Modern Day Slavery

This image depicts a black slave kissing the hand of his white 'master' as his family are set free from slavery due to the Abolition of slavery in 1833. Although racism continued until the mid 20th century, life for African Americans has gradually improved. However, as this second image shows, human traffickers have picked up where Jim Crow left off, with immigrants now taking the place of African Americans as modern day slaves.

It is believed that about 18,000 people are trafficked into the US every year (2013 figure) and are often placed into factories and strip clubs or even just left on the street. The smugglers can charge as much as $75000 per person (and often more) to travel from places in Asia to the USA. 

When researching for this blog, I read an article about a young woman travelling from Hong Kong to the US under the impression that she would arrive in "the place where dreams comes true".  However, this couldn't have been further from the truth as she was later told she had to work until the smuggler had been paid off, and due to room and board fees, her debt quadrupled. 

Although it is often thought that slavery ended in 1833, it is not the case. Those thinking they are travelling to the US for a better quality of life are often left worse off than before being made to work big and day to pay off the debt to the smuggler. This indicates that the 'American Dream' May in fact be an 'American Nightmare'.