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Al Jazeera documentary claims slavery still rife in the USA (VIDEO)

By April MacIntyre Sep 15, 2011, 13:54 GMT

Million of girls and boys throughout the world are engaged in work that deprives them of adequate education, health, leisure and basic freedoms, violating their rights. Of these children, more than half are exposed to the worst forms of child labour such as work in hazardous environments, slavery, or other forms of forced labour, illicit activities such as drug trafficking and prostitution, as well as involvement in armed conflict. EPA/MAK REMISSA

According to Al Jazeera, slavery persists in The United States of America and there are more slaves worldwide than ever before, according to a shocking new documentary series premiering on Al Jazeera English on 10 October 2011.

Oscar and Emmy winning executive producer Jon Blair says, "Slavery: A 21st Century Evil has been a year in the making and represents one of Al Jazeera's most important global investigations. Shot on three continents, this is the most in-depth study undertaken by any broadcaster of how and why modern day slavery persists.”

"Slavery: A 21st Century Evil" suggests there are up to 50 000 slaves in America – with 17 000 new slaves arriving every year. 

The series investigates the largest slave labor case in legal history, in which a California company is charged with enslaving more than 900 Thai child laborers on farms across America. The groundbreaking case goes to court next year.

Presented by Somali-born British journalist Rageh Omaar, Slavery: A 21st Century Evil also highlights a number of other current incarnations of 21st century slavery, including prison slaves; sex slaves; “restavek” child slaves in Haiti; and American brands benefiting from forced slave labor in Brazil.

Slavery is flourishing all over the world. “Today 27 million men, women and children are held, sold and trafficked as slaves throughout the world,” says Rageh, who also investigated sex slaves in Europe, bonded labor slaves in Pakistan, and bridal slaves in India, among other horrors.

“That’s more than double the 12.5 million Africans who were taken into slavery during the several centuries of the Atlantic slave trade. This is atrade worth $32 billion a year – a trade that refuses to die and remains the most prolific evil in the world today.”

Series producer Tim Tate says, “Slavery: A 21st Century Evilreveals uncomfortable truths about the role of slave labor in modern life, like the way some of the food on the shelves of American supermarkets has been harvested by slaves, or the use of slave labor in producing many of the goods consumers throughout the world take for granted.”

He adds, “It’s also a challenge to the American government itself.  There has never been an easier time to rid the world of slavery but we live in a world where a top lawyer charges £3 000 per hour and a slave can be bought for £55 or less. Despite its self-appointed role as the world’s anti-slavery police, the US devotes precious few resources to its own part in the 21st century slave trade.”

The final episode will be an open public, debate which will discuss how the modern slave trade can be targeted and will assess the efforts of the USA and the United Nations – the two major agencies involved.

The seven 30-minute and one 60-minute episodes begin on 10 October 2011.

For more information, visit: http://english.aljazeera.net

Al Jazeera English broadcasts live from Doha to more than 250 million households in over 130 countries.

At the start of August 2011, Al Jazeera English became available for the firsttime to cable television viewers across New York on Time Warner Cable.

slaves promo from TIM TATE on Vimeo.