In the study of the world leading newspaper ‘The Guarding,’ the reflection on the modern-day slavery raises the vulnerability of the specific groups of workers and the exploitation of human labor. The paper asserts that ‘slavery, forced labor, and trafficking are serious crimes under international and most national laws.’ (Plant, 2013) It follows the definition of slavery by the League of Nations and identifies it as a status of a person over whom others had the ‘ownership.’ The United Nations conventions later reinforced the concept of slavery for further prevention. The problematic concept of the exploitation of the human labor is still a remnant of the slavery in the modern aged. Despite being considered as crimes; such concepts still take place.
First and foremost, the concept of forced labor has been first adopted during the era of colonization. In my opinion, the slavery still exists. However, the forms of exploitation have changed. For instance, the global inequality is still growing, and the poorest population often seeks the ways for economic survival. That way, some become the victims of the human trafficking, which is one of the most popular ways of human exploitation. Some countries, such as India will largely rely on the cheap labor due to historical prevalence of the caste system. Such traditional roles are particularly common in the developing countries. In my opinion, the modern-day concept of slavery primarily relies on the deprivation of the personal freedom by a variety of means. Unlike the previous centuries, the physical constraints are rarely used.
Secondly, there are other factors that stimulate the modern-day slavery. For instance, the government programs on important labor frequently stimulate slavery. Initially, they can promote the programs that create economic opportunities for the job-seekers. However, from the governmental perspective, the cheap human labor is much more beneficial, as it allows to save the funds from the state budget. Essentially, the individuals who agree under such proposed conditions, usually have limited freedom. Upon the official employment, they will obtain really low salaries, live in the cabins and have limited access to the outside world. To my mind, the case described above represents a good scenario. However, modern slavery linked to the human trafficking entails the extraction of passports and official documents and demanding to work almost free of charge. When an individual remains without any documents, there is little protection one can obtain from the state. Thereby, the human trafficking is a clear form of the forced labor which is actively used these days. Another prevalent form of labor is the sex work and exploitation of females. In my opinion, this is the most severe form of slavery these days. Around the world, many girls see advertisements of working in different countries for the entertainment industry. However, the reality is often very different. Usually, females from marginalized and vulnerable families seek the opportunity to bring economic stability into their families and get attracted to works in the entertainment. However, essentially they get trapped in the slavery. The conditionality for making economic profits is that they will provide sex labor with not documents and no social protection. In my opinion, this is clear evidence of the modern slavery, too.
To sum up, there is still a need to strengthen the legal measures against slavery and guarantee social protection to those groups of people who have been slave victims. There should be no compromise on the exploitation of human labor in the 21st century. The level of awareness of the marginalized groups should improve to avoid the trap into the slavery, too.
- What does it mean to be a slave in the 21st century? | Roger Plant. (2018). the Guardian. Retrieved 26 April 2018, from https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2013/apr/03/slave-21st-century
