30 years a slave

On Friday night I watched a documentary on Channel 4's Unreported World. Reporter Marcel Theroux investigated claims of modern day slavery happening on islands just off the coast of South Korea. He spoke with a man who had been kept on the islands for 30 years. The most shocking fact was that he suffered from learning difficulties and was easily led by strangers. Scenes of many other people with similar problems showed how they lived on the edges of society, sleeping on the streets. These people were being pursued by traffickers who made a good profit from supplying the salt and seaweed farms with such labour. The islands are rather remote so they are hard to escape from, whilst many get hidden when inspectors come snooping. This program highlighted to me the depth and scope of the issue of modern day slavery. However it also showed me that others are also trying to raise awareness of such acts of inhumanity.