ALJAZEERA PRESENTS: Slavery – A 21st Century Evil

There are more slaves than ever before, according to a shocking new documentary series premiering on Al Jazeera English on 10 October 2011.

South African Oscar, BAFTA and Emmy winning executive producer Jon Blair says, ” Slavery: A 21st Century Evil has been a year in the making and represents one of Al Jazeera’s most important global investigations. Shot on
three continents, this is the most in-depth study undertaken by any broadcaster of how and why modern day slavery persists.”

Presented by Somali-born journalist Rageh Omaar, Slavery: A 21st Century Evil exposes how slavery is flourishing all over the world. “Today 27 million men, women and children are held, sold and trafficked as slaves throughout the world,” says Rageh. “That¹s more than double the 12.5 million Africans who were taken into slavery during the several centuries of the Atlantic slave trade. This is a trade worth $32 billion a year ­ a trade that refuses to die and remains the most prolific evil in the world today.”

Among other horrors, the different episodes explore:
* Food chain slaves in America and the largest slave labour case in living memory, where a Californian company is charged with enslaving more than 900 Thai child labourers on farms across America.
* Sex slaves in Europe
* Bonded labour slaves in Pakistan
* Child slaves in Haiti
* Bridal slaves in India

Series producer Tim Tate says, “Slavery: A 21st Century Evil reveals uncomfortable truths about the role of slave labour in modern life, like the way some of the food on the shelves of supermarkets has been harvested by slaves, or the use of slave labour to produce many of the goods consumers throughout the world take for granted.”

Tim adds, “It’s also a challenge to governments throughout the world. There has never been an easier time to rid the world of slavery but we live in a world where a top lawyer charges £3 000 per hour and a slave can be bought for £55 or less. Yet the American government, despite its self-appointed role as the world¹s anti-slavery police, devotes precious few resources to its own part in the 21st century slave trade.”

The final episode will be an open public debate, which will discuss how the modern slave trade can be targeted and assess the efforts of the USA and the United Nations ­ the two major agencies involved.

The seven 30-minute and one 60-minute episodes begins on 10 October 2011.

For more information, visit: http://english.aljazeera.net

Al Jazeera English is screened across Africa, including:

·Angola (Zap TV, Channel 147)

· Botswana (MABC TV)

·Gambia (Gambia Radio and Television Services)

· Ghana (Infinity TV, Channel ­ 105; Metro TV; Multimedia; Skyy Digital
TV; Smart TV; TV-3 Network; and WICENET)

·Kenya (Citizen TV; Freeview: GBS, Channel ­ 47 [Nairobi analogue],
Channel ­ 15 [Nairobi digital]; Channel ­ 55 [Kisumu analogue]; Kiss TV;
Nation TV; Star Africa; Stella; and Zuku, Channel ­ 511.)

·Madagascar (TVF, Channel ­ 4)

·Mauritius (London Satellite Systems)

·Malawi (Malawi TV)

·Morocco (Telecom)

· Mozambique (TIM, Soico TV)

· Namibia (Namibian Broadcasting Corporation)

· Nigeria (Delta Cable: Disc Broadcasting; HITV; Infinity TV ­ Channel
­ 105; Multimesh CAN; My TV; Star Africa; DStv; and Suburban Broadband)

· Rwanda (Star Africa)

· Sierra Leone (Microtel TV, Channel ­ 7)

· South Africa (Bay TV; Cape Town TV; DStv, Channel ­ 406; Soweto TV;
and Top TV, Channel ­ 401)

· Tanzania (Coconut Digital, Channel ­ UHF 474, 514, 538 mhz; ITV)

· Uganda (Nation TV; Pearl Digital TV; and Smart TV)

· Zambia (CBC TV, Channel UHF 60; Zambia National Broadcasting
Corporation)

Alternatively, you can watch online at http://watchaljazeera.com.

Watch a compilation of excerpts below