Slavery, tax evasion, resistance: the story of 11 Africans in South America’s gold mines in the 1500s: The transatlantic slave trade was one of the most devastating and inhumane processes in human history. It is the subject of many studies, but the individual life histories of the arrival and survival of enslaved people in foreign …
We don’t know how many victims of modern slavery are in prison – why that’s a problem: Modern slavery affects an estimated 120,000 people in the UK. Under international law, countries must identify and protect survivors, while prosecuting and punishing those who traffic and exploit them. Courts in England and Wales convicted 282 traffickers in …
Tory MP’s historic family links to slavery raise questions about Britain’s position on reparations: “Reparations have been paid for other wrongs and obviously far more quickly, far more speedily than reparations for what I consider the greatest atrocity and crime in the history of mankind: transatlantic chattel slavery.” So noted the eminent Jamaican international jurist …
Slavery stole Africans’ ideas as well as their bodies: reparations should reflect this: Jamaican hero: a statue to Sam Sharpe, who led the Baptist War slave rebellion in 1831. Debbie Ann Powell/Shutterstock In a speech to mark Unesco’s campaign for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition, UN secretary-general António Guterres told the …
How the UK’s new immigration law will put more people at risk of modern slavery: Shutterstock The UK’s illegal migration bill is set to become law after going back and forth between the two houses of parliament. The final sticking point, which the House of Lords tried to address in a series of amendments, was …
Rana Plaza: ten years after the Bangladesh factory collapse, we are no closer to fixing modern slavery: It’s ten years since the tragic collapse of the Rana Plaza building near Dhaka, Bangladesh, which killed at least 1,132 garment workers and injured several thousand more. The collapse of the eight-storey building on April 24 2013, which …
Modern slavery: UK’s focus on ‘genuine’ victims has failed survivors since the 1800s: The exploitation of tens of thousands of people through modern slavery is a human rights crisis. There are an estimated 130,000 people currently living in modern slavery in the UK alone. In recent remarks, Home Secretary Suella Braverman said the government’s priority …
Benin is building a themed park to remember slavery – is history up for sale?: A lifesize replica of a slave ship graces Project Marina. Screenshot/YouTube/Presidency of Benin The Marina Project is a vast memorial and tourist complex under construction in Ouidah, a coastal town in the Republic of Benin in West Africa. The country …
Modern slavery: how a drama project in Ghana educates communities through the stories of survivors: One of thousands of young boys forced to work Ghana's fishing industry, often given to fishermen by their impoverished families. Tugela Ridley/ EPA An estimated 40.3 million people around the world are trapped in slavery. One in four victims are …
Mo Farah was trafficked to the UK – the government’s new immigration law could make it harder for modern slavery victims to receive help: Chintung Lee / Shutterstock Sir Mo Farah has bravely revealed that he was trafficked to the UK as a child, taken to a new country by a woman he didn’t know …
Five ways the monarchy has benefited from colonialism and slavery: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s tour of the Caribbean for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee has been criticised over the royals’ connection to colonialism and slavery. An open letter by Jamaican public figures says: “We see no reason to celebrate 70 years of the ascension …
The award-winning play that touches hearts and nerves about Cape Town’s history of slavery: Buhle Ngaba as The Student holds Shaun Oelf as The Dancer. Yazeed Kamaldien/What Remains What Remains is one of the most successful South African plays of recent years. Written by Nadia Davids and directed and choreographed by Jay Pather, both artists …
Is your Christmas list supporting modern slavery? The dilemma of shopping ethically this festive season: ESstock / Shutterstock With Christmas coming soon and last-minute shopping underway, it is worth questioning the origin of some of our favourite holiday and gift items. It is highly likely that some of the gifts under your tree – including …
Nigerian museums must tell stories of slavery with more complexity and nuance: The Gidan Makama national museum in Kano, Nigeria. Aminu Abubakar/AFP/Getty In many parts of the world, museums are considering how to present history through different lenses, rather than just representing colonial and imperialistic views of certain events, countries or whole continents. The current …
Child slavery in West Africa: understanding cocoa farming is key to ending the practice: Cocoa farming in West Africa is tinged with socio-cultural activities that are misunderstood by the West Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-NC-SA In 2000 and 2001, the use of child slaves on cocoa farms in West Africa was exposed in a series of …
How the experience of Black people freed from slavery set a pattern for African Americans today: The Black Lives Matter movement and the harrowing events that gave rise to it have ensured that global attention remains focused on the enduring legacy of African American slavery. There are numerous ways its continued relevance persists in the …
Remembering the Black abolitionists of slavery in Yorkshire: Henry 'Box' Brown's arrival in Philadelphia. Wikimedia “Cunning better than strong” is a Jamaican proverb; a message of survival and resistance that urges us to use our brain rather than our brawn to overcome oppressors. It’s a proverb that is encapsulated by the Jamaican trickster folk hero …
South Africa in the news: Small seashells tell a big story of slavery and transoceanic trade 500 years ago: In the archaeology storerooms of the KwaZulu-Natal Museum in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, lie two boxes filled with seashells.: “South Africa” – BingNews “Fashion Can Be Such A Powerful Tool”: Thebe Magugu On His Family-Inspired SS22 Film: …