Seven countries where slavery still exists (10 photos)

Officially, it is not there. But in reality, anyone can “buy” a person there - if they have the money.





Human rights activists constantly trumpet that there is still slavery in the world. They are not talking about loans and mortgages, but about natural slaves - about the same as in Ancient Rome. There are about 50 million of them - and only by the most conservative estimates.

And here is a list of countries with the most slaves.

Gabon



This is the so-called “hub” of African slave owners. They bring enslaved people here from all over the continent: some of them settle here, others are sold to other African countries. Although many young men and women come to Gabon themselves in search of a better life - the country has a pretty good standard of living compared to neighboring countries. And some of these young people are turned into slaves: they take away their documents and force them to work for people with money.

Haiti





In the homeland of Voodoo, people live extremely poorly. They don't want to develop tourism (to be honest, no one is particularly eager to go there), there are also bad jobs, so most of the population drags out a semi-beggarly existence. And where there is poverty, there is crime - some areas of the city are not even controlled by the authorities, and the police are afraid to go there because of the off-scale crime.

The poor, in order not to die of hunger, borrow money from bandits. But they can't pay it back. Then the organized crime groups put them on the “meter”, and when the sum becomes large, they force them to work for them until death. Also, some of the poor give their young children to rich families as servants. In fact, they make them slaves, because minors cannot leave and ruin their health with hard work for food.

Cote d'Ivoire



Here, slaves are used mainly on cocoa bean plantations. In reality, it is more like hard labor, where unhappy, exhausted people work. There is no medicine, education, or anything else provided there, half of the plantation workers do not live to be 30 years old. And they toil from morning till night just so that a European or an American can have a cup of tart cocoa in the morning.

Pakistan



The numbers vary, but if you take the average, there are 2 million slaves in the country. A third of them are children, aged 7 to 16, who end up in captivity because of their parents' debts. Most of these disenfranchised people toil in brick factories or on private farms.

India



In the world's most populous country, there are about 15 million slaves. Mostly minors, who are pushed off by their poor parents. And children are forced to work in the fields, take care of the elderly, or engage in petty theft and begging.

Gambia



The country is full of child beggars. They roam the streets, beg for change from passersby and give it to their owners for a bowl of thin gruel. This “business” is protected by bandits, and the children are recruited from among street children or simply stolen from schools and madrassas. In addition to collecting alms, the children also work as servants in wealthy homes.

Mauritania



In 1981, slavery was banned there by law. But in fact, 20% of the country's population is still in bondage to criminal groups. They force them to work for them and even pass them on as an inheritance.

It is almost impossible to break out of this circle. Firstly, the owners will not let you do this, secondly, there is nowhere to run. And thirdly, almost no one resists. The country is very sad with education, some people are completely disenfranchised and simply do not know any other life.



In general, the algorithm of modern slavery is as follows: poverty - debts - falling into the clutches of an organized crime group - impenetrable darkness. People in these countries live in terrible poverty and once they have fallen into slavery, they are not particularly eager to be free. The paradox is that in slavery they are at least provided with a bowl of soup a day, while most of them did not even have that in freedom.



So when you come across another article about a breakthrough in AI, an imminent flight to Mars, or other newfangled things, you can remember people who still live as if in the times of Ancient Rome. And this is in 2025.