Capping off a week of events about the modern-day slave trade, author David Batstone said Friday that human slavery and trafficking happen everywhere and are often hidden. There are currently 27 million people who are enslaved and 1 million children around the world working in the sex trade, he said.

“How do we find these things? How to create a movement to stop it and give someone a chance?” said Batstone, an ethics professor at the University of San Francisco.

Batstone is the author of Not for Sale, a book about the modern-day abolition movement. He talked about how he got involved with the issue of human trafficking and modern-day slavery to an audience of about 50.

His interest in the issue arose when he found out that a San Francisco restaurant he frequented was a center for human trafficking and forced labor.
“I had never heard about modern day slavery and I wanted to see how widespread it was,” Batstone said.

He said many people participate in modern-day slavery without even knowing it.

“Do we know where our shirts are from?” Batstone said. “They could be made from vulnerable kids in Africa.”

He told a story about a girl from northern India who ended up as a house slave after a Massachusetts pastor promised her and her family that he would educate her.

Appalled by the statistics from his research, Batstone called for a broad movement to end slavery.

“The movement is about getting people to come out and help with the skills that they have,” said Batstone.

Batstone said his students helped investigate human trafficking and slavery in San Francisco by searching for areas that might have been centers for human trafficking. They found listings for human sales on Craigslist and other similar websites.

“It’s exciting what one person can do — they have a gift, passion, and they want to help,” Batstone said about his students who helped with the investigation.

He said his students found one particular area where girls were going in and not coming out and men would go in for long periods of time. They shared their evidence with the district attorney’s office but were told prosecutors could not prove the victims were slaves because they did not speak English.

“No one cared about these girls,” Batstone said. “They want to get out, but they can’t.”

Frustrated by the lack of help from the police, churches and social services began to provide safe housing for the girls.

He said everyone can participate in the movement by choosing not to buy items that are made through forced labor.

“We are privileged because we have so many resources and intellect,” Batstone said. “We all feel unprepared and feel like we don’t have enough to offer, we need to be confident, start here, start today, your passion gives needs to the world.”

The Intervarsity Christian Fellowship hosted Batstone’s lecture and other events during “Not For Sale” week to highlight the issues of human trafficking and modern day slavery.

From wearing bright orange T-shirts emblazoned with the words “Not for Sale” to holding bake sales and movie screening, ICF has made an effort to spread awareness about the issue.

“Our main purpose was to raise awareness because we feel that most students don’t know about modern day slavery, and to hopefully educate them and get involved,” said Arunan Arulampalam, Emory Christian Fellowship president and College senior.

— Contact Ayisha Tahir at atahir@emory.edu