Blog
Support FTS through the CFC!
Here are 3 reasons why you should support Free the Slaves through the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) : Liberation - Your pledge can literally help us #FreetheSlaves! By donating to FTS, your funds can help support our work in liberating enslaved people in places like...
Story of a Migrant Worker
Junaid Ansari is a resident of Bhudki village Uttar Pradesh, India, a father of two children, and is 50 years old. Junaid used to work as a carpet weaver in his village but eventually found that this job could not support his family. Junaid searched for a new career...
FTS Launches First Community Liberation Initiative Training in Vietnam
The Free the Slaves Community Liberation Toolkit (CLT) continues to provide learning opportunities for anti-slavery grassroots organizations worldwide. Following the loosening of the COVID-19 restrictions around the globe, FTS conducted the first in-person training to...
Get Involved
Help Stop Racial Discrimination Against Haratines
Did you know that Mauritania was the last country in the world to ban slavery? Slavery dates back hundred of years in Mauritania, from a period when Arab Berbers raided and enslaved black Africans settled along the Senegal River, dominating and eventually submitting...
ATEST Calls for Catalytic Investment to Fight Human Trafficking in Recommendations to Biden Transition Team
The Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking (ATEST) stressed the need for a whole-of-government approach to combat human trafficking inside the U.S. and around the world in comprehensive recommendations to the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden....
Stand Against Anti-Haitian Racism
For more than 150 years Haiti and the Dominican Republic have shared the island of Hispaniola. Their relationship, however, has not been pleasant. Sadly, this antagonism has led to the creation of racially biased policies against Haitians in the Dominican territory. ...
Our Work
Opportunities in an Age of Adaptation
The 8th annual Freedom from Slavery Forum is happening in a unique and exceptional environment. Countries have taken measures to contain the COVID-19 global pandemic, but modern-day slavery including sexual slavery, forced labor and human trafficking has grown worse...
Ghana Program Called a Model for the World
The first-ever Child Protection Compact (CPC) Partnership to end child trafficking is wrapping up its fifth year in Ghana, and officials say it has been a terrific success that other countries should follow. That assessment comes this week by officials from the...
FTS Solidarity Statement on Racial Violence and Justice in the United States
On behalf of Free the Slaves, we stand in solidarity with the growing global outcry against racial violence and for racial justice in the United States. Free the Slaves is appalled by the ongoing systemic injustices directed at Black people and other people of color...
News
FTS Programs Help Lift Two Countries in 2019 Trafficking Report
Good news today from the U.S. State Department. Both Haiti and Senegal have been removed from the Tier Two Watch List in the annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, an indication that the governments of both countries are increasing their efforts to combat human...
Leadership Transition
Colleagues, We write to advise you of a leadership transition at Free the Slaves. Maurice Middleberg, Executive Director of Free the Slaves, has advised the Board of his intention to step down from his role, which he has held since 2013. After due consideration, we...
ATEST Applauds Anti-Trafficking Legislation Becoming Law, But Deeply Concerned by Presidential Statements and Government Shutdown
This statement originally appeared on the Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking (ATEST) website. Free the Slaves serves as ATEST co-chair. WASHINGTON — Four key pieces of legislation that form the architecture of America’s federal response to human trafficking and...
Americas
FTS Front-line Partners Brief Brazil’s Top Anti-trafficking Commission
One reason Brazil is a world leader in fighting modern slavery is the existence of the country’s National Commission for the Eradication of Slave Labor (Conatrae). The commission helps coordinate anti-trafficking efforts of governmental agencies, law enforcement,...
Getting Slavery Out of Your Wardrobe
Sewing factories that use slaves to make cheap clothes have become one of the newest battle fronts in the fight against human trafficking. A new investigation by one of our Brazilian partner organizations unveils just how important this effort can be. Repórter Brasil...
Slavery Survivors Highlight 2015 Broward College – Free the Slaves – ATEST Trafficking Conference
A slavery survivor from Haiti shared a grisly account of her childhood in restavèk domestic servitude: “I was born on the street in front of a brothel. Prostitutes brought my mother a towel, so she could swaddle me. My father’s mistress was beautiful, and she, too,...
Asia
This is Where Freedom Started
Visiting the front lines of modern slavery is a deeply emotional experience. As I write to you today from Northern India, my heart is filled with hope and joy. That’s because of the joy of freed bonded laborers I have met and the progress that has been made in their...
20 Years of Fighting for Freedom
The year 2020 brings several important anniversaries. It’s the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Palermo Protocol, the landmark treaty to confront modern forms of slavery worldwide. It’s the 20th anniversary of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, the...
Our Rights Make Us Human
Former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt once observed that “the future belongs to those who believe in their dreams.” At Free the Slaves, we dream of a future where everyone is free from slavery. Roosevelt believed in that dream too. Freedom from slavery is near the top...
Africa
COVID-19 Impact on Communities Plagued by Slavery
I hope that you and your family are healthy and safe during these difficult times. I am reaching out to you today to share about how the Covid-19 global pandemic is affecting communities where slavery makes people especially vulnerable to disasters and financial...
Global Freedom One Community at a Time
Dear Friends and Supporters, I write this letter as I shelter in place amidst the spreading of the coronavirus pandemic. The close tethering to our homes underscores the importance of communities even in today’s hyperconnected world. Likewise, eliminating slavery...
Dealing With the Present, Preparing for What Comes Next
The countries where Free the Slaves works (Ghana, India, Haiti, Nepal and Dominican Republic) have not reached peak level in the COVID-19 pandemic. But it is affecting them all, directly or indirectly. And we know from experience that every crisis has an aftermath....