Magnum Blog / Contemporary Global Slavery

Contemporary Global Slavery

Jang Jum Dol was 14 and on the way to do laundry when she was taken by a Japanese man and told she was going to a factory to make money, but she was tied up in a house with an 11-year-old girl and then taken with some other girls to Manchuria. She tried to escape and was captured and beaten and kept at a sex station for the Japanese military which was surrounded by a wire fence. She had three children there and two of them died, the surviving girl had a weak heart. When she came back to Korea with her daughter after the war she was so poor they had to sleep in the streets. Chris Steele-Perkins/Magnum Photos 2007 marks the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery within the British Empire. However, two hundred years later, it is estimated that 27 million people across the globe are still enslaved. To help raise awareness of this ongoing human rights crisis, Autograph ABP has commissioned nine Magnum photographers to document slavery as it exists around the world in the anniversary year of its abolition. A major exhibition of the work will open at the Royal Festival Hall in London in February 2008, and will include work on bonded labourers, child labourers, trade slavery, people trafficking, and domestic and sex slavery. Chris Steele-Perkins shares his experience of photographing "Comfort Women" in Korea for the project. I am sitting in a fire station in South Korea waiting for an incident on the quietest day of the year - so it seems an appropriate moment to write something briefly as it was in South Korea at the end of last year that I did my work for the Slavery project photographing Comfort Women.

pharmacology

The cause of war time slavery is different to the contemporary one, IMO. Economics is definitely the reason behind contemporary slavery issues. However, the image of suffering remains the same.

Rafal Pruszynski

Mr. Steele-Perkins,

Id love to welcome you to my city (LOL). Well, it may not be mine but I live here and since Im a big fan Im happy that you dropped by:) How long will you stay?

As you know, this issue of the so-called comfort women is of huge import here in Korea and I would be very interested to see your take on the issue.

Jason Vanderhill

Bravo Chris; this is profoundly important work you're doing.

Daniel Leussink

Dear Mr. Steele-Perkins,

Thank you very much for sharing such an interesting topic with the wider world. I agree with the comment by poster three, Jason Vanderhill, that this is a profoundly important work you are doing.

There is a lot said about comfort women already but not yet enough. Yet somehow, this story is all too often approached from the women's point of view. Perhaps another interesting idea would be to make a simple series of portraits of the other side of this story - the Japanese who commited the crimes. And most preferably, placing the photos next to eachother in an exibition, one on one.

Ana Omelete

Poignant work, something to remember and most people forget on our busy and so filled of futile interest society... Well done.

ALOK JOHRI

Dear Mr. Steele Perkins,

It’s disturbing to learn what one human being is going through in one part of the globe and what one in another. Its even more disturbing that it continues today and probably growing. To be very honest, I clicked on the 'Contemporary Global Slavery' link thinking it will also hi-light what's happening today. But your work I am sure definitely makes the common man think and hopefully do something about it. Being a journalist myself I too agree with Daniel Leussink, to bring forward those who commit these crimes.

To my understanding suffering is always a result of some sort of demand of assault. Come to think of it, money and sex industry that determines how we live and survive.
Quite an insightful documentation. I wish these shows travel to India and other developing countries.

Celeste

Thanks for this testimony, for speak up, and tell the story of this people. Muchas gracias por su valentía al buscar estas historias y sacarlas a la luz, poder hablar en voz alta es parte del proceso de sanación. Le mando un fuerte abrazo, y le agradezco una vez mas por su valioso trabajo.

bananaranha

Think for a moment what a sacrifice that is - to stand up in public, as an old woman, because they kept their shameful past well hidden up until recently, and tell how, for years, you had been systematically raped and abused by the troops of an invading army. It puts you beyond dirt.

No, it puts the japanese soldiers beyond dirt.

shash

hi im doing a speach on black history month but I want to learn about slaves sorry to here you are one