Press Releases
Posted on Wednesday, October 31, 2007 - Arts & Events
Anti-Slavery Activist Presents Plan to End Modern Slavery in 25 Years
CONTACT:
- Zaida O'Connor, Department of History, 360/546-9425, oconnorz@vancouver.wsu.edu
- Sheri Byrd, Office of Marketing and Communications, 360/546-9602, byrds@vancouver.wsu.edu
Vancouver, Wash. - Kevin Bales, professor of sociology at Roehampton University in London and president of Free the Slaves, will be discussing his new book "Ending Slavery: How We Free Today's Slaves" at noon, Nov. 13 at Washington State University Vancouver in the Administration building, room 110. The event will begin with a 30 minute film, "Dreams Die Hard," which profiles several people trapped in slavery across the United States.
President of the U.S. sister organization of Anti-Slavery International (the world's oldest human rights organization), Bales estimates that there are 27 million people in slavery today: people held against their will, forced to work and paid nothing. This means that there are more people in slavery today than at any other time in human history. Since slavery feeds directly into the global economy, it touches many products that come into modern homes and investments.
Research that Free the Slaves conducted with the University of California, Berkeley found documented cases of slavery and human trafficking in more than 90 cities across the United States, including a recently publicized case in Salem, Ore.: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/12/01/america/NA_GEN_US_Human_Trafficking.php.
His book "Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy," published in 1999, was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Archbishop Desmond Tutu called it "a well researched, scholarly and deeply disturbing exposé of modern slavery." His documentary film, "Slavery: A Global Investigation," won the Peabody Award for 2000 and two Emmy Awards in 2002. He is a Trustee of Anti-Slavery International and was a consultant to the United Nations Global Program on Trafficking of Human Beings.
For more on the movement to end slavery in the world today, including video clips, information, tools and resources, see http://freetheslaves.net. Books will be available for purchase through Barnes & Noble at the event.
WSU Vancouver is located at 14204 N.E. Salmon Creek Ave., east of the 134th Street exit from either I-5 or I-205, or on C-Tran Bus route 19 from the Salmon Creek Park and Ride. Parking is available in metered spaces and in the Blue Lot for $3 per day. WSU Vancouver offers 14 Bachelor's degrees, nine Master's degrees, one Doctorate degree and more than 35 fields of study. Visit us on the Web at http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu.
Photos: Kevin Bales and the cover of his book, Ending Slavery. Click thumbnails for high resolution images.
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