The Slave Experience: The Physical Experience

Slavery is defined as work for no pay under the threat of violence. All too often, the slave master carries through on that threat. Beatings, torture, thrashings, canings, rape, mutilation - all are commonplace in the testimony of survivors. In addition, the dangerous, exhausting work that constitutes a typical day for a slave further debilitates the body. Because today's slaves are often inexpensive and expendable, there is no reason for the slave master to provide adequate food, clothing, or medical attention.

Bone-breaking beatings, back-breaking labor, and heart-breaking neglect-such is the life of the modern slave. The section below considers only one part of slaves' physical experience: hands scarred by slavery. The following stories offer snapshots of how slavery inscribes itself on victim's hands.

Mrs Nyadeng Ayei Malek and her baby Deng: Sudan

Nyadeng Ayei Malek

Mrs Nyadeng Ayei Malek (16) and her baby Deng (2) are from the village of Warcam, in southern Sudan. Mrs. Malek was captured and enslaved during a slave raid in 1996. On the way north she was attacked and raped. Raiders cut off her finger with a blunt knife when she tried fighting them off.

In the Fireworks Factories: India

Hundreds of thousands of Indian children literally slave away in dark, grungy sheds, making fireworks by hand. An inherently perilous vocation, the danger is increased by the fact that the chemicals used in this process eat away at the children's tiny hands. Blisters eventually form, rendering the children unable to work. But rather than wait for the blisters to heal, which would take nearly a week, the slave master applies a cigarette or hot coal to the slave's hands, popping the blisters and cauterizing the wounds. The slave's fingertips become mere scar tissue.

Jebada Mint Maouloud: Mauritania

Jebada Mint Maouloud

When Jebada was seven years old she allowed her master's animals to be eaten by a wild beast. As a punishment, her master lashed her hands together with a rope and hung her from a post. She remained in this position for several days. If she moved or screamed, she was beaten. When her master finally cut her down, Jebada's hands were grossly mangled. "They had become big and started to stink," she told investigator Sam Cotton. Everyone in her master's village complained when the wind would change and they could smell her hands, which could never heal.

Mawien Ahir Bol and Yak Kenyang Adieu: Sudan

Although not related, Mawien (8) and Yak (12) called one another "brother." They were captured and enslaved by raiders on the same day, and both were victims of their masters' wrath. It was Mawien's job to clean the goat pen. When he did not clean it to his master's liking, his master cut off one of his fingers. One day, Yak was sick and could not tend to his master's goats. As a punishment, his master cut off all of the fingers on one of Yak's hands.

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