The unscholarly article of “A slave in Scotland: ‘I fell into a trap – and I couldn't get out’” on The Guardian is flawed in its description of trade, globalization, and slavery practices. Despite a considerable length used to describe clearly the issue, there is no reference used and the account of a single individual is the only source for describing modern forms of slavery. A quick review of the information provided in the article shows a clear lack of disregard for scholarly techniques in writing about historical events. Trade and globalization are interconnected aspects of the modern society that have led to the occurrence of slavery. Since the beginning of the practice in the 1600s, trade and the effect of globalization were integral to its growth. 1 The more advanced civilizations in Europe identified the primitive nature of other societies across the world. As a result, the ploy was to attract the individual members of the primitive lands with promise of improving their lives and instead take advantage of their labor for profit. 2 In a similar practice, modern slaves are promised a better lifestyle in the foreign land, a common lie that attracts them due to the devastating experience of poverty. The unscholarly article can be improved by using peer-reviewed articles, improving information on how trade and globalization influence modern slavery, identifying the factors that cause slavery in modern times, increase number of cases on human trafficking, and proper organization of thoughts and ideas in the presentation of data.
At first, it is evident that authors of the article are presenting a critical issue associated with different parts of the world. Slavery and human trafficking is a common practice with majority of the victims coming from the poor and developing countries. The article fails to incorporate scholarly articles in the description of slavery and human trafficking as it affects a large population on the modern world. The research by Crane (2013), shows that there has been little attention paid to the individual employees who undertake strenuous conditions at the workplace. 3 The management sector is significantly responsible for the occurrence of slavery in the modern days. Administrative leaders will provide the employees with just enough wages to keep them working and sustaining the business operations. The practice has been integral to the establishment of modern day slavery through exploitation of human labor. The individuals are forced to work long hours in a day for little pay. The case of Abul Azad and Kamal Ahmed, it is evident that working almost 22hrs in a day for £100 a month is exploitation of labor. 4
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Another measure that the authors of the articles could undertake to enhance the information provided is to look into the various ways that trade and globalization influence modern slavery. It is evident that individuals from across different countries are actively searching for ways of improving their lives. Therefore, they fall prey to conmen and cheats who seek to extort money from the individuals before making them into slaves. Abul and Kamal’s case is a clear indicator of the negative consequences of trade and globalization. 5 The latter enables individuals from every corner of the world to migrate into foreign countries as a measure of effectively increasing financial status. This practice is not a sign of greed rather it is human nature where every member of the society seeks to establish a stable lifestyle for survival. 6 These human traffickers identify the need for individuals to purchase their freedom only to force them into devastating workplace conditions that make them fatigued and incapable of paying off their debt.
Other causes of slavery are important factors to take into consideration when describing the experiences of Abul and Kamal. The two individuals are just a few of the millions of people across the world who suffer from human trafficking. 7 It is evident that the food industry has been integral to the growth of modern slavery. 8 Individuals are given promise of their engagement in a good restaurant business where they will receive good wages and improve their lives significantly. However, this is not the case as the working conditions are devastating and unhealthy. It is evident that sex is also used as modern means of slavery. 9 Young women and girls are shipped from their homes into countries where their primary purpose is to serve as sex slaves. 10 They are attracted by the possibility they will receive cleaning jobs only to undertake roles of prostitutes.
The authors have only taken into consideration one case of human trafficking when there are thousands of cases affecting the global population. 11 There are multiple cases of human trafficking not only in Scotland but also in other European nations and Asia as well. In the latter case, it is a devastating problem that political leaders are finding difficult to mitigate. 12 In 2005, the number of international migrants was at an all time high of 195million more than double the number just five decades before. 13 The migrants are most likely to experience unemployment due to the occurrence of the recession in 2007-08. As a result, employers will take advantage of this occurrence. The individuals who migrate from Middle-Eastern and Asian countries are most likely to suffer from devastating work conditions. In China, there are internal migrants who suffer from this occurrence as they have to sustain the difficult work conditions and low pay.
Appropriate organization of thoughts is an integral factor to the development of a scholarly article. The authors jump from one idea to the next without a seamless transition of ideas. 14 It is important that the authors identify an effective means of relaying information to the audience and serve as an appropriate source of historical information.
In conclusion, the unscholarly article should be greatly improved to provide an in-depth analysis of modern slavery. The authors have provided clear information on the experiences of Abul and Kamal as victims of slavery and exploitation of labor. Despite the provision of facts about slavery, the article does not provide a distinct peer reviewed reference to ascertain the occurrences. It is also clear that the provision of real events as they affect individuals is an effective means of supporting the claim of modern slavery. This is a positive aspect of the article however, through addition of the peer reviewed articles it could significantly enhance the reliability and validity of the information provided.
References
Albin, Einat, and Virginia Mantouvalou. "The ILO convention on domestic workers: From the shadows to the light." Industrial Law Journal 41, no. 1 (2012): 67-78.
Bastia, Tanja, and Siobhan McGrath. "Temporality, migration and unfree labour: migrant garment workers." Manchester Papers in Political Economy (2011).
Bruhn, Miriam, and Francisco A. Gallego. "Good, bad, and ugly colonial activities: do they matter for economic development?" Review of Economics and Statistics 94, no. 2 (2012): 433-461.
Crane, Andrew. "Modern slavery as a management practice: Exploring the conditions and capabilities for human exploitation." Academy of Management Review 38, no. 1 (2013): 49-69.
Davidson, Julia O’Connell. "Slaves and Wives: A Question of Consent?" In Modern Slavery , pp. 162-185. Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2015.
Kelly, Annie, and Mei-Ling McNamara. A slave in Scotland: ‘I fell into a trap – and I couldn't get out’ . The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/may/28/slavery-human-trafficking-hotel-workers-bangladesh-scotland?CMP=fb_gu
O’Connell Davidson, Julia. "Troubling freedom: Migration, debt, and modern slavery." Migration Studies 1, no. 2 (2013): 176-195.
Scott, Sam, Gary Craig, and Alistair Geddes. Experiences of forced labour in the UK food industry . New York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 2012.
Silverman, Bernard, and F. R. S. FAcSS. "Modern slavery: an application of multiple systems estimation." Gov. UK (2014).
1 Miriam Bruhn, and Francisco A. Gallego. "Good, bad, and ugly colonial activities: do they matter for economic development?" Review of Economics and Statistics 94, no. 2 (2012): 433-461.
2 Tanja Bastia, and Siobhan McGrath. "Temporality, migration and unfree labour: migrant garment workers." Manchester Papers in Political Economy (2011).
3 Annie Kelly, and Mei-Ling McNamara. A slave in Scotland: ‘I fell into a trap – and I couldn't get out’. The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/may/28/slavery-human-trafficking-hotel-workers-bangladesh-scotland?CMP=fb_gu
4 Ibid.
5 Ibid.
6 Ibid.
7 Ibid.
8 Silverman, Bernard, and F. R. S. FAcSS. "Modern slavery: an application of multiple systems estimation." Gov. UK (2014).
9 Julia O’Connell Davidson. "Slaves and Wives: A Question of Consent?" In Modern Slavery , pp. 162-185. Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2015.
10 Einat Albin, and Virginia Mantouvalou. "The ILO convention on domestic workers: From the shadows to the light." Industrial Law Journal 41, no. 1 (2012): 67-78.
11 Annie Kelly, and Mei-Ling McNamara. A slave in Scotland: ‘I fell into a trap – and I couldn't get out’. The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/may/28/slavery-human-trafficking-hotel-workers-bangladesh-scotland?CMP=fb_gu
12 Andrew Crane. "Modern slavery as a management practice: Exploring the conditions and capabilities for human exploitation." Academy of Management Review 38, no. 1 (2013): 49-69.
13 Sam Scott, Gary Craig, and Alistair Geddes. Experiences of forced labour in the UK food industry . New York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 2012.
14 Julia O’Connell Davidson. "Troubling freedom: Migration, debt, and modern slavery." Migration Studies 1, no. 2 (2013): 176-195.
