“The Slave Next Door: Human Trafficking and Slavery in America Today,” a new book on contemporary slavery in the United States, appears this month, published by the University of California Press. The book is co-authored by Ron Soodalter and Kevin Bales. The Freedom Center’s Paul Bernish recently conducted a phone interview with Soodalter about the new book and the issue of human trafficking.

Ron Soodalter says the inspiration for his new book, “The Slave Next Door,” was finding out that slavery — in many ugly guises — continues to plague modern civilization.

That revelation came to the author, flamenco guitar musician, scrimshaw artist and Lincoln scholar as he was putting finishing touches to a book, “Hanging Captain Gordon,” about the 1862 execution of a slave trader (on orders of President Lincoln), when he came across an article about the extent and growth of modern forms of slavery. The article quoted Kevin Bales, probably the world’s leading expert on human trafficking, who claimed that slavery exists around the globe and is more prevalent than at any time in history. Soodalter says he was “blown away – shocked, really” at Bales’ assertion.

“My first reaction was denial,” Soodalter recalls. “I just could not accept that slavery still exists, but that it is also so pervasive – including right here at home.”

Ron Soodalter

Like a long ago abolitionist, Soodalter immediately felt the urge to take action. First, he appended a final chapter to “Hanging Captain Gordon” that addressed contemporary slavery. Next, he reached out to Bales and requested his partnership in writing a book about contemporary slavery, with a specific emphasis on trafficking in the United States. The result: “The Slave Next Door,” available in book stores, online and in the Freedom Center Gift Shop.

Why this book and why now?

Soodalter believes that a necessary first step in attacking modern forms of slavery is awareness, something he contends is sorely lacking in the United States. “It is essential for us as Americans, who cling to the notion that slavery ended long ago, to hold up a mirror and recognize that it remains a problem not only around the world, but also in every state, in more than 100 cities across the country, in small towns and maybe even in the house next door,” he says.

Soodalter and Bales (who heads the prominent Washington D.C. based anti-slavery group Free the Slaves), are careful to define slavery as a situation in which the victim is held under threat of violence — physical or psychological — for the purpose of commercial exploitation, and with no ready or practical means of escape.

That’s pretty much the description of the slavery we read about in history, Soodalter points out.

“People will argue that victims caught up in trafficking today are not really slaves in the historical sense because they’re not in chains. But the language barrier, shame, a fear of police, the threat of bodily harm, ignorance of local geography, and the dishonor of walking away from a debt obligation are all factors that restrain modern-day slaves,” he explains. “In fact, one of the reasons incidents of trafficking are under-reported is due to the fear of the victims to step forward. Better to keep quiet than to risk your life or the lives of your family back home.

“The Slave Next Door,” in the publishing world, is classified as “non-fiction.” A better description might be “Man the Battle Stations,” or perhaps “cri de Coeur,” because it is clear in talking to Soodalter that he is an author on a mission – a mission to enlist an army of contemporary abolitionists. “Even if just one person is enslaved,” he says with obvious emotion, “then no one is really free. It’s something I happen to believe very strongly.”

Kevin Bales

Soodalter and Bales’ book appears to be well-timed, as interest is growing in the subject of global human trafficking. Following enactment of a revised Trafficking in Victims Protection Act (TVPA) in December, the Obama Administration has made what is widely viewed as a first-rate choice in selecting U.S. Justice Department lawyer Luis De Baca as the State Department’s new Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. De Baca brings a wealth of experience to the post, and the know-how to lead U.S. anti-human trafficking efforts at home and abroad. “He’s walked the walk and talked the talk,” Soodalter says.

Soodalter’s research of modern slavery, he says, also persuaded him that beefed up law enforcement training is a critical step to check the spread of trafficking. “There’s been some progress in the law enforcement community about understanding trafficking, but there is certainly plenty of room for increased training.” Like many others, he also believes model anti-trafficking legislation should be adopted in all 50 states. Such laws should be balanced in regard to forced labor and sexual exploitation and contain provisions that strengthen victim support and services, and not just focus on successful prosecution of traffickers.

While the author is encouraged by TVPA re-authorization and De Baca’s appointment, he remains concerned that human trafficking continues to expand, ensnaring more victims. “Any of the numbers you see published regarding the amount of people being trafficked don’t come anywhere near to measuring the extent of the problem.” For example, the widely quoted statistic of approximately 14,500 TO 17,500 people being trafficked illegally into the U.S. each year only counts foreign nationals, Soodalter points out. “The number of American citizens being trafficked inside the U.S. is quite high, according to sources, including the federal government, and could number in the hundreds of thousands,” he says. “These are people who are hidden in plain sight.”

Who are these invisible people? Domestic workers, street vendors, yardmen, farm laborers – even, he mentions, members of a Chinese acrobatic troupe who performed regularly in Las Vegas. The acrobats, Soodalter explains, were held against their will, physically threatened and, during the day when they weren’t performing, forced to work as day laborers and yard men. “You’d be surprised — most people would be surprised – by the extent to which people have been forced into slavery,” he adds.

What is driving slavery today, the book emphasizes, is the apparently insatiable demand for cheap labor. Chattel slaves, in ante-bellum America, were valuable “property.” Male adult slaves could be sold for $40,000 to $50,000 in today’s dollars. By contrast, people held in slave conditions now are (in Bales’ memorable phrase) “disposable people,” bought and sold cheaply and discarded if they become ill or injured and thus no longer productive.

The author says he’s encouraged whenever he speaks about contemporary slavery to see many young people in the audience. Teenagers and college students, he concludes, could form the vanguard of the modern abolitionist movement.

“There’s a role for everyone in fighting slavery,” he says. “Awareness is the key. High school students can organize discussion groups and invite in knowledgeable speakers. Essay contests with a focus on trafficking subjects are a good idea. Using social networks to spread the word is a very good tactic. The point is to get people talking about this hideous crime— there will be no forward movement towards eradicating slavery unless the general public becomes aware of its presence.”

We can be, Soodalter concludes, “the generation that finally ends the blight of slavery.”