In 1993, Pureza Lopes Loyola's son Abel disappeared from their home state of Maranhão. Over the next 3 years, Loyola sold the majority of her possessions to fund her search for her son across the batterias of Brazil. Over the course of her search, Loyola became a symbol for the fight against slavery in modern Brazil. Three years later, her son escaped and returned home after having been enslaved on a large cattle farming estate. Loyola's story is just one of many featured in Kevin Bales' book, Disposable People - New Slavery in the Global Economy. Bales' accounts of slavery fostered by world greed are extremely powerful and eye-opening. Though I had read about the batterias in Brazil in college, I had no idea that there existed an ancient form of slavery in Mauritania, and I suspect that few people do. As Bales explains, government censorship is so extreme, that it is near impossible for reporters/journalists to enter the country without falsifying documents or without the government covering up the slavery well in advance of a visit. This book is an important account of the very real and alive problem of slavery in today's 'modern' world. We must all take steps to combat slavery from stealing childhoods, families, freedom, sanity and persons' most fundamental human rights.
Pick up a copy of Disposable People today! Royalties go to fund anti-slavery projects around the world.
0 comments:
Post a Comment