Enslaved: True Stories of Modern Day Slavery [Paperback]

Sage Jesse (Editor), Liora Kasten (Editor), Gloria Steinem (Introduction, Foreword)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1403974934 | ISBN-13: 978-1403974938 | Publication Date: May 27, 2008

Twenty-seven million people are estimated to be held in slavery around the world today. This collection of first-hand accounts will raise awareness and show how slavery is thriving in the twenty first century. From poverty-stricken countries to affluent American suburbs, slaves toil as sweatshop workers, sex slaves, migrant workers, domestic servants, and chattel slaves. This groundbreaking collection includes accounts written by ten former slaves and slaveholders in Southeast Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and the United States. From Micheline, a Haitian girl who wound up as a domestic worker in Connecticut, to Abdel, a Mauritanian slave owner turned abolitionist, these are stories that will heighten awareness of a global human rights crisis that can no longer be ignored.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Though the slave narrative died out at the end of the 19th century, the directors of the American Anti-Slavery Group have been "unfortunately ... compelled to revive it today" in order to illuminate the flourishing 21st century international slave trade-which has trapped "between 15 and 30 million people, by various estimates" in human bondage. Presenting the powerful contemporary stories of seven former slaves and one former slave owner, the editors apologize "for asking you to read such frank accounts of human cruelty and unnecessary suffering," and readers deserve the warning: among other first-person horror stories are a runaway American teen tortured and held as a prostitute; a slave in Sudan stabbed for resisting rape; a Haitian girl in Connecticut sold for $2,500; and a Sri Lankan woman escaping her torturers by jumping from a fourth floor balcony. In the forward, feminist pioneer Steinem warns that "we have reached a dangerous stage: a time of believing that slavery is over." These stories prove that human trafficking, especially in women and children, is a thriving industry, and one in which all consumers have a stake. Beyond illuminating the way everyday consumer decisions-such as which green tea or socks to buy-support institutions of bondage such as Chinese labor camps, an epilogue provides resources for joining the anti-slavery movement and educating others.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Nineteenth-century slave narratives compelled changes in social mores and international law when readers were confronted with the stories of the human beings behind the economy of slavery. The editors of this collection hope for similar reactions as they present modern-day slave narratives from people held against their will as sex slaves, house servants, laborers, and migrant workers. Seven former slaves recall harrowing experiences of abduction into involuntary servitude. When her parents are killed in Haiti, Micheline Slattery is passed along among cruel family members before being shipped into domestic servitude in a Connecticut suburb. Abuk Bak, a Sudanese girl, is caught in a slave raid, raped, and held against her will for 10 years, long before the ethnic war in Darfur gained international attention. Harry Wu recalls his arrest when he was a university student, and the 19 years he spent in China's forced-labor camps. Abdel Nasser, a Mauritanian slave master, recalls his personal journey from slaveholder to abolitionist. A heartbreaking, eye-opening account. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan (May 27, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1403974934
• ISBN-13: 978-1403974938
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #245,327 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Different Types of Slavery Described in First Person Accounts, June 26, 2008

By 

Jodi E. Bronchtein (Virginia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Enslaved: True Stories of Modern Day Slavery (Hardcover)

This book is edited by Jesse Sage and one other author. The forward was written by Gloria Steinem, not the whole book.

The book contains different chapters written by people who were either held in slavery or were slave owners. There is a chapter about an American girl who was abducted and abused as a young teenager. I have researched this topic for three years and I have not come across an account as disturbing as hers. The fact that her abuse occurred within the U.S. and wasn't noticed/stopped by anyone else (especially hospital staff) is alarming. Her story bridges the gap between what is called "prostitution" when it happens in the U.S. and "trafficking" when it occurs elsewhere. The descriptions of her abuse are alarming. Read her account only if you are prepared to keep each detail with you forever.

I recommend "Enslaved" because it describes and categorizes the different types of slavery that are occurring. A plus is that the accounts are written by the people affected by slavery in some form and not sensationalist journalists. Evocative and informative.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rating is difficult..., March 17, 2009

By 

A. Hansen "AH Booklover" (Omaha, NE United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Enslaved: True Stories of Modern Day Slavery (Paperback)

Rating this feels so wrong...I hate to give it such an amazing review when the topic is such a difficult subject. This book gives the reader an inside look at the world of "enslaved" people. Even here in the United States, which some might think impossible. The idea of being enslaved is not always the way people think a person can be a slave...the book gives insight to the different types of slavery. A short must read for anyone!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing book., September 21, 2010

By 

Ashley Slayne "live life, no regrets" (California, USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Enslaved: True Stories of Modern Day Slavery (Hardcover)

This book is amazing, it shows the reader a glimpse of how horrid it is for people that deal with slavery, and not just one type of slavery.

I think we need books like this one to be read more and more open to the public, the topic deserves more public recognition to help fight modern day slavery.