December 26, 2017

This week’s blog highlights news on human trafficking and modern-day slavery from around the world.

Hotels are Key in the Fight to End Human Trafficking (Fast Company)

As the ski season ramps up in Beaver Creek, Colorado, about 120 seasonal employees at the Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch gathered inside a series of upscale meeting rooms for onboarding training. The agenda covered hotel rules and expectations, tours of the building, and good customer service.

Oh – and how to spot a slave, too.

Modern Slavery: ‘I had to eat the dog’s food to survive’ (BBC)

It was already late when Maria, alone in her room, thought about taking her own life by jumping from the seventh floor window. Her day at work, just on the other side of the door, had again started around dawn and only ended 15 hours later. She felt weak, having not eaten for two days.

For $6 a month, child trafficking nearly halted in Benin hotspot (Thomson Reuters Foundation)

Giving poor families just $6 a month has significantly reduced child trafficking in parts of the West African country of Benin where there is a longstanding practice of exploiting children for labor in fields and mines

‘Damning’: Theresa May under fire as anti-slavery scheme branded a failure (The Guardian)

Members of Parliament and rights groups have criticized Theresa May’s flagship strategy to tackle modern slavery, after a damning report by the public spending watchdog found it had failed victims.

My brother was held as a slave for 26 years (The Guardian)

Alan drifted away from home in his 20s and, for 26 years, we didn’t even know if he was alive. Then we discovered the awful truth – for that whole time, he had been kept in modern-day slavery. This article provides a first-person account of reunification after tragedy and how modern-day slavery leaves a lasting impact.

Photo courtesy of U.S. Air Force.