Although many people are aware of the term "human trafficking," not many know that it is simply another term for slavery. When people hear the term "human trafficking" their response tends to be confusion. They don't know exactly what it is; however, when confronted with the term "slavery" they often respond with disgust, anger, and moral outrage. For this reason, it is vital to begin to undermine people's misconceptions about human trafficking, creating a morally fueled interest that may then be sated with well-researched information.
The research in this section is aimed at delineating the
common misconceptions about slavery in order to complicate or disprove them in
later sections. Legal scholars generally point out two types of slavery “de
jure” and “de facto.” Human trafficking most often falls under the category of de jure slavery, and is, therefore, excluded from the term "slavery" in most people's minds. In accordance with the overall purpose of the blog, to
educate people on modern occurrences of slavery, this section will seek to show
the most common misconception: that “de jure” slavery is not slavery at all.
De Facto vs. De Jure
Slavery
To begin to undermine people’s assumptions, we must first
understand what they are. To accomplish this, it is necessary to define these
two terms: “de jure” and “de facto” in order to make the rest of the section easy
to understand. Please note that, since these definitions were largely inferred
from the subtext of many different readings, they are not cited.
De facto slavery is sometimes called “traditional slavery”
or chattel slavery. It is the type of slavery that those who read American
history may be familiar with. It is characterized by social dislocation, public
sale of human beings supported by a sustaining system of laws, and forced
manual labor by a person or persons marked for life by some permanent feature
such as skin color.
De facto slavery is described in vivid terms by the life of former
slave and renowned abolitionist leader Frederick Douglas:
The son of a slave woman and an
unknown white man…During [his youth Douglas] was exposed to the degradations of slavery,
witnessing firsthand brutal whippings and spending much timecold and hungry. When he was eight
he was sent to Baltimore to live with a ship carpenter …before being sent back
to the country, where he was hired out to a farm run by a notoriously brutal ‘slavebreaker’ …whipped
daily and barely fed, Douglass was ‘broken in body, soul, and spirit.’ (“Frederick Douglass”)
All of the key features of de facto slavery are here.
Douglas’ parentage marked him for a life of servitude. His masters determined
his social surroundings and forced his obedience through legally sanctioned violence.
De jure slavery, in contrast, occurs sporadically, is
perpetrated outside of a supporting legal framework, and usually happens to a
person or persons who are “marked” not for life, but for one of two key reasons:
the first being some temporary affiliation, such as political identity, the
second being singled out for short-term servitude from some group that has been
historically discriminated against, such as women or certain ethnic groups.
The experience of Gold miners in Peru exemplifies De jure
slavery clearly. When rich veins of gold were discovered in Peru, many people
voluntarily rushed there to try to make their fortunes; however, they
discovered de jure slavery when they arrived. The Guardian reports:
The dream of riches vanished when
they found themselves in remote, squalid camps and were told that they would receive no
wages until they repaid a supposed debt to the labor broker who hired them.
Meanwhile, they continued to rack up debts for food or other items in bonded
labor that sometimes continued for several years. (Fraser)
Here the marks of de jure slavery are illustrated clearly.
People enslaved by a debt system that, while technically legal, is certainly being
abused. The social dislocation and enforcement of labor occur not due to these
people’s ethnicity, but for more mutable traits: their economic status and
desire for wealth.
Connecting
Definitions and Misconceptions
My research in this subject has led me to the conclusion
that what most people think of as slavery is called “de facto” slavery by those
who make a study of the law. This next section will provides quotes and evidence
from my research demonstrating this popular misconception.
Text to Follow…
Faser, Barbara. “Tarnished gold:
why Peru’s forced labor mining matters to the US.” The Guardian. The
Guardian News and Media Limited, 16 Oct. 2013.
Web. 17 Mar. 2-14.
“Frederick Douglass.” Africans in America: Judgment Day Resources.
PBS Online, 1999. Web. 17 Mar.
2014.
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