Slavery in America
Slavery in America. Hasn’t happened since 1865, right? Wrong, so explains John Bowe in his book, “Nobodies: Modern American Slave Labor and the Dark Side of the New Global Economy”. Slavery exists in America today, right at this moment. From undocumented migrants to skilled workers, slavery is surprisingly rampant. The stories in the book are at once fascinating, exposing a rarely-seen side to human behavior.
Take for example the plight of a group of Indian workers whom sacrificed much for an opportunity to work in the United States. Having been promised fair wages and decent lodging, they received wages below the federal minimum (around $2 per hour at best). Near the end of the saga they were forced to stay inside their makeshift barracks, an bunk-bed-filled room hastily built inside the same factory in which they worked. These men were forced to work and live in horrible conditions and were consistently threatened with deportation, even for simply wishing to attend a nearby church service.
Bowe’s book cites a number of such cases, each story perhaps more intriguing than previous. What’s more is how eloquently he explains the depth of each situation and how something so fundamentally black-and-white can reach a depth of murkiness it’s hard to know who’s the bad guy.
Read the book, and follow the continuing story of Slavery in America at Bowe’s blog.