Enslaved: The New British Slavery

by Rahila Gupta

Slavery in Britain didn’t end with Wilberforce?the country is still home to hundreds of slaves. They reach British shores via unimaginably perilous crossings; are locked into hideous, back-breaking working lives; and remain hidden to much of society. Very few get free to tell of their appalling incarceration. Meet five who did in this compelling, revealing book. The author has unprecedented access to charities and organizations working with domestic slaves, trafficked sex workers, illegal farm laborers, and other exploited groups. People never previously given a voice tell their personal stories here. Horrifying stories tell of people who have been trafficked, smuggled, or duped into the UK to find themselves stripped of their passports and money; locked in cramped rooms; shackled involuntarily to work as domestic servants, brothel workers, fruit pickers, or construction workers; beaten, raped, and psychologically abused; and who if they seek their freedom are threatened with unending violence. A brave and lucky handful escape from these barbaric conditions to report on their experiences to the outside world?often to find that there is not as much as support, sympathy, or succour there as might be expected. Their testimonies are harrowing, but we cannot leave them unheard.

Genres: Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Writer, journalist, activist - not necessarily in that order. On the management committee of Southall Black Sisters and the Nihal Armstorng Trust

Reviews

[Erin Baigrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

read this like an absolute beast for my folio.

[Aleksandr Voinov · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book contains a number of interviews with people that were trafficked into the UK. There's a wide range of accounts here, from a trafficked child, to a sex slave, to a Chinese illegal immigrant, to a case a forced marriage. All of these people (all but one are women) face horrific abuse, dangers, and massive trauma. Their inability to speak about certain things only makes the account more poignant.

The rest of the book is taken up by a discussion on immigration. The main aim is to show that immigration is actually good for the economy, and to show that these aren't immigration-related crimes but huge human rights abuses. It's definitely a book that makes you re-think what you think you know about immigrants to the UK, and, in many senses of the word, a call to arms to change legislation and give those modern slaves a life in dignity and respect.

[Arti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Blog: https://thelogophile.wixsite.com/blog

*Disclaimer: sensitive content*

I was browsing the library for true crime books and saw this left on the side: Enslaved by Rahila Gupta. Of course I picked it up, had a read of the blur and a quick flick through the first few pages. I counted my lucky stars that somebody had left it lying around and it had caught my eye. I had been looking for a book like this for a long time.

Enslaved is a collection of interviews with people trafficked into the UK and forced into slavery. We hear from Farhia, a woman who was smuggled out of a war-torn Somalia into the UK and promised food and money in exchange for sex and domestic slavery. Natasha is a young Russian girl forced into prostitution, Naomi a pregnant child trafficked from Sierra Leone locked away as a domestic slave. The sole male interviewee, Liu is smuggled into the UK and is still living in fear of the Triads.  The last interview is with Amber, a woman forced from her family home in Punjab into a marriage to a man in the UK, who is abused physically, emotionally, and sexually by her husband and his family.

Gupta captures the characters of each person extremely well, and each story reads with its own personality and individuality. There breaks in the stories where Gupta explains background details - such as UK laws, policies, and customs, or particular details which help gain a better understanding of the person's story. The inability and unwillingness of the victims to even now discuss certain aspects render makes the whole account even more poignant.

Enslaved is a gut-wrenching  insight into a full-functioning world which operates around us. It is eye-opening and overwhelming to realise such things occur beneath our very noses. There were times when I had to close the book and take a few deep breaths, times when I was shaking with rage, filled with sadness, helplessness. I have even had to take a few days' break from the book in order to gather my thoughts and return in a more open frame of mind.

Enslaved is a harsh but necessary read. Compelling, disturbing, and well-written.

[Anita Oz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A harsh read about slavery of all kinds. I had horrific dreams after reading this book, but i would read it again just to be more aware of the atrocities going on in the world. Compelling, well written and fascinating stories of people coming from all parts of the world and ending up in Britain, not by choice.

[Martina Zuliani · Rating 4 out of 5]

an interesting book about modern slavery in the UK (that can be easily applied to all the other European countries as well). I apreciate the author idea of writing about slavery by selecting some victims stories rather than giving some mere theoretical data. The book is accessible to a large public and could sensibilize persons other than the human rights experts.

[Saradoo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is gut wrenching. It has opened my eyes to a world that should not exist and yet it does. . . daily. There are slaves all around us. Shall we stay comfortable and ignore this growing problem? Or should we spread awareness?

I am workin

[Samir Dhond · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book shocking. I mean reading those interviews of women from across the globe and how oppressed they are at times, shook me. An eye opener!

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was so disturbing yet interesting at the same time. It shocked me to discover things like this still went on in this day and age.

[The Blaxpat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Individual stories were interesting and helped to approach a wider definition of slavery. Commentary at the end… longer than I needed, personally. The stories spoke volumes.

[Natasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

It made me cry, and now I have nothing to say.