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ausetkmt · 1 year

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Exclusive: Dominican Republic expelled hundreds of children to Haiti without their families this year

Hundreds of children have been expelled from the Dominican Republic without their parents, according to UNICEF, amid a sweeping government push to remove suspected undocumented migrants from the country.

The United Nations Children’s Agency has received at least 1,800 unaccompanied children delivered by Dominican immigration authorities into Haiti since the year began, a spokesperson told CNN on Monday.

Many arrive without identity documents and are “shipped” into the country amid adult deportees, the spokesperson also said – raising the question of how Dominican authorities ascertained that they belonged in Haiti at all.

An image provided to CNN by the Haitian aid organization Groupe d'Appui des Rapatriés et Réfugiés shows people deported from the Dominican Republic on November 17 near the Malpasse border crossing. CNN obscured parts of the image to preserve their privacy. - Courtesy GARR

Back in the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, immigration detention centers sometimes hold parents without children.

The Dominican Republic has long sought to reduce the Haitian population within its borders. But the latest wave of deportations this year is taking place with stunning speed and breadth, prompting critics to accuse the Caribbean nation’s government of racial profiling, chaotic execution, and a disregard for human rights and families as immigration agents hustle people out of the country.

The United States embassy in the Dominican Republic has warned Black and “darker-skinned Americans” that they risk “increased interaction” with Dominican authorities amid the immigration crackdown. In a statement released Saturday, the embassy described “reports of the unequal treatment” of US citizens based on skin color.

But Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader has rejected calls to stop the deportations, arguing that the country already supports neighboring Haiti more than any other country in the world.

The Dominican Republic’s migration directorate did not respond to CNN’s request for comment. But in a statement released after the publication of this article, the migration agency denied any cases of minors being separated from their parents since 2020. It quoted Venancio Alcántara, the migration agency’s director general, describing “specific procedures” for dealing with minors.

“Every time minors are accompanied by their parents, and when the parents have not been located, minors are referred to the Children and Teenagers National Counsel, which will take care of them,” he said.

Allegations of ‘degrading treatment’ and mistaken identities

In October alone, 14,801 people were sent to Haiti from the Dominican Republic, according to records by Haitian aid organization Groupe d’Appui des Rapatriés et Réfugiés – an average of 477 people each day.

Social media videos appearing to show Dominican immigration authorities conducting raids have caused panic among Haitians and people of Haitian origin in the Dominican Republic, with even some who are legal residents telling CNN that they are afraid to leave their homes.

Haiti’s Communications Ministry called on its neighbor to respect “human dignity” on Sunday, citing the “stunning images…that have drawn attention to inhumane and degrading treatment inflicted on Haitian citizens in the Dominican Republic.”

The immigration dragnet has swept up some people regardless of their nationality or legal status, according to former detainees and experts interviewed by CNN, as well as the US embassy statement.

One Haitian man, who lives and works legally in the Dominican Republic, told CNN that immigration agents broke into his home in the middle of the night and refused to listen to his arguments.

“I was sleeping in my house with my family. At 3 a.m. (local time), a group of immigration officers broke down my door and arrested me. They did not ask me for my papers or anything; they did not let me speak,” says one man of Haitian origin, whose legal work permit was in the process of being renewed when he was arrested.

“They just grabbed me and took me away; I told them I had papers and they did not even listen,” he added.

He was detained overnight in squalid conditions before being released the next day.

Video that he secretly filmed and shared with CNN showed a concrete building with cramped stalls piled with food and blackened with waste, and a narrow room with no beds, where at least 15 other detained men waited.

“They treat them like animals. Once they put them in jail, they leave them there to sleep on the floor without feeding them. They destroyed people’s documents and in some cases, people had no chance to show their papers,” said Sam Guillaume, a GARR spokesperson.

He added that his organization has received several Dominican citizens in Haiti who were erroneously seized and deported.

A years-long effort

The Dominican Republic’s effort to remove people of Haitian origin from the country goes back years.

In 2013, the country’s constitutional court controversially ruled that Dominicans born in the country to undocumented parents should be stripped of their citizenship – rendering tens of thousands of people stateless, with no other country to call home.

Known colloquially as “La Sentencia” or the Sentence, it “created a situation of statelessness of a magnitude never before seen in the Americas,” according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

Many Haitian migrants in the Dominican Republic rely on short-term residency permits to remain in the country legally through a “regularization plan.” But Kuzmova, the legal researcher, says she hears “over and over” that they risk being deported while they wait to renew those permits.

“When it comes to Haitian migrants, the residence permit is valid for a year, and they take a year to renew it. So the reality is that if this person who is eligible for a permit gets picked up on the street, they’re not going to have a valid document on them,” she says.

“What people are saying is that when you get picked up with an expired card, they destroy it. And that was basically the proof that you had of being in the regularization plan.”

A new presidential decree, issued last week to create a specialized law enforcement unit to combat squatting, could also be used to target people of Haitian origin living on historic sugar plantation villages known as bateyes, which once drew large numbers of migrant workers.

“The people living there now are largely retired old people who worked on the plantations, and they don’t have proof of title. So that could be another way to instrumentalize police to enforce deportations,” Kuzmova says.

As Haiti struggles to recover from interlinked political and security crises, the UN has repeatedly called on the Dominican Republic to stop sending people there.

“Unremitting armed violence and systematic human rights violations in Haiti do not currently allow for the safe, dignified and sustainable return of Haitians to the country. I reiterate my call to all countries in the region, including the Dominican Republic, to halt the deportation of Haitians,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk earlier this month.

Two days later, Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader responded with derision, describing Turk’s statement as “unacceptable and irresponsible” – and saying he would instead accelerate deportations.

#Dominican Republic expelled hundreds of children to Haiti without their families this year #racism in Hispanola #Haiti #DR #Slavery in 2022

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nashvillethotchicken · 20 days

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Reconstruction ended in the US in 1877, and during that year, as well as the years immediately post civil war, there was an especially huge push for black people to find loved ones who were sold off the other states or countries during slavery, especially those who had children fathered by their masters as their masters were the ones who sold off the child/ren or had the best information on finding them. People would send letters, put ads in newspapers, even take trips themselves to go find loved ones that they had lost due to the scurge that was slavery. And I keep thinking about Louis du pointe du lac, sending all those messages to find his daughter that was sent out of state by her white father

#Louisiana especially new Orleans was often peoples last or first stop if they were being sold bc people would take the MS river up and down #you could get a slave from nola to brazil in 2 weeks or vice versa.#white men and their families fleeing the haitian revolution often set up shop in NOLA and restarted plantations there #so there are literally thousands of black people being sold through NOLA every day and Louis is looking for his baby #interview with the vampire #iwtv #amc iwtv #louis de pointe du lac #iwtv 2022 #ldpdl #the vampire claudia #like louis was born during the last year of reconstruction and thats when we see the shift from free people of color to just black #its so interesting how much of what could be his identity is stripped from him in the span of two years when he wouldnt even know it #like how much family do you think louis lost from slavery aside from claudia?#cus either Louis and his family are the result of placage relationships or slave owners forcing themselves onto his ancestors #and here is louis who is currently in either position circa 1937-1940 #with nola being that last or 1st stop it is extremely like youd never see loved ones again

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dontmean2bepoliticalbut · 2 years

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politijohn · 2 years

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Source

#slavery #racism #blm #current events #elections #news #important #government #politics #us politics #the left #election 2022

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mapsontheweb · 2 years

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Countries that still have slavery in 2022.

by deltamaps

#maps #igsourced #deltamaps #slavery #2022

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dontmeantobepoliticalbut · 2 years

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Voters in three states approved ballot measures that will change their state constitutions to prohibit slavery and involuntary servitude as punishment for crime, while those in a fourth state rejected the move. The measures approved Tuesday curtail the use of prison labor in Alabama, Tennessee and Vermont. In Oregon, “yes” was leading its anti-slavery ballot initiative, but the vote remained too early to call Wednesday morning.

In Louisiana, a former slave-holding state, voters rejected a ballot question known as Amendment 7 that asked whether they supported a constitutional amendment to prohibit the use of involuntary servitude in the criminal justice system.

The initiatives won’t force immediate changes in the states’ prisons, but they may invite legal challenges over the practice of coercing prisoners to work under threat of sanctions or loss of privileges if they refuse the work.

The results were celebrated among anti-slavery advocates, including those pushing to further amend the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits enslavement and involuntary servitude except as a form of criminal punishment. More than 150 years after enslaved Africans and their descendants were released from bondage through ratification of the 13th Amendment, the slavery exception continues to permit the exploitation of low-cost labor by incarcerated individuals.

“Voters in Oregon and other states have come together across party lines to say that this stain must be removed from state constitutions,” Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, a Democrat, told The Associated Press.

“Now, it is time for all Americans to come together and say that it must be struck from the U.S. Constitution. There should be no exceptions to a ban on slavery,” he said.

Coinciding with the creation of the Juneteenth federal holiday last year, Merkley and Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Georgia, reintroduced legislation to revise the 13th Amendment to end the slavery exception. If it wins approval in Congress, the constitutional amendment must be ratified by three-fourths of U.S. states.

After Tuesday’s vote, more than a dozen states still have constitutions that include language permitting slavery and involuntary servitude for prisoners. Several other states have no constitutional language for or against the use of forced prison labor.

Voters in Colorado became the first to approve removal of slavery exception language from the state constitution in 2018, followed by Nebraska and Utah two years later.

The movement to end or regulate the use of prison labor has existed for decades, since the time when former Confederate states sought ways to maintain the use of chattel slavery after the Civil War. Southern states used racist laws, referred to as “Black codes,” to criminalize, imprison and re-enslave Black Americans over benign behavior.

Today, prison labor is a multibillion-dollar practice. By comparison, workers can make pennies on the dollar. And prisoners who refuse to work can be denied privileges such as phone calls and visits with family, as well as face solitary confinement, all punishments that are eerily similar to those used during antebellum slavery.

“The 13th Amendment didn’t actually abolish slavery — what it did was make it invisible,” Bianca Tylek, an anti-slavery advocate and the executive director of the criminal justice advocacy group Worth Rises, told the AP in an interview ahead of Election Day.

She said passage of the ballot initiatives, especially in red states like Alabama, “is a great signal for what’s possible at the federal level.”

“There is a big opportunity here, in this moment,” Tylek said.

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onecreativeginger · 1 year

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Here is one of the drawings I did for @backgroundfoxe amazing fic for Cloneshipping Big Bang!🥰🥰

@cloneshippingbigbang

Also here’s an alternate version so u can see the bois better!👍

#ginger’s art #cloneshipping event #cloneshipping big bang #cloneshipping big bang 2022 23 #csbb22 #cloneshipping #cloneship #clonecest #hunter x crosshair #hunter/crosshair #crosshair x hunter #crosshair/hunter #blood #bruises #slavery #slave au

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kontextmaschine · 2 years

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Seen at least 2 mutuals marvel at how anyone could vote no on the Oregon resolution to amend the constitution to prohibit slavery. Well, I did, so here goes:

Like, no one's legally holding chattel, I understood the question as "should we change up systems of prison labor and subject them to general wage labor laws intended for the circumstances of the outside" and had not been convinced that would usefully create a better world.

#oregon #election 2022 #cascadia #slavery #measure 112

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ashintheairlikesnow · 1 year

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Too Late

CW: Implied captivity/isolation, referenced ankle bracelet, shock collar (it’s on his ankle but still), creepy whumper, friendly whumper

The Motherfucking Gallaghers Masterlist

Written for @amonthofwhump day 6: Too late. Jax Gallagher belongs to @comfy-whumpee and is used with permission. Takes place about midway through Jax’s first captivity.

Melody leans forward on her elbows, looking over the counter towards the large window at the front of the shop. “What do you think?”

Paulo looks at her, then follows her gaze. Nearly silhouetted in front of the window, against the backdrop of the people walking by with their shopping bags and laughter, are two people sitting at a small table. A woman and a man, early to mid-twenties maybe. The woman’s come in before, with friends or dates, but the guy… the guy, they’ve never seen before.

“What do you mean?”

“Look at them. Does something seem... weird to you?”

Paulo narrows his eyes, taking a closer look. The woman has a wealth of gorgeous curly brown hair, pulled back from her face with a clip, waterfalling down her back nearly to her waist. She’s some kind of violinist - Melody’s mom knows who she is and just about freaked with excitement when she saw her once, had her autograph a CD, but Melody can’t remember her name.

Our own hometown celebrity, as if a violinist counted.

The woman leans hands on her coffee cup, speaking with enthusiasm to the man sitting across from her.

The woman, she just looks like anyone else having a nice Saturday morning out. She’s got burgundy lipstick on and wears a matching shoulder that slips off one shoulder to reveal a camisole strap, cute bootcut blue jeans, cute shoes. she looks drop-dead gorgeous, could be a model, even. Big wide eyes, and Melody thinks she remembers them being really, really blue. The kind where people think you’re blind sometimes, because people have no idea what blind looks like and just make shit up.

It’s the man that’s harder to get a read on.

He’s thin, not model-thin but doesn’t-eat-enough thin. Good-looking, but like he’s had a really rough couple of years. His hands are on his coffee cup, too, but he rarely takes a sip and only then it’s like he forgot the coffee was there until just that second. His eyes are on the woman’s face, taking her in, but there’s a lack of expression about him that makes Melody wonder if he’s even listening.

He’s got a turtleneck on - weird, since it’s sort of unseasonably warm, but maybe he just likes it - and a nice pair of jeans, slim-fit, that he seems distinctly uncomfortable in. When he shifts a little, the hem of his jeans rides up, and between his too-white, barely-used tennis shoes and the shadow of his leg she catches sight of something that makes her look closer.

The man’s eyes shift, and briefly meet hers.

Then he looks right back to the woman. It’s not even noticeable, not really, except that Melody had been blatantly staring at him. She turns bright red, face burning, and turns away. “Oh my god, he saw me looking. He’s going to think I’m such a fucking creep.”

“Oh, shit, there’s gonna be a one-star review on Google if his friend figures that out,” Paulo says, still good-humored as always. “She’s a monster. She’s in here all the time, she’s one of those that makes sixteen million ‘quirky’ little changes and then yells if you forget even one. Like, Lady, this isn’t a goddamn Starbucks. Still… you’re right. Something’s up with them. Like, look at his hair.”

Melody nods and makes a show of cleaning something along the espresso machine, taking quick little sidelong glances while she does, focusing on the guy’s spiky auburn hair. It’s patchy, like he lost all of it and it’s growing back in but it hasn’t quite remembered how yet. She wrinkles her nose. “That could be chemo, though, right? Hair loss, weight loss… my sister looked kind of like that after hers.”

“Nah, that’s not chemo hair. Also-”

“His ankle, right?” She drops to a whisper. “Something’s on his ankle.”

Paulo raises one eyebrow at her while wiping clean a water glass. “I was going to say he looks like he’s high on something. His ankle, Melody? Seriously? It’s probably just-”

“No, it’s not his fucking sock, Paulo, look.”

Paulo hums, and just at that second the guy shifts around, the leg of his pants moving up more than before. As if he knows they’re looking, although his eyes stay on the woman now, listening to her speak with perfect focus. Or pretending to. Man, the guy looks exhausted. Paulo takes a look and then nods. “Yep,” he mutters. “That’s an ankle bracelet.”

“Like…”

“Like for DUIs. Like the kind that track where you go, and send the cops out if you go too far or try to mess with it.”

“Huh. Maybe he’s her friend or cousin or something, out of prison? Got a tracker for parole?”

“Maybe… I don’t think so. I think you’re right, something’s… fishy. Hm.” Paulo sighs, leaning his chin on one hand. “He’s not saying anything, have you noticed? She does all the talking, and there’s a lot of talking. But he’s not even… making those noises you make to show you’re listening. Just… staring at her.”

The guy picks up his coffee cup, and his hands are all red, red enough to see from this far across the room. Irritated, like he’s had them up to his elbows in buckets of bleach. Just then, some people come in, the door blowing open and setting the little bell to jingling. Melody watches the guy flinch.

“Something’s really, really wrong,” She mutters.

Paulo and Melody handle the new customers, a group of six who all want a different kind of latte - easy enough, and it’s a zen thing for Melody. She disappears into the simple action of add syrup, brew espresso, steam milk, pour and hand. It’s like meditation for her, and there’s a reason she loves this job so much.

“I’m going to talk to him,” She decides, voice firm, as the last drinks are set on the counter. She turns to look-

They’re gone, the doorbell jingling as they walk out. The guy never even looks back over his shoulder.

“Damn,” Paulo mutters. “We’re too late. I got a photo of him, though. Look at this, I do this little trick-” He shows her his cell phone, and Melody stares as he uploads the photo he’d taken - zoomed in on the guy’s face - and searches for similar images.

The first thing that comes up in some photos from some old Instagram, of a guy in a band. It’s a little filtered and blurred, but it sure looks like the same guy. Melody nods, but it’s the photo after that that catches her eye.

It’s a news site photo. The image looks a little older, but it’s someone looking into the camera without quite smiling, and it’s definitely the same damn guy. She has absolutely no doubt. He has more weight around his face in the photo, and his hair isn’t half-grown, but it’s him.

Desperate search for missing Manchester man continues…

“Manchester… this is British. This is the Mirror.” Melody leans around Paulo and taps the photo, bringing up the article. Her chest feels cold and tight as she quickly scans the text. Months after his disappearance, Jackson Gallagher’s father and mother keep the search for their son alive despite a lack of evidence… Jackson’s father is certain foul play is involved… “He would never go so long without contacting us-”

“That woman he was with, that’s one of the Marcosets, right?” Paulo’s lips barely move. “That family that has the, like, huge house out behind Starkwood? They basically own everything in this town that doesn’t rely on tourism. Isaac Marcoset is basically the town mayor without the title or something.”

“... yeah, Marcoset sounds right. My mom loves her albums, she plays violin. Why?”

“Well, haven’t you heard about the Marcosets?” Paulo raises an eyebrow. “They keep people.”

“You mean like…” Melody touches her hand to her throat, thinking of the guy’s unseasonable warm turtleneck.

“Yeah. Supposedly Isaac Marcoset has a Box Boy, and people say the rest of their servants aren’t, uh, paid, if you get my drift. There’s like a ton of gossip about it.”

“No way. If that was true, a cop or something would go investigate and free them-”

Paulo actually laughs, shaking his head. “I would love to have your upbringing. The cops, help? Nah. What they’ll do is get paid off by Isaac Marcoset to do absolutely nothing about it, or find no proof that anything bad is happening in a perfect clean house. Rumor has it the Marcosets always know when the cops are coming.” Paulo shrugs.

Melody catches sight of the woman’s head of hair, moving into a shop across the street, the man just behind her, trailing like a puppy without a leash.

Unless the ankle bracelet is the leash.

Melody steps back, fingers going to the ties to her apron, yanking at the knot ineffectually. “I’m going to ask him myself.”

“Melody-”

“If he’s some cousin on parole or whatever, he’ll tell me, right? You can handle it, right? Right, you can handle it. Thanks, Paulo.” She goes up on her toes to kiss his cheek even as he rolls his eyes.

“Be careful!” He calls after her as she runs out the door, customers looking up startled as she goes, the door banging into the wall and rattling the bell like Melody’s nerves as she races across the street. A car horn honks - she ignores it.

But when she gets into the store, she discovers the woman isn’t there. She left out the back door, the customer service rep says, bright and cheerful and pretending not to be perturbed by the sudden entrance of the half-panicked young woman with pink hair. Ms. Marcoset is in a hurry today.

Melody feels her stomach sink.

She heads out the back door herself, wondering at the store with a back door, and her shoes crunch on loose gravel wearing away from the pavement in a little parking lot. The spots are all full, except for one.

Even as she watches, a small red sports car pulls into the space.

Melody looks up and sees that head of brown hair, the spiky auburn beside it, in a sleekly expensive silver something-or-other - probably a fucking Lexus, why not. The car pulls away down the road, and Melody can’t quite see the license plate.

She fishes her cell phone out of her pocket, thinking about what Paulo said.

They always know the cops are coming before they arrive.

She makes the call anyway.

They don’t even write down that she called.

@eatyourdamnpears @burtlederp @finder-of-rings @arlinthesnep @wildfaewhump @whump-tr0pes @iaminamoodymoodtoday @orchidscript @sableflynn @pretty-face-breaker @raigash @whumptywhumpdump @boxboysandotherwhump @thefancydoughnut @mylifeisonthebookshelf @whumpinggrounds

#amow winter whumperland 2022 #day 6 #too late #melody the eternal barista #the motherfucking gallaghers #savvie marcoset #jax #whump #captivity #shock collar #sort of #creepy whumper #enslaved #slavery #implied drugging #they're best friends!#what good friends they are #jax: has no idea what she's fucking going on about #savvie: has no idea he isn't hanging on her every word

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whumpy-writings · 2 years

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Sold

Whumptember 2022 Day 1 Behind Bars

CW: Referenced natural disaster, starvation mention, vampires, slavery, captivity, dehumanization, being sold, female whumpees mentioned, nonbinary whumpee

Hayden stood behind Cynthia, the last elder of their village, as she knelt in front of the vampire and begged for mercy.

"Everything we have is gone, sir," she said with a defeated voice. "We will die if we stay here. Please sir, please take us as your blood bags. We won't fight."

Hayden stared at the ruined landscape and even though it had been a week, it still didn't feel real. That their home was gone, decimated by a storm that also took the lives of forty of their fellow villagers. Hayden had been one of the lucky ten who had survived.

"Very well," the vampire snapped his fingers and Hayden jumped. "Get in the cart. All of you." Hayden stared with wide eyes as their fellow humans started towards the cart. Towards a life of slavery. They knew they had to move, go with the rest of them, but they just couldn't seem to move.

"Hayden, come on," their friend Gina whispered, grabbing their hand and pulling them towards the cart. Hayden followed but their heart was beating too fast and their eyes burned with unshed tears. This was it. This was the end of their life as a free person. They climbed in with Gina and sat next to her on the rough wooden floor. They looked at the sea for one final time. It was dark gray today, the waves white-capped. They loved the sea. But the sea was ruthless, and it had caused the storm that had destroyed their life. They rested their head on Gina's shoulder and cried as the cart started to roll, taking them away from everything they had ever known.

Their fellow villagers were also weeping as the vampires took them towards their fate. Hayden didn't know how being a blood bag worked. They just knew that their body would belong to a vampire. They shifted uncomfortably as the cart trundled over the rough road.

"I'm scared," they whispered to Gina.

"I am too," she said. "But at least this way we won't starve." Hayden nodded, but deep in their core they worried that maybe starving would have been preferable. It was a couple hours until they reached their destination. The moon was low in the sky as the cart rumbled through a tall gate into a city. Hayden sat up straighter. They had never been to a city and they were amazed as they looked at the buildings rising on either side of them. Some of them were three stories tall! Gina sat up next to them and gripped their arm tightly.

"Look at all the vampires," she hissed. Hayden looked down at the street and started when they saw that she was right. Everywhere there were vampires bustling about. And many of them were staring right back at the humans in the cart. Hayden cringed back against Gina as their heart pounded. The vampires were clearly surveying their new meals. Their throat was suddenly dry.

The cart finally rolled to a stop in front of a large building.

"Out," a vampire barked. The humans were all frozen for a second before one of them climbed out of the cart and hopped onto the ground. Gina followed and Hayden followed her. Their legs almost gave out when they hit the strange stone street.

"This way."

Hayden and the rest of the humans followed the vampire through giant wooden doors into the building. It was brightly lit and Hayden blinked as their eyes adjusted. It was a giant hall and around the edges were... cages. Cages filled with humans. Hayden stopped breathing. This couldn't be their life. They started to back away but then a heavy hand landed on their shoulder.

"Keep moving," the vampire growled and Hayden had no choice but to comply. They ten of them were led into an empty cage before the door was shut behind them with an ominous thud.

"Tonight you will be evaluated and priced. Someone will bring food along shortly. Rest," the vampire said before leaving them alone.

Hayden shakily sat down and put their head in their hands. Fear rose up in their throat and all they wanted to do was scream. They all were going to be sold. They were just objects, to be appraised and used and they weren't people and-

"Hayden," a voice said. Hayden looked up to see Gina sitting next to them with her hand on their arm. Hayden threw their arms around her and buried their face in her shoulder. They sobbed then. Sobs for the people and life that they had lost and the terrifying future that was waiting for them. Gina started crying too. Hayden eventually cried themself to sleep in her arms.

When they awoke, there was food waiting for them. Not much, just a small hunk of bread, but they hadn't eaten in days and they devoured it quickly. The cell was tense with most of the humans sitting with their backs against the wall. As far away from the door as possible. Hayden made their way over and squeezed their way in between Gina and Timothy. They prayed to whatever gods might hear that the vampires would let everyone from the village stay together. But even as they prayed they knew that that was wishful thinking. Hayden jumped when the door to the cage opened.

"On your feet. All of you," a vampire said. Clearly he was the appraiser. Hayden struggled to their feet along with the others.

The appraiser started at the end of the line. He grabbed the man's jaw and examined his face. He pulled up his sleeve to look at his muscles and pulled up his shirt. He clucked his tongue.

"Scrawny," he said. "But sellable." He scribbled something down then took a piece of chalk and marked something on the man's shirt. Then he moved on to the next one. The world seemed to spin as the appraiser moved down the line and Hayden couldn't think of anything but their rising terror.

Hayden's breath was coming too fast. The vampire was so close, standing in front of Gina now. He ignored the tears that were running down her face as he poked and prodded her before using his chalk to mark her for sale. Then the appraiser was in front of Hayden.

He stared at Hayden and Hayden wanted to disappear. Then the appraiser reached out and ran a gentle hand through Hayden's red hair. Hayden flinched back, but the appraiser just laughed.

"Beautiful," he said. "You'll sell for a lot." Hayden felt like they were going to be sick. "Windemere will want to see them. He should be next door," the appraiser called over his shoulder to an assistant. Next thing Hayden knew a hand was grabbing their arm and pulling them away from the other humans.

"What-"

"Shut up," the vampire snapped and Hayden blinked back tears as they were led away from everything they knew. Everything was a blur as they tried to match the vampire's long strides. After a few minutes they stopped in front of a door. The vampire rapped on it with his knuckles.

"Come in."

The vampire opened the door and Hayden had no choice but to follow him. Seated behind a desk was a finely dressed vampire who looked up as they entered.

"Marcus thought you would like to see this one. Fresh from the villages." Hayden quivered under the vampire's gaze.

"I can see why. The hair and freckles are very striking." The vampire pushed back his chair and crossed the room to stand in front of Hayden. He grabbed their chin so he could look them in the eye. Hayden didn't dare move a muscle. "Yes, yes, they should do nicely. Pretty and compliant, perfect for my clientele." He released Hayden's chin. "Take them to holding room F."

Hayden's mind was spinning as the vampire dragged them down the hall. What was going on? Obviously that vampire had been some sort of human trader, but who were his clients?

The vampire opened a door into a small room. Hayden felt the blood drain from their face when they saw a cage set against one wall. A cage just big enough for a human. The vampire opened the cage door and Hayden winced as the hinges screeched.

"In you go," the vampire said, forcing them down to their hands and knees so they could crawl inside. The floor was cold metal and the chill was already working its way into Hayden's bones. Hayden's eyes burned as they watched the vampire close the door to their cage and turn the key in the lock.

"Please sir, what's happening?" Hayden asked.

The vampire ignored their question and left the room. The door closed with a slam, sealing Hayden alone in the darkness. They curled up against the bars of the cage and started to cry.

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thoughtportal · 2 years

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the 13th amendment and states rights and mid-terms

#tiktok #13th amendment #states rights #elections #us midterm 2022 #private prisons #american slavery #prison abolition #prison labor #prison reform #prison

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ausetkmt · 2 years

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How many slaves are there today, and who are they?

The word “slavery” conjures up images of shackles and transatlantic ships – depictions that seem relegated firmly to the past. But more people are enslaved today than at any other time in history. Experts have calculated that roughly 13 million people were captured and sold as slaves between the 15th and 19th centuries; today, an estimated 40.3 million people – more than three times the figure during the transatlantic slave trade – are living in some form of modern slavery, according to the latest figures published by the UN’s International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Walk Free Foundation.

Women and girls comprise 71% of all modern slavery victims. Children make up 25% and account for 10 million of all the slaves worldwide.

What are the slaves being forced to do?

A person today is considered enslaved if they are forced to work against their will; are owned or controlled by an exploiter or “employer”; have limited freedom of movement; or are dehumanised, treated as a commodity or bought and sold as property, according to abolitionist group Anti-Slavery International.

Of the 24.9 million people trapped in forced labour, the majority (16 million) work in the private sector. Slaves clean houses and flats; produce the clothes we wear; pick the fruit and vegetables we eat; trawl the seas for the shrimp on our restaurant plates; dig for the minerals used in our smartphones, makeup and electric cars; and work on construction jobs building infrastructure for the 2022 Qatar World Cup.

Another 4.8 million people working in forced labour are estimated to be sexually exploited, while roughly 4.1 million people are in state-sanctioned forced labour, which includes governmental abuse of military conscription and forced construction or agricultural work. In certain countries such as Mauritania, people are born into “hereditary” slavery if their mother was a slave.

Again, women and girls bear the brunt of these statistics, comprising 99% of all victims in the commercial sex industry, and 58% in other sectors, according to the ILO.

Where is this happening?

Statistically, modern slavery is most prevalent in Africa, followed by Asia and the Pacific, according to the Global Slavery Index, which publishes country-by-country rankings on modern slavery figures and government responses to tackle the issues.

But the ILO and Walk Free warn that these figures are likely skewed due to lack of data from key regions. “We believe that the global estimate of 40.3 million is the most reliable data to date, although we believe it to be a conservative estimate as there were millions of people we couldn’t reach in conflict zones or on the refugee trail and places where we couldn’t be sure of collecting robust data such as the Gulf states, where access and language barriers prevented us from reaching the migrant worker communities,” said Michaëlle de Cock, a senior statistician at the ILO.

More than 70% of the 4.8 million sex exploitation victims are in the Asia and Pacific region. Forced marriage is most prevalent in Africa. But there isn’t a single country that isn’t tainted by slavery: 1.5 million victims are living in developed countries, with an estimated 13,000 enslaved here in the UK.

Why are there so many slaves today?

Slavery is big business. Globally, slavery generates as much as $150bn (£116bn) in profits every year, more than one third of which ($46.9bn) is generated in developed countries, including the EU. Whereas slave traders two centuries ago were forced to contend with costly journeys and high mortality rates, modern exploiters have lower overheads thanks to huge advances in technology and transportation. Modern migration flows also mean that a large supply of vulnerable, exploitable people can be tapped into for global supply chains in the agriculture, beauty, fashion and sex industries.

“It turns out that slavery today is more profitable than I could have imagined,” Kara said. “Profits on a per-slave basis can range from a few thousand dollars to a few hundred thousand dollars a year, with total annual slavery profits estimated to be as high as $150bn.”

It’s important to acknowledge that global population rates also affect estimates: the top 10 countries with the highest estimated absolute number of victims are also some of the most populous. Together, these 10 countries – China, Democratic Republic of the Congo, India, Indonesia, Iran, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, the Philippines and Russia – comprise 60% of all the people living in modern slavery, as well as more than half the world’s population, according to the Global Slavery Index.

An increase in violent conflict worldwide over the past 30 years has also inflated the number of people at risk of slavery, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), with armed groups and terrorists turning to trafficking “to show they have control over the community, or to increase their force, either recruiting child soldiers or giving sex slaves as a reward for their recruitment”.

What’s the difference between slavery and human trafficking?

Human trafficking is just one way of enslaving someone. Whereas centuries ago it was common for a slave trader to simply buy another human being and “own” that person as their property (which does still happen), today the practice is largely more insidious.

Many times, the victim is led to believe they have been offered a well-paid job in a different city or country, only to find the job does not exist and they are now indebted to their “employer” or trafficker and must pay transportation, lodging and any other “fees” the exploiter demands, thereby forcing the victim into debt bondage.

For example?

Guardian investigations have revealed a slew of abuses from Qatar to Thailand, India to the United States. Qatar was forced to take action after revelations of abusive practices foisted on migrant workers helping build its infrastructure for the 2022 World Cup.

Trafficking on to fishing boats is still widespread, particularly in south-east and east Asia, where men are lured by the promise of jobs in agriculture or construction, then drugged or beaten and wake up at sea.

Exploitation of migrant workers has also been revealed in Malaysia, Cambodia, China, Italy, Vietnam and the UK.

How does someone end up becoming a slave?

Or a young girl forced to marry at 13 because climate change has flooded her family’s crops and they can no longer afford to keep her at home. Or a homeless person kidnapped from a London soup kitchen and forced to work on a caravan site. Or a migrant whose visa has expired and can be threatened with deportation if she doesn’t do what the trafficker demands.

Slavery is global but flourishes in places where the rule of law is weak and corruption goes unchecked, says Anti-Slavery International.

Will slavery ever end?

Activists such as Kara believe that slavery can be eradicated for good, but that it would take great political will and considerable research.

First, dedicated investigators would need to identify each level in the often murky supply chains of commodities in order to determine where labour abuses are taking place.

Then, independent certification processes would need to be designed for each commodity, so that consumers could make educated choices about the products they are buying and the slavery or labour abuses implicated with those purchases.

Finally, Kara says, industries would need to invest in the communities whose low-cost labour is being used to make the products. “Doing so would help mitigate vulnerability to being trafficked and exploited,” Kara said. “Consumers may have to pay slightly more for certain goods, and multinational corporations may have to accept slightly lower profits. But a freer and fairer labour environment would promote greater productivity, potentially offsetting some of those expenses.”

What do I do if I think someone is a victim of modern slavery?

According to Anti-Slavery International, slavery is so common that it is possible you come across victims “on a regular basis”. Key things to look out for are whether the person has freedom of movement; appears scared, withdrawn or shows signs of abuse; has few personal belongings or identifying documents with them; or seems under the control of someone else and scared to talk.

If you think someone may tick these boxes, it is best to contact authorities directly instead of approaching the person, as approaching them could put them in danger. In the UK, you can contact the Modern Slavery Helpline on 08000 121 700, the police, Crimestoppers or groups such as Anti-Slavery International.