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Survivors of Slavery: Modern-Day Slave Narratives Kindle Edition

by Laura Murphy (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 37 ratings
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Slavery is not a crime confined to the far reaches of history. It is an injustice that continues to entrap twenty-seven million people across the globe. Laura Murphy offers close to forty survivor narratives from Cambodia, Ghana, Lebanon, Macedonia, Mexico, Russia, Thailand, Ukraine, and the United States, detailing the horrors of a system that forces people to work without pay and against their will, under the threat of violence, with little or no means of escape. Representing a variety of circumstances in diverse contexts, these survivors are the Frederick Douglasses, Sojourner Truths, and Olaudah Equianos of our time, testifying to the widespread existence of a human rights tragedy and the urgent need to address it.

Through storytelling and firsthand testimony, this anthology shapes a twenty-first-century narrative that many believe died with the end of slavery in the Americas. Organized around such issues as the need for work, the punishment of defiance, and the move toward activism, the collection isolates the causes, mechanisms, and responses to slavery that allow the phenomenon to endure. Enhancing scholarship in women's studies, sociology, criminology, law, social work, and literary studies, the text establishes a common trajectory of vulnerability, enslavement, captivity, escape, and recovery, creating an invaluable resource for activists, scholars, legislators, and service providers.

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  1. Print length
    346 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Columbia University Press
  5. Publication date
    March 25, 2014
  6. File size
    3262 KB
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Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Most of us think of slavery as a shameful practice of horrendous exploitation from the past, but Murphy presents a collection of narratives written by people currently enslaved in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the U.S. Though not generally sold into slavery and transported, they often inherit enslavement or find themselves enslaved because of debt. Nearly 40 survivors give voice to their particular circumstances, among them a Cambodian sex slave, a Vietnamese woman enslaved in a factory in American Samoa, and a Zambian boys’ choir forced to work for a religious ministry in the U.S. Those most vulnerable are immigrants, domestic servants, war captives, child laborers, and factory workers. What they have in common is a system that forces them to work against their will for little or no pay. Murphy precedes each chapter with historical and contemporary contexts for slavery and slave narratives, carefully addressing concerns about the overuse or the exaggerated use of the word slavery. Whatever readers might think about that debate, this collection gives voice to the desire of the enslaved to express their humanity. --Vanessa Bush

Review

Murphy's book provides an essential collection of narratives that everyone involved in the prevention of trafficking should read. ― Journal of Human Trafficking

Survivors of Slavery invites the reader not only to consider the actual words on the page, but also to question context, voice, and what is not being said. -- Sandra Morgan, Director, Global Center for Women and Justice at Vanguard University

A welcome addition to our understanding of trafficking. ― Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Review

Murphy has allowed the victims of contemporary bondage to speak for themselves. These often heart-wrenching accounts do more than reveal the tragic stories of contemporary abuse and suffering; they often reveal patterns of behavior and resistance that can inform our understanding of historic slavery in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This collection clearly establishes the international dimensions and persistence of slavery. -- Paul E. Lovejoy, Director, The Harriet Tubman Institute

... this collection gives voice to the desire of the enslaved to express their humanity. ― Booklist

An "open condemnation" of modern slavery that builds powerfully by testimony. ― Kirkus

Graduate and undergraduate students can benefit from inclusion of this book as a text through which they can understand slavery in the voices of people who have experienced it a critical book few readers will be unchanged. ― PsycCRITIQUES

As awareness of modern slavery explodes, the least heard but most important voices we need to hear belong to slavery survivors. It is a simple fact that if you have always lived in freedom the lived truth of slavery is unimaginable. For the slaves and ex-slaves this creates a deep gap, a sense that they will never be understood. Laura T. Murphy's superlative Survivors of Slavery bridges that gap and opens the door to understanding and healing. There are plenty of books to read if you want to understand modern slavery in your head, but if you want to understand the truth of slavery in your heart, read this book. -- Kevin Bales, cofounder of Free the Slaves

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00I7JCB44
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Columbia University Press (March 25, 2014)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 25, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3262 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 346 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 37 ratings

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  1. Laura Murphy

    Laura Murphy

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    Laura T. Murphy is Professor of Human Rights and Contemporary Slavery at the Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice at Sheffield Hallam University.

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    Laura T. Murphy

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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
37 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Student16
5.0 out of 5 stars Brings a human element to understanding human trafficking
Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2016
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In this collection of stories, Laura Murphy explores the experiences that survivors of human trafficking have had during their time in imprisonment. Murphy describes the details of each survivors’ story in a way that really draws the reader into how the mindset of somebody who is forced into these situations works. Each story unveils a different facet of the crime of human trafficking and allows the reader to really see the complexity of the crime and the barriers that victims must overcome to become survivors. Because these stories are based on real experiences, the real human faces of this hidden crime and really brought to life and allows readers to see them as people that not much different from themselves rather than just statistics. What could have made these stories stronger is the inclusion of photographs of the places where these victims lived or of the victims themselves throughout the book. Images can often make a much stronger impact than pure words, but I do realize that privacy and security most likely were in issue in publishing these accounts.
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Danielle Goldenberg
4.0 out of 5 stars A well-written and engaging platform for many voices, balancing challenging stories of slavery and survivorship
Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2017
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I definitely enjoyed this book by Laura Murphy. This book constituted assigned reading in a “collaboration against human trafficking” course I took this spring. The most effective elements of the book were, of course, the telling of survivors’ stories (usually through interviews, or through survivors' own narratives). Though the stories can be difficult to read (pretty shocking injustice), they provide the most jarring wake-up call regarding what goes on in the realms of both labor trafficking and trafficking in many different parts of the world. Many diverse voices have been captured and given a platform through this book. It’s valuable for anyone who wants to understand more about modern slavery. I think each chapter of the book was also framed by thoughtful and well-reasoned introductions by the author. I was particularly interested in the authors’ rhetorical analysis of survivors’ stories, as well as what additional meanings we can glean by understanding the historical context and justifications for slavery and how these strategies are perpetuated by slaveholders today. Finally, Laura Murphy offers an optimistic look at survivorship and life after slavery; a former child slave recounts his later academic success, pursuit of higher education, and anti-trafficking activism; included in detail and from many different perspectives, is the case study of an Indian community, almost totally enslaved within a mining industry, that is later able, through communal resistance and facilitation by an NGO, to escape enslavement and build up its own, new, self-supporting mining community. These are just some of the interesting stories that Laura Murphy shares, and it’s done in an engaging way that I think anti-trafficking experts would approve of.
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Bo V.
5.0 out of 5 stars Glimpse of Human Trafficking Realities
Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2019
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Laura T. Murphy’s “Survivors of Slavery” is by no means a light or easy read, in a sense that much of the content illustrates disturbing violations and exploitations of human beings told from first-hand accounts. It proves to be shocking, yet a necessary way to raise awareness by making the seemingly distant issue of human trafficking more of a reality. For both of these reasons, this book is extremely successful at conveying the horrors of human trafficking, while omitting very minimal details. Additionally, through these modern-day slave narratives, Murphy enabled survivors to reveal as much information as they are comfortable with and put the power of disclosure in their hands. Not only is this a way to empower survivors through sharing their stories, but is also a way to provoke the thoughts of society and provide shocking, realistic, information, that is otherwise commonly censored or disregarded.
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Shannon G
5.0 out of 5 stars Survivors of Slavery was one of the most eye-opening books ...
Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2018
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Survivors of Slavery was one of the most eye-opening books I have read this year. A common depiction of slavery is of a person shackled by chains, but this book represents the vast array of forms in which slavery occurs today. Many of the survivor narratives were difficult to read—their experiences while being enslaved are horrifying. Their stories bring much-needed awareness to how modern day slavery occurs, the factors that enable exploitation, and the barriers that survivors face in escaping and recovering. While it was oftentimes difficult to feel hopeful about eradicating slavery after reading those stories, the book ends on a positive note and reassures the readers that anyone can take action and be a part of the anti-human trafficking effort.
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Stephanie Wu
5.0 out of 5 stars Unforgettable, eye-opening look into the reality of modern-day slavery
Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2018
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In Survivors of Slavery, Murphy shows the need for the lived truth of those enslaved to be at the forefront of the current abolitionist movement. The physical and psychological abuse that modern slaves endure in the shadows of public consciousness are told through harrowing accounts that have not been edited or groomed to suit public preconceptions. In each account, the individuality and humanity of the survivor forces the reader to be completely engaged. As a collection, the narratives reveal both the systematic factors that repeatedly enslave millions around the world and the patterns of resistance that can lead to freedom. Survivors of Slavery provides an unforgettable, eye-opening look into the reality of modern-day slavery.
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