Ending Slavery Review

"It can happen. Five thousand years of slavery can end forever. Two hundred years of pretending we don't have slavery anymore can end forever. The ugly crime that divides and stains out species can end forever. The use of violence to turn other people into livestock can end forever. It can happen, and it can happen starting now." (p3)

In Ending Slavery, Kevin Bales informs us of the statistics of slavery, incidences where slaves or villages emancipated themselves, and he also offers advice on what we can do to aid the antislavery movement.

I once heard at a church service that Japan is one of the most corrupt countries in terms of the sex industry. I found that hard to believe because it is the producer of some of my most favorite kinds of things like SANRIO and sushi. From reading this book, it shows that Japan is way behind on stopping slavery than it is compared to in technology. It is ironic that though it hasa low rate of crime rate and is one of the most influential and has one of the richest economies in the world, it is on the Tier 2 Watch List. Not only does it not take action, but the Japanese government does a great deal to support it; They give visas to those that will be performing at theaters and nightclubs:

"What other country is so in love with the entertainment that it is necessary to import 133,103 singers and dancers in a single year? And are the Japanese such jaded theater goers that the 123,322 singers and dancers imported the year before ceased to be entertaining after a few months"(p109) Japan tries to put up a good image while hiding slavery in the form of "entertainers".

Japan has a history of using sex slaves. During the Cold War, Japanese soldiers enslaved in prostitution thousands of Thai, Vietnamese, Filipino, Korean, and Chinese women. They set up "comfort stations" in military occupied establishments. Chong Ok Sun,was one of the many women that were victims. Her story is the the most tragic and horrifying thing that I have ever read. It reflects the cruelty of the Japanese and the gives an eyewitness account of the horrors of slavery. In Heysan City, she along with thousands of other girls, served about forty men per day and were beaten severely if they rebelled. Deaths also occurred; soldiers had one girl that rebelled rolled onto a board with nails and then cut her head of in the end after the torture. The commander said," it's easy to kill you all, easier than killing dogs." Slavery degrades humans and causes them to believe that one race or gender is superior to another.

I find Kevin Bales style of writing to be kind of hard to read. He bombards the reader with too much information; I forgot almost everything that I read because there was just too much information to absorb. I also thought that some points seemed redundant or maybe he did that on purpose so the reader does not forget the point that he is trying to make. However, I found the stories that he adds in, such the city of Sonebarsa freeing itself by getting a mining lease and the story of a girl named Rena being forced into prostitution captivating and powerful. Stories of tragedies inform others of the need to end the horrible practice of enslaving people thinking that they are inferior, while those of success encourage others that the efforts that they put in are not in vain.

There are many areas that he did really well while writing the books. Visuals can be more influential than words; By adding pictures of slaves with captions, he is able to show the horrible conditions that slaves live in. These pictures stirs the emotions of the reader; When I glanced at them, I felt sad looking at the boy that was abused, having scars over his body. He also organizes his information; although there are only six chapters, there are many subheadings. He ensures that the reader gets the points of each chapter by giving either a summary or a list of things that people can do to aid the fight against slavery.

Adding quotes and stories make the book more information and offers proof that supports his reports and statistics of slavery are valid. For the report on slavery in Japan, he even shows a graph of the entry on "entertainer" visas. He does not used boring titles; he has very catchy ones such as "Brazil's Report Card", where he gives a report on slavery in Brazil and "So, Mr. Chocolate Company, When Did You Stop Using Slaves?", where he talks about what chocolate factories such as Hersheys, Mars, and Nestle did after they found out that slaves were used to make the cocoa beans.

"Ending slavery in this world means solving a lot of puzzles. Some concern a single child, and some relate to fitting the pieces of government policy together: ...Should our laws keep slave-made goods out of our country or take advantage to its cheapness?... Then some of the questions hit us right in the heart: Are we willing to live in a world with slavery?..."

Bales begins by boggling the mind of the reader with questions. The purpose of the book is to answer those questions. He is very dedicated in his work; he has traveled around the world investigating slavery to write this book. The author directs this book to anyone that is willing to read it. However, I would only recommend this book to those that would be diligent enough to finish it. Not everyone can or are willing to sacrifice their time to other countries and serve as antislavery activists, but they can do little things that contribute. These things include spreading the world about the book, teach children, building antislavery libraries, learning to recognize the signs of slavery, and long term supportive funding.

Consumers have a right to know that the clothes they wear or chocolate that they eat could have produced by slaves on the other side of the world. The luxuries that we enjoy could be at the cost of the pain and suffering of others. Bales tells us that one thing that consumers can do is that whenever we go shopping, we should go to the store manager and ensure that their products are made by paid laborers. Consumers are often also employees and and investors, so they can also encourage the business that they work for to support antislavery organization and question if retirement funds or stocks are make profits from slavery.

Bales hopes that national organizations and governments would also read the book. In Governments: Carrying the Biggest Stick, he informs that though the government holds the most power in countries, they do little to try to end slavery. Most of the time it is the activist groups that are responsible for the emancipation of slaves. National Organizations have a national reach which can be the key to ending slavery.The World Bank can fund projects by giving loans and grants, and the United Nations can appoint experts to review and improve conventions. If governments and organizations worked as hard as the government in Brazil, which "freed 4,789 slaves in 2003 and another 2,745 in 2004" (p118), the emancipation of slaves around the world will happen a lot quicker.