A Crime So Monstrous

There are more slaves today than at any other time in human history.

This is the heartbreaking, startling claim made by journalist Benjamin Skinner, whose 2008 book, A Crime So Monstrous, chronicles his experiences tracking down modern-day slaves across four continents.
Skinner defines slavery simply. According to his website, a slave is someone who is "forced to work, under threat of violence, for no pay beyond subsistence."

"Slaves languish in shadows, kept hidden by violent traffickers and masters. Going undercover when necessary, Skinner infiltrated trafficking networks and slave quarries, urban child markets and illegal brothels," reads the bio on his website.
I had never heard of Skinner until this weekend. I was riding happily in the car with my husband, bound for a carefree weekend at the lake, when I heard an interview with the author on To the Best of Our Knowledge on Public Radio International. The stories he shared in the brief 15 minutes I heard brought tears to my eyes. (Follow this link to listen to the interview yourself.)

He talked of Haitian children whose parents are faced with the choice of watching their children starve, or selling them into slavery.
Here is an excerpt from a separate interview with NPR, given in March 2008.

In the fall of 2005, he visited Haiti, which has one of the highest concentrations of slaves anywhere in the world.
"I pulled up in a car and rolled down the window," he recalls. "Someone said, 'Do you want to get a person?'"
Though the country was in a time of political chaos, the street where he met the trafficker was clean and relatively quiet. A tape of the conversation reveals a calm, concise transaction. He was initially told he could get a 9-year-old sex partner/house slave for $100, but he bargained it down to $50.
"The thing that struck me more than anything afterwards was how incredibly banal the transaction was. It was as if I was negotiating on the street for a used stereo."

Here is another excerpt from that same interview:

Though now illegal throughout the world, slavery is more or less the same as it was hundreds of years ago, Skinner explains...

Something disturbing has changed however — the price of a human. After adjusting for inflation, Skinner found that, "In 1850, a slave would cost roughly $30,000 to $40,000 — in other words it was like investing in a Mercedes. Today you can go to Haiti and buy a 9-year-old girl to use as a sexual and domestic slave for $50. The devaluation of human life is incredibly pronounced."

In Romania, Skinner found he could buy a mentally handicapped girl for the price of a used car. He writes of this experience for the Huffington Post.
In an attempt to make her sellable, her pimp had put makeup on her face, but when he presented her to me, the terrified woman was crying so hard that it had smeared. Her right arm bore angry, red slashes where apparently she had tried to escape the daily rape the only way she knew how.

The only way, I suppose, to end a post like this is by pointing to hope. Skinner's website cites ways to get involved. Here is his list.

Act. I. Understand the problem. Slaves are forced to work, under threat of violence, for no pay beyond subsistence. A Crime So Monstrous tells dramatic stories of the lives of a few slaves, as well as of the author’s often harrowing encounters with those who sell, own, and free them. But there are millions across the globe who are held in shadows.
Act II. Spread the word. Rally community organizations and press elected officials to commit to abolition. Use the might of government and business to fight this crime. The slavery of millions is our burden; if we do nothing, all of us are less free.
Act III. Give to Free The Slaves. On five continents, Ben Skinner saw the work of Free The Slaves and its British sister, Anti-Slavery International, the world’s oldest human rights organization. The groups use locally-based strategies through global partners to rehabilitate slaves and eradicate bondage.

The photos in this post are from Benjamin Skinner's website.