Disposable People Book Report

Taken from home at a youthful age, no school, full time worker, poorly treated, and underpaid. New slaves! Whenever we hear the word slavery we think about the history of the U.S. years ago, but there is indeed a new form of slavery that has surfaced. No one really knows the difference between slavery in the past and the modern-day slavery of today. According facts stated on humanrightsfirst.org there are approximately 20.9 million victims of modern day slavery worldwide as of this year. The book Disposable People is about this new form of slavery. Author, Kevin Bales tells stories varying from five different countries; Thailand, Mauritania, Brazil, Pakistan, and India. Through these stories we see how each country contributes to this idea of modern day slavery. Bales was on a mission to feed his curiosity to find out which circumstances and forces needed to be present for
I’m quite surprised that I haven’t heard of this book until now. Being a sociology major we have spent time discussing sex trafficking, which Barnes shows us is a form of slavery in Thailand. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I found it extremely interesting. The book flowed in a pleasurable reading fashion, and the stories of real people kept me interested. At times it seemed as if you were there with him in each of these countries, he kept a personal feel to the book. He organized all the data and research collected in a clear manner. I appreciated how he set up the book in different “chapters” depending on the country he was analyzing. Another nice touch is that he added a section in the book called “What Can Be Done?” and that was a powerful addition to add for people who want to get involved in the issue. I am glad Mr. Kevin Barnes took the time to do this research and write this book. New age slavery isn’t something that’s wildly and openly talked about because it’s kept such a secret, and he shinned a bright light on the