NG: 21st Century Slavery

Nearly 27 million people live as slaves in today's world says the September 2003 issue of National Geographic magazine. The article reveals the torturous existence of children and adults around the world who live in various forms of bondage; as debt slaves. Slavery is not dead and it is not only on the other side of the globe, according the article. Latin America and even the United States are home to slave trafficking. Guatemala men and boys often are promised jobs in the U.S. by smugglers, called "coyotes." The price is $3000 to $4000, an amount equivalent to a year's salary for most in Guatemala. Many of the hopeful end up in the states working at best as construction workers, while others live behind barbed wire compounds.

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