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Ending Slavery: How We Free Today's Slaves
In his 1999 book, Disposable People, Kevin Bales brought to light the shocking fact of modern slavery and described how, nearly two hundred years after the slave trade was abolished (legal slavery would have to wait another fifty years), global slavery stubbornly persists. In Ending Slavery, Bales again grapples with the struggle to end this ancient evil and presents the ideas and insights that can finally lead to slavery's extinction. Recalling his own involvement in the antislavery movement, he recounts a personal journey in search of the solution and explains how governments and citizens can build a world without slavery.
274 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
12 people are currently reading
596 people want to read
About the author
Kevin Bales
33 books99 followersWhy I had to write Blood and Earth ...
For years I traveled the world meeting people in slavery trying to understand the depth and truth of their lives. What I saw, heard, and learned changed me, and led me deeper into the work of ending slavery, but I was missing something important. Where there are slaves, the environment is under assault, forests are being destroyed, endangered species are dying, and climate change is worsening – and all of this destruction is driven by profits from products we buy.
Children, especially, are suffering: in the fish camps of Bangladesh, in the mines of Eastern Congo feeding the electronics industry, in mercury-saturated gold pits in Ghana, and when brutally used and disposed of by criminals decimating the Amazon forest. And beside the children, endangered species are being wiped out, or pressed to fight back - like the ‘protected' Bengal tigers that prey on child slaves in fishing camps.
After seven years of research and travel we now know that if slavery were a country it would be the third largest producer of CO2 in the world after China and the USA, though its population is only the size of Canada’s. The scale of this joint disaster has been too big to see, until now. Yet, it is precisely the role that slaves play in this ecological catastrophe that opens a new solution, one that unleashes the power of abolition to save and preserve the natural world.
To hear more about Blood and Earth tune in to NPR’s Fresh Air on Tuesday 19 January, and check out an excerpt in Scientific American HERE.
I'm a guy that grew up in Oklahoma thinking if the whole world is as quiet as this place I better cram life to the fullest. The good news: the world is often much more interesting than Oklahoma. I lived a long time in London, and now live in DC. For the last 14 years all my work has been about modern slavery - real slavery, not sweatshops, or bad marriages, or not being able to stop shopping. Back in 1999 I published a book about contemporary slavery that changed my life. It went into 10 languages, got made into a movie, won some prizes, stuff like that. Since then I've published three more books, and three more will come out in 2008.
In Sept 2007 I published a book that is a plan for the eradication of global slavery. It's called Ending Slavery: How We Free Today's Slaves. This is what people said about it:
“None of us is truly free while others remain enslaved. The continuing existence of slavery is one of the greatest tragedies facing our global humanity. Today we finally have the means and increasingly the conviction to end this scourge and to bring millions of slaves to freedom. Read Kevin Bales' practical and inspiring book and you will discover how our world can be free at last.” -- Archbishop Desmond Tutu
“I was enslaved at age 11 as part of a human trafficking plot. I know modern slavery from the inside, and since coming to freedom I am committed to end it forever. Every human life has value. People have been sold for far too long and it's time to stop it. This book shows us how to make a world where no more childhoods will be stolen and sold as mine was.” Given Kachepa, former child slave in the United States.
“Ever since the Emancipation Proclamation, Americans have congratulated themselves on ending slavery once and for all. But did we? Kevin Bales is a powerful and effective voice in pointing out the appalling degree to which servitude, forced labor and outright slavery still exist in today's world, even here. This book is a valuable primer on the persistence of these evils, their intricate links to poverty, corruption and globalization--and what we can do to combat them. He's a modern-day William Lloyd Garrison.”
--Adam Hochschild, author of Bury the Chains: Prophets and Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empire's Slaves
Here's the other bio. stuff: My book Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy published in 1999, was nominated for the
For years I traveled the world meeting people in slavery trying to understand the depth and truth of their lives. What I saw, heard, and learned changed me, and led me deeper into the work of ending slavery, but I was missing something important. Where there are slaves, the environment is under assault, forests are being destroyed, endangered species are dying, and climate change is worsening – and all of this destruction is driven by profits from products we buy.
Children, especially, are suffering: in the fish camps of Bangladesh, in the mines of Eastern Congo feeding the electronics industry, in mercury-saturated gold pits in Ghana, and when brutally used and disposed of by criminals decimating the Amazon forest. And beside the children, endangered species are being wiped out, or pressed to fight back - like the ‘protected' Bengal tigers that prey on child slaves in fishing camps.
After seven years of research and travel we now know that if slavery were a country it would be the third largest producer of CO2 in the world after China and the USA, though its population is only the size of Canada’s. The scale of this joint disaster has been too big to see, until now. Yet, it is precisely the role that slaves play in this ecological catastrophe that opens a new solution, one that unleashes the power of abolition to save and preserve the natural world.
To hear more about Blood and Earth tune in to NPR’s Fresh Air on Tuesday 19 January, and check out an excerpt in Scientific American HERE.
I'm a guy that grew up in Oklahoma thinking if the whole world is as quiet as this place I better cram life to the fullest. The good news: the world is often much more interesting than Oklahoma. I lived a long time in London, and now live in DC. For the last 14 years all my work has been about modern slavery - real slavery, not sweatshops, or bad marriages, or not being able to stop shopping. Back in 1999 I published a book about contemporary slavery that changed my life. It went into 10 languages, got made into a movie, won some prizes, stuff like that. Since then I've published three more books, and three more will come out in 2008.
In Sept 2007 I published a book that is a plan for the eradication of global slavery. It's called Ending Slavery: How We Free Today's Slaves. This is what people said about it:
“None of us is truly free while others remain enslaved. The continuing existence of slavery is one of the greatest tragedies facing our global humanity. Today we finally have the means and increasingly the conviction to end this scourge and to bring millions of slaves to freedom. Read Kevin Bales' practical and inspiring book and you will discover how our world can be free at last.” -- Archbishop Desmond Tutu
“I was enslaved at age 11 as part of a human trafficking plot. I know modern slavery from the inside, and since coming to freedom I am committed to end it forever. Every human life has value. People have been sold for far too long and it's time to stop it. This book shows us how to make a world where no more childhoods will be stolen and sold as mine was.” Given Kachepa, former child slave in the United States.
“Ever since the Emancipation Proclamation, Americans have congratulated themselves on ending slavery once and for all. But did we? Kevin Bales is a powerful and effective voice in pointing out the appalling degree to which servitude, forced labor and outright slavery still exist in today's world, even here. This book is a valuable primer on the persistence of these evils, their intricate links to poverty, corruption and globalization--and what we can do to combat them. He's a modern-day William Lloyd Garrison.”
--Adam Hochschild, author of Bury the Chains: Prophets and Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empire's Slaves
Here's the other bio. stuff: My book Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy published in 1999, was nominated for the
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
January 10, 2012
Los esclavos del siglo XXI son una inmensa legión: 27 millones de personas. Tienen tres cosas en común: se les ha quitado la voluntad, se les controla con la violencia, se les explota economicamente.Y no sólo en los paises en via de desarrollo, sino tambén en los Estados Unidos y Japón. Bales es presidente de Free the Slave y autor de algunos otros libros sobre el tema, es un especialista en la lucha contra la esclavitud y lleva años conduciendo investigaciones para entender el fenómeno y las maneras de combatirlo. Este libro en concreto es un libro positivo, que demuestra que esa tragedia puede vencerse, si todos hacen su parte. En primer lugar se presentan algunos casos de exclavos liberados, y se analizan las figuras de los "libertadores", gente de la calle que realiza un trabajo heróico. Y a partir de los casos de éxito, se traen indicaciones prácticas para las comunidades en las que hay exclavos trabajando, para los gobiernos y los ciutadanos, para las Naciones Unidas, el Banco Mundial y la Organización Mundial del Comercio, para los consumidores y las empresas. Un libro fundamental sobre un fenómeno que solemos ignorar o creemos marginal y perteneciente a lejanas regiones del mundo.
June 27, 2009
I try to keep on top of social issues and human injustices - but I have to confess my naivete about the prevalent worldwide existence of slavery, even in our own country. Kevin Bales, president of Free the Slaves, gives detailed accounts of slavery and traces the cycle of loss of human dignity that follows it. He asserts throughout the book that slavery has existed for over five thousand years, but for many reasons there has never been a better opportunity than now to completely eradicate it. A large part of the problem is that slavery is invisible to many people, myself included. Law enforcement officers, medical workers, restaurant inspectors and others can easily walk into slavery situations, oblivious to signs of slavery. Bales makes concrete suggestions for all readers to help eradicate slavery, from lawmakers and business owners to common citizens.
It's interesting to me that Bales does not condone outright boycotts of slave-made products like chocolate or rugs; rather, he encourages consumer education to put pressure on buyers and legislators while spreading the world to help anti-slavery workers gain the resource and internal support they need to free slaves.
Bales is keenly aware that just "freeing the slaves" does not complete the job. Obviously, people locked in dark, unsanitary rooms and subjected to violence and abuse are going to require rehabilitation on many levels. Anti-slavery groups are working to train medical, psychological, and other professionals in post-slavery specialties (which are all but non-existent). Additionally, the groups he mentions focus on preventing re-enslavement - namely, reducing the life-threatening poverty which often leads to slavery in the first place.
A lot of reference is made to our own country's end of legal slavery - a feat many thought would never be possible. It gives me hope that with enough people playing in the right roles, worldwide slavery can also become a thing of the past.
Slavery and poverty are tightly linked. There are many interventions being done to help reduce poverty, but ending slavery as a means to ending poverty is a relatively new phenomenon. Linking the two will create greater benefit than fighting either battle separately: In a recent series of in-depth multi-national statistical trials, "It is the amount of slavery that best explains differences in human development between countries. Other factors also play a role, but in predicting human development the amount of slavery was more important than the level of democracy, national debt, civil conflict, or corruption... obviously, slavery ruins the lives of slaves, but this research indicates that slavery is a major cause of depressed economies, low literacy levels, and shorter lifespans for all citizens in poor countries."
I'd recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in justice who would like to learn more about human injustices and educate themselves to do their part to right them.
It's interesting to me that Bales does not condone outright boycotts of slave-made products like chocolate or rugs; rather, he encourages consumer education to put pressure on buyers and legislators while spreading the world to help anti-slavery workers gain the resource and internal support they need to free slaves.
Bales is keenly aware that just "freeing the slaves" does not complete the job. Obviously, people locked in dark, unsanitary rooms and subjected to violence and abuse are going to require rehabilitation on many levels. Anti-slavery groups are working to train medical, psychological, and other professionals in post-slavery specialties (which are all but non-existent). Additionally, the groups he mentions focus on preventing re-enslavement - namely, reducing the life-threatening poverty which often leads to slavery in the first place.
A lot of reference is made to our own country's end of legal slavery - a feat many thought would never be possible. It gives me hope that with enough people playing in the right roles, worldwide slavery can also become a thing of the past.
Slavery and poverty are tightly linked. There are many interventions being done to help reduce poverty, but ending slavery as a means to ending poverty is a relatively new phenomenon. Linking the two will create greater benefit than fighting either battle separately: In a recent series of in-depth multi-national statistical trials, "It is the amount of slavery that best explains differences in human development between countries. Other factors also play a role, but in predicting human development the amount of slavery was more important than the level of democracy, national debt, civil conflict, or corruption... obviously, slavery ruins the lives of slaves, but this research indicates that slavery is a major cause of depressed economies, low literacy levels, and shorter lifespans for all citizens in poor countries."
I'd recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in justice who would like to learn more about human injustices and educate themselves to do their part to right them.
March 23, 2009
The book was eye-opening. It isn't easy to read, nor is it a quick read. It is full of lots of details, statistics, stories and information. I felt overwhelmed quite often with so much information. The stories of the children and young adults who are enslaved in countries like the US and Japan is heartrendering. It is also a book of heroes. Those who don't look the other way when a neighbor has an unexplained child who cleans their house or is being used as a prostitute. Those who understand the best way to combat slavery is to ensure the poor have other choices beyond starvation or slavery.
Practical ways to help are included. More than anything, I appreciated the author's deep understanding that until we address the economic impact in tangible, do-able ways, the slaves too often are recaptured and re-victimized. It should never have been ok to exploit others so we can have luxuries.
This is a sobering book that I struggled through in small doses.
Practical ways to help are included. More than anything, I appreciated the author's deep understanding that until we address the economic impact in tangible, do-able ways, the slaves too often are recaptured and re-victimized. It should never have been ok to exploit others so we can have luxuries.
This is a sobering book that I struggled through in small doses.
January 26, 2011
I think there are a lot of us out there who are surprised when we first hear that slavery still exists today — and while reading books like Bales’ groundbreaking “Disposable People” is important to become aware of how there are actually 27 million people out there who are currently enslaved, it’s equally important to read a book like Bales’ follow-up, “Ending Slavery,” where he only introduces us to modern-day abolitionists who were so horrified by what they learned and witnessed that they started to make it their life mission to help those enslaved.
But Bales doesn’t stop there.
Besides having all the royalties from the book donated to Free The Slaves, a non-profit organization dedicated to ending slavery, Bales also outlines a guide for eliminating slavery.
“Money alone will not solve the problem,” Bales acknowledges. “We have to change minds, laws, customs and our way of doing business to bring slavery to an end.”
But Bales doesn’t stop there.
Besides having all the royalties from the book donated to Free The Slaves, a non-profit organization dedicated to ending slavery, Bales also outlines a guide for eliminating slavery.
“Money alone will not solve the problem,” Bales acknowledges. “We have to change minds, laws, customs and our way of doing business to bring slavery to an end.”
January 31, 2016
This book is an eye opening read, although some parts of it may drag because it is so information filled, it is a book well worth reading if you have any passion or care at all about your fellow human beings. I was amazed, surprised and dumbfounded at the information I read, I couldn't believe how ignorant I have been in regards to slavery, with all the free trade situations coming out into the open now this book was just such an informative, eye opening, mind blowing read. Although I am not equipped to deal with slavery I now have learnt through this book a greater way of noticing if it is occurring. I only hope that if I ever do I do the right thing and respond to the situation appropriately!
August 22, 2010
Clearly modern day slavery is alive and well but not very transparent in our world. I found Bales' book to be informative and full of passion but his faith in the United Nations being a resource is a mystery to me given their history of gridlock, corruption, and incompetence. A much better solution would be for the world community to move the United Nations from New York City to the developing world such as India since most of Bales' book discusses slavery in that country.
February 1, 2012
An Important Book
Published in 2007 by University of California Press.
274 pages.
So, who is surprised to hear that there are still slaves in this modern world in such places as India, Burma, Brazil, Haiti, Maryland and San Diego? What - Maryland? San Diego? Sadly, yes. Approximately 27 million of them...
Read more at: http://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2011/...
Published in 2007 by University of California Press.
274 pages.
So, who is surprised to hear that there are still slaves in this modern world in such places as India, Burma, Brazil, Haiti, Maryland and San Diego? What - Maryland? San Diego? Sadly, yes. Approximately 27 million of them...
Read more at: http://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2011/...
January 31, 2009
This is an amazing text! Very easy to read, which is unique for such heavy material. It really brings the problem and potential solutions into focus- clearly, as if you were sitting in the room with Bales coming to the conclusions on your own. Every idea/fact is backed up by real-life stories told in detail.
May 3, 2010
I believe this is the definitive guide for information on modern slavery and human trafficking. So indepth and insightful, reaching every level of involvement. Eye opening in it’s look into the products we use daily and their connection to slavery. Recommended for everyone wanting to understand the problem (and possible solutions) of slavery today.
July 6, 2013
I don't want to be too harsh as anyone attempting to tackle this issue is worthy of commendation. This particular book was difficult in that it was a little too factual and not enough of the other stuff, which likely would have been grotesque and horrible.
For anyone learning about this subject I would suggest the book on Somali Mamm also in my lists.
For anyone learning about this subject I would suggest the book on Somali Mamm also in my lists.
February 5, 2016
This book won the 2011 Grawemeyer Award for Ideas Improving World Order, a $100,000 prize. Disclosure: I administer the prize. As the title suggests, this book suggests and evaluates a large number of policies and practices that might be employed to bring an end to modern slavery (a problem often referenced more narrowly as "human trafficking")
October 6, 2009
Packed with great info, but when it comes to the action centered parts of the books, his best advice is 'donate money'. I guess that this is the most some people can do. But if that is seriously his only advice, I would like the money that I payed for the book back so that I can donate it.
March 15, 2010
A bit text-book-ish, but he sucks you in with heartbreaking stories, introduces you to heroes, and presents intellectual and sound ideas of ways YOU can help. Not your neighbor, not your second cousin twice-removed... how YOU can start doing something.
September 29, 2010
Really enjoying this book so far, it is full of practical advice about how to end modern slavery, whether that be as a career or as an ordinary local. Of course there are the necessary traumatic stories, but for the most part it is very directed and gives positive outlines of action.
March 7, 2008
This is an incredibly dense book, but unlike some of the other books on slavery, this not only tells stories but gives the facts, figures, and the 'how to' of ending slavery.
November 25, 2008
Excellent statistics! Ways that ordinary people can help end slavery that exists now.
September 18, 2009
Slavery is all around us. It's just not as obvious. The author has some good ideas about how to end slavery, but I think it's a huge task and it will be very difficult to achieve.
March 23, 2010
Very informative book. Had a lot of insight of how we could fight slavery and help work on ending it. It gave great accounts of people who were in bondage as well.
June 25, 2010
Kevin Bales is my new hero! Did you know there are more people enslaved today than there were enslaved in the entire transatlantic slave trade era? Oh you should read his book!
September 29, 2013
Thought provoking, difficult, depressing, hopeful.
November 8, 2011
I learned so much about the world from this book. Frankly, more than I ever wanted to know about the United Nations, haha. But honestly, this isn't a riveting read, its more informative.
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October 7, 2013I actually did not finish this book.
May 18, 2012
Ending slavery globally.Kevin Bales shows the far impacting effect of slavery.If you thought slavery existed many years ago think again its still operational up til this very day.
August 20, 2013
There are many things we can do to end slavery.
October 1, 2015
i've got less notes from this but most of it doesn't fall within the scope of our thingy so that's okay
August 6, 2017
A tough but important read.
February 10, 2021
This is a necessary read for everyone - Bales has clearly thought through the solutions he's put forth in this book, along with several examples of how slaves can be freed. There were not as many personal stories on slavery as in his "Disposable People"; this one is full of practical, sometimes-dry but necessary, information on ways to end slavery and help the enslaved. I would highly recommend reading this one along with his latest book, "Blood and Earth: Modern Slavery, Ecocide, and the Secret to Saving the World". This book provides more of the plans/ideas for ending slavery to complement some of what he's outlined in "Blood and Earth.".
The only complaint (not really a complaint) I have is that I think it may be a lot harder to convince governments to enact certain policies and laws, because...well, politics and corruption. Bales addresses this issue slightly but he definitely leans more on the optimistic side of things.
Overall, this is a must-read for everyone -- an essential in human rights literature.
The only complaint (not really a complaint) I have is that I think it may be a lot harder to convince governments to enact certain policies and laws, because...well, politics and corruption. Bales addresses this issue slightly but he definitely leans more on the optimistic side of things.
Overall, this is a must-read for everyone -- an essential in human rights literature.
September 24, 2021
Everyone should read this book to understand both the complexities and simplicities of modern day slavery. The factors creating and enabling slavery vary by country and even places within each country, type, criminal organizations, and plethora of other factors. However, compared to any other time in history It is far simpler to end slavery for good—it is universally understood to be wrong, something we often take for granted, but is tremendous when compared to the last 5,000 years. It is also simple for every person to educate themselves, donate a modest amount of money a month (like $10), and decrease the demand such as by insisting on slave-free products and not soliciting or patronizing the sexual assault of another human being.
May 13, 2025
Kevin Bales’ Modern Day Slavery and how to free them is a non fictional book about slavery and what we from ordinary people to UN and other organizations, can do to end it. I think it was a good book about slavery and ways to end it. The original book is from 2008 so it starts to be a bit old, but it gets the point across.
Kevin Balesin Nykyajan orjat ja miten heidät vapautetaan on tietokirja nykyajan orjuudesta ja sen lopettamisesta. Kirjassa aihetta käsitellään monipuolisesti eri näkökulmista, aina tavallisesta kansalaisesta ylikansallisiin järjestöihin. Lukujen loppuun on koottu lista keinoista ja lopusta löytyvät liitteet ja lähteet. Alkuperäinen painos on vuodelta 2008, joten moni asia tässä välissä on muuttunut, mutta aihe on ajankohtainen ja tärkeä edelleen.
Kevin Balesin Nykyajan orjat ja miten heidät vapautetaan on tietokirja nykyajan orjuudesta ja sen lopettamisesta. Kirjassa aihetta käsitellään monipuolisesti eri näkökulmista, aina tavallisesta kansalaisesta ylikansallisiin järjestöihin. Lukujen loppuun on koottu lista keinoista ja lopusta löytyvät liitteet ja lähteet. Alkuperäinen painos on vuodelta 2008, joten moni asia tässä välissä on muuttunut, mutta aihe on ajankohtainen ja tärkeä edelleen.
June 3, 2022
The truth is I only got through most of the first chapter. Just (personally) lost interest in reading it. Will be skipping to the 6th chapter and read from there. I do want help end slavery.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews