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Boston Man to Bike Across Siberia, Raise Money for Anti-Slavery Movement

Local man will bike 7,000 miles in 100 days across Siberia, Russia for abolition

BOSTON — Andrej Mucic, Boston resident and Home Depot employee, will spend 100 days biking across the harsh terrain of Russia’s northern tundra, the Siberian landscape. Mr. Mucic’s goal is to raise awareness and funds for the American Anti-Slavery Group (AASG), a Boston-based human rights organization dedicated to abolishing modern-day slavery worldwide.

The journey will begin on Saturday, May 28th in Magadan, Russia, known as the “portal to hell” and notorious for being the first stop along the path to the gulag slave camp system of the Stalinist era. From Magadan, Mr. Mucic will travel through remote villages, unpaved terrain, and along river banks to reach his final destination in St. Petersburg.

“When I once worked in Greece and Cyprus, I would see escaped agricultural slaves from the Peloponnese wandering the streets and picking food out of the garbage. Almost every corner pub had at least three Russian sex slaves. I was shocked,” recalls Mr. Mucic. “Years later, I learned of the American Anti-Slavery Group and decided to support their efforts by embarking on a ‘Siberian Freedom Ride’ to raise funds for the modern abolitionist movement.”

According to conservative estimates by the International Labor Office (ILO), 12.3 million people around the world are currently being held as slaves, forced to work for no compensation, under the threat of violence. 40 to 50 percent of this estimate consists of children. In the United States, the CIA estimates up to 17,500 people are trafficked across its borders to be exploited for forced labor.

“As alarming as these figures are, the reality is likely much more grave. These estimates are based on known cases of slavery, and most victims of slavery are completely cut off from the outside world, unable to communicate their plight to others,” says Stephen Steinlight, Executive Director of the AASG. The American Anti-Slavery Group is America’s leading human rights group dedicated to abolishing modern-day slavery worldwide. Since its founding in 1994, AASG has helped free over 80,000 slaves, spotlighted and defended the work of local abolitionist activists worldwide, and launched an anti-slavery web portal that updates and mobilizes over 40,000 activists each month.

To schedule an interview with Andrej Mucic, contact Liora Kasten at (617) 426-8161.