For some, slavery might be a thing they only see in the history books they had at school but for the people in the 11 countries with the highest rates of human trafficking, slavery is a very real, very close danger for their life. Some of us take our freedom for granted every day, after we wake up and go on with our busy, filled with the so-called “first world problems” days. However, some people have to fear for their lives every day, because they do live in some of the 10 most dangerous places. Lots of children are being abducted and sold into modern day slavery or prostitution and the problem is so deep and inhumane that there is little margin for a difference between the two.
There are still so many cases of people forced to work for free in exchange for their lives. For all I know, the massage parlor next door to you could be home to several victims of human trafficking. There are lots and lots of undiscovered yet cases which can go unnoticed because the victims are forced to comply with every order of their “owners” and pretend that they are not in a threatening situation. Life is everything but easy when you are deprived of all your basic human rights and forced to live in a cage-like apartment with several more people like you. If you think that this is a far-fetched type of scenario, consider this – human trafficking was estimated to gross over thirty-size billion in revenue just five years ago, when it was also estimated to be the highest-growing international criminal activity. Since then it must have blown up to even greater proportions with stronger forces behind the bigger branches of organized trafficking groups.
The problem goes even deeper and more frightening once you consider the enormous shady industries that operate thanks to trafficking. That also includes organ harvesting, the human organs market and forced organ donorship. At the end of the day, be thankful for your freedom but also consider these eleven countries where people are not given so much of it. Let’s take a look at them.
11. Thailand
Thailand takes the eleventh place with its notorious prostitution business where not every single worker is there by their own consent. To make matter worse, Thai criminals also abduct children into prostitution and also ship out their trafficking victims to other businesses which force them into free labor all around the world.
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10. China
Quite like the Thai people, Chinese women are also abducted or lured in with offers for jobs abroad where they are forced to work for free in mainly Chinese establishments abroad, although western businesses are known to buy slaves too in certain cases.
9. Ghana
Ghana’s children and young women are forced into prostitution or just abducted and used by different militant groups and then killed. Although Ghanaian children and women are not shipped out to other countries overseas often, they are forced into prostitution, free labor, begging and much more on the streets of Ghana’s bigger cities.
8. Uganda
Uganda takes the eighth place with organized crime that follows the model of Ghana quite strictly. Young women and children there are abducted and either forced to work locally or transported to neighboring countries where the crime ring has notoriety.
7. Nepal
Nepal takes the seventh place with a huge number of people forced into free labor or prostitution locally but more often shipped to India where they are also subjected to the same treatment and conditions. China is another hub for trafficked people from Nepal. When transported overseas, Nepalese victims often serve as cleaners or home servants.
6. Sri Lanka
The sixth spot on the list of the 11 countries with the highest human trafficking rates goes to Sri Lanka, where victims of human trafficking often migrate to neighboring countries willingly but then are withheld against their will via debts or taking away personal documents. Children there are trafficked into commercial sexual service rather than labor.
5. India
India has long had a problem with human trafficking. If you have seen “Slumdog Millionaire” and noticed the scenes with large groups of poor children forced to live in impromptu camps and used for sex and begging, know that they reflect reality quite well.
4. Pakistan
Pakistan takes the fourth place with an estimate of well over a million victims of forced free labor in the fields of mining, brick making and other very physically intensive and unforgiving professions. The victims vary widely in gender, age and social status.
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3. Haiti
Haiti’s trafficking schemes are mainly focused on children who come from impoverished rural regions. These children are voluntarily being sent to wealthier households with hopes of better lives and education, where they enter a system of forced servitude instead. This can happen with or without paid middlemen.
2. Brazil
Brazil takes the first place with a deeply rooted problem of forced prostitution and home servitude both locally and abroad. For men, human trafficking often leads them to forced labor in tough conditions such as mining, cattle ranching and much more.
1. Bangladesh
Bangladesh takes the first spot on the list of the 11 countries with the highest rates of human trafficking in the world with not only a huge number of illegal trafficking rings but also close to eight hundred legally operating recruiting agencies which often overcharge their customers when they get sent out to work abroad, forcing them into free labor by their debts.
