modern day slavery: scandal or preview into the way things will become?

[ecuworrier]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-14878624

i half caught this on last nights news...  as the raid was done when everyone was at home.... so they believed in the sabbath... i think what is kindov interesting as the 'story'emerges is ... well start with the ... preying on vulnerable adults ie homeless without families

but also the whole set up... i mean where is the line between legitimate and creative economic activity and slavery?

folks forced to work for little or no reward... the conditions they were under... well ...sounds  very victorian to me or even  being fed and watered and having shelter sounds quite biblical too...

if they is off the stats of handouts from the state ... then er should this be a victory for success....

anyways what do you think?

GOD BLESS!

Peace and Love,

[AndrewF]

It depends on whether they are there voluntarily in the first place or not - but also apparently people trapped into this situation very soon get a sort of Stockholm Syndrome where they become mentally dependent on their captors (as well as physically for their food etc).
If they are not being paid the 'going rate' for their work, and everything that they are 'paid' is then deducted for food & lodging then this is slavery, plain & simple, and is wrong. (From what I can gather, often the captor uses some trick like charging in advance for the lodging so they are always 'in debt' and can never earn enough to pay it off...)
It is the same with people who are trafficked into this country - they can never pay off the cost of getting them in and get trapped into slavery as a result.
It always irritates me when people say that slavery has been abolished. It hasn't. It has only been made illegal, which is very different. The UN produced a report a while back saying they believed there is more slavery in the world today than at the height of the slave trade.

[ecuworrier]

agree on the comments about happenings and legalities... in this particular case the folks were hoovered up off the streets... jhere in the uk ....  no doubt there will be more on this and at least one of them has claimed to have been there in a voluntary capacity though the options seem to have beenj a bit limited....

GOD BLESS!

Peace and Love,

[AndrewF]

If the alternative is getting seriously beaten up then you do tend to stay 'voluntarily'..... but IMO that still counts as slavery.