Enslaved | Granta

  • Published: 04/04/2013
  • ISBN: 9781846275401
  • Granta Books
  • 256 pages

Enslaved

Rahila Gupta

Slavery in Britain did not end with William Wilberforce at the beginning of the nineteenth century. They may be largely invisible to us, but living in our midst are thousands of slaves. Rahila Gupta seeks out five escapees and persuades them to tell us their stories in this compelling book. We meet a pregnant child from Sierra Leone who was locked up in a London house as a domestic slave; a Russian teenager trafficked into prostitution; a Chinese man who lives in fear of the Triads; a religious Somali woman who had to exchange sex for food; and a young Punjabi woman forced into marriage and repeatedly abused by her husband. These are the stories of those who have escaped, through a combination of courage, timing, luck and the humanity of those who helped them. Their testimonies are harrowing but they need to be heard.

This is one of the most vital books of the new century

Emma Thompson

Slavery does not belong to the past. It lives and breathes in our midst and Rahila Gupta's powerful expose opens a window on this secret world. This is one of the most shocking books you will read about contemporary Britain; that human beings should be treated with such degradation and cruelty is a disgrace we should find unbearable. I hope the author's passion ignites a new anti-slavery campaign. Sign me up

Helena Kennedy

Rahila Gupta's book Enslaved which deals with modern slavery is very timely since it is coming out in the year when we are celebrating the bi-centenary of Wilberforce's Bill to abolish the slave trade. The example he gives should remind us all that the struggle for human rights has to be fought in every generation.

Tony Benn

The Author

Campaigning journalist-activist Rahila Gupta has written several plays, and is the editor of From Homebreakers to Jailbreakers: Southall Black Sisters and co-author of Circle of Light, a book about the Sikh-British woman Kiranjit Ahluwalia imprisoned for the manslaughter of her abusive husband.

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