The Slave Experience: Going Free

Slavery can have a "happy" ending. Among the millions trapped in bondage today, many slaves do eventually gain their freedom. They escape from their masters, relieve their debts, are redeemed and rescued. But some - when they have outlived their usefulness - are simply discarded.

Escape

Francis Bok tried to escape from his Sudanese master three times. The first time, he was captured and severely beaten. The second time his master tied him up for ten days. The third time he had more luck. Though enslaved by the police he turned to for assistance, a kindly man hid Francis in the back of his truck and provided refuge. Francis eventually arrived in Egypt, where he went to the United Nations Refugee Office. "I want to go anywhere I can be free," he told UN officials. In August of 1999, an American sponsor flew Francis to Fargo, North Dakota.

Debt Relief

Murugan's family took out a loan to pay for funeral expenses. Murugan and his two older brothers were used as collateral on the loan and forced to work off the debt. Murugan worked 12 hours a day, five days a week, rolling 1,500 to 2,000 "beedi" cigarettes every day. He was paid less than $1.50 a week. If he did not fill his rolling quota, Murugan was beaten. He was eventually freed under existing Indian anti-debt bondage law, but only after the non-profit group International Justice Mission intervened on his behalf. His case illustrates the spiraling, strangling nature of debt bondage, as well as the need to strictly enforce existing anti-slavery laws.

Redemption

Paying money to secure the freedom slaves is a controversial practice, but has worked effectively in diverse settings. Projects in India run by World Vision and UNICEF raise funds to pay slaveholders a fee for the release of bonded child slaves. Over 300 bonded child laborers have been freed, at an average of about $40 per child. Parents gradually repay the contribution to a community loan fund. UNICEF helped mothers of bonded slaves negotiate release fees and join self-help fundraising groups. Mothers qualified for a group buy-out loan and matching government grant if they worked for the group and promised to keep their children in school.

In Sudan, local Arab and African tribes initiated a slave redemption program as the result of a peace treaty. In return for grazing rights, Arab tribes send retrievers north to locate enslaved Africans and return them to their villages. Retrievers pose as buyers or help slaves escape, and then conduct an extensive underground railroad back to the south. They are compensated a flat free of 50,000 Sudanese pounds (roughly $35) for each slave they help redeem. As freed slave Atak Atak told redeemers: "Now I am home. I hope to go to school. When I become a man, I will help to fix the suffering of my people."

Rescue

In 1992, Vasantha Gedara was kept as a slave just a few subway stops from downtown Boston. Lured into domestic slavery by a graduate student at Boston University, she was forced to fastidiously clean the apartment 15 hours each day. A nurse who was tending to her master's son began to suspect something was amiss. While her colleagues didn't know what to do, Margaret Rothemich resolved to rescue Vesantha. After searching desperately for assistance from local welfare groups, she finally orchestrated a daring escape with the assistance of the local police. Read an interview with Margaret Rothemich about the rescue.

Discarded

Not all victims leave slavery with care. Abandonment is a common fate for many slaves who become unproductive and a burden to masters. Enslaved prostitutes in Thailand who test positive for HIV are thrown out on the streets. Shantytowns have sprouted up in remote parts of the Amazon, housing former charcoal slaves with no way to return home. With no money, no identification, and no family, thousands of discarded child slaves simply disappear.

On a brighter note, some ultimately find true freedom. A four-year old Bangladeshi boy taken to the United Arab Emirates as a camel jockey slave, Juru Miah refused to cooperate with his master. Abandoned in the desert, he nearly died. After surviving five days without shelter and food, he was rescued by locals and reunited with his mother.

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