Ending slavery by Kevin Bales By: Baeley Haught

 Should the enslaved children have been afraid of the police that came to their house?

 No, the children should not have been afraid of the police officers.

 1) The Police were there to help rescue the children from the slave holders  2) If they would have been freed they would get a chance to start a new, fresh life.  3) They could have had a chance to experience a life without slavery and see how good it can be, and see how it doesn’t have to be.

 Yes the children should have been afraid of the police officers.

 1) The police were people that they did not know and could have been there to hurt the children even more.  2) The slave holders made it seem like the police were the bad guys and told the children to hide when they came to the house so they wouldn’t take them away.  3) The children have been brainwashed and don’t know who is the good guy and who is the bad guy, they are only doing what they knew.

 Does the cost of slavery make it more popular?

 Yes, the cost of slavery has made it more popular.

 1) The cost now is much less than it was in the 1800’s. The cost then was about $40,000, today it is only about $ 100 or even less in some cases.  2) The land available is much less than it was back then therefore there doesn’t need to be as many slaves and the work is less. So to keep the slaves today would be much less than it was in the 1800’s.  3) Lowered cost means more slaves for less money and there can be a lot or work that gets done for almost nothing. Slaves today are cheap and disposable.

No, the cost of slavery does not make it more popular

 1) You can not exactly compare the dollar amount of todays society to that of the 1800’s.  2) Times have changed, and equipment has changed. Time is money and things today are easier to use and more time efficient. The inexpensiveness means that the slave does not represent a large investment that requires special care, and the slave is easily replaced.  3) I would like to believe that people realize that it is morally wrong, and there are legal more humane ways to have people work for you.

 Can reliable funding, flexibility, and critical thinking help end slavery?

 Yes, reliable funding, flexibility, and critical thinking can all help end slavery.

 1) As long as there is a steady flow of funding liberations can take place.  2) Listening to slave communities needs is important. Giving them what they need even if it changes because the goal is freedom!  3) Thinking critically of the local antislavery groups is important to get the job done. They need to know what is blocking the freedom and be able to overcome it. Increasing the understanding and trust between the slaves and the antislavery groups is the challenge.

 No, reliable funding, flexibility, and critical thinking will not help end slavery.

 1) A steady flow of income is hard to get and takes a lot of time, and they may run out of money before the liberation is complete.  2) Flexibility is not always able to achieve with what the slaves need and how their needs may change.  3) It is tough to achieve the funding but also following the rules of how they can fund it. The understanding and trust is not easily earned.

 This was a book that made emotions run. I didn’t realize that slavery was still an issue in the United States, but realized that it is still an issue in most of the world. It gave me a different perspective on this issue of slavery. I felt so bad for the children that had their childhood taken away from them. They were beaten, starved, and mistreated, when they should have been playing with their friends. Hopefully one day modern day slavery will be a story of the past in hopes that no one else will have to live through such a horrible thing.

 Bales, Kevin. (2007). Ending Slavery: How We Free Today’s Slaves. California: University of California Press.