the average price for a slave was $40,000 (adjusted to today's money). Two hundred years later, in 2009, the average price was just $90, according to Kevin Bales of freetheslaves.org.
In the United States, the number of trafficking victims is roughly equivalent to the number of murders each year, according to "The Slave Next Door" by Kevin Bales. And while 90 percent of murder cases are solved, only 1 percent of trafficking cases ever reach prosecution.
For this Freedom Project challenge, we invite you to create a dish using fair trade chocolate. Get started! Fair-trade chocolate challenge
© 2012 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
| 