MAPLEWOOD, NJ — For some people today, slavery is a concept only found within the pages of a history book, a long-extinguished abomination from centuries past. Others correctly realize that slavery does still exist, but are reassured by their belief that it happens thousands of miles away as an unfortunate institution of developing countries they will never visit.
But Maplewood’s own Bob Boneberg knows the truth. Slavery — whether it is debt bondage, sex trafficking or child labor — can be found in virtually every nation on the planet, including the United States. In fact, according to United Nations International Labor Organization statistics and the Walk Free Global Slavery Index, an estimated 21 to 31 million people are enslaved worldwide, unwilling participants in an industry worth $150 billion.
And though he has never personally felt the pain of a brutal beating from a ruthless master, the dizziness that comes from working hours on end without food or the sadness of knowing he will likely never see his family again, Boneberg has made ending slavery his personal mission for much of the past decade. His reason does not stem from an obligation to give back or a desire to feel good about himself by helping others; it is about doing what is right.
“The right to be free, the right to have some sort of free will over your own person, is the most fundamental human right,” Boneberg told the News-Record in a Jan. 21 phone interview. “It’s incumbent on me and you and all people everywhere to ensure that people at least have this right.”
That philosophy is what inspired Boneberg to join Free the Slaves, a global-reaching nonprofit dedicated to combating slavery in Asia, Africa and the Americas. Using a model that involves partnering with locals to educate people about their rights and establish institutions that can bring masters to justice, the organization has established itself as a leader of the modern abolitionist movement since launching in 2000. In 2014 alone, its efforts led to the freeing of 2,265 slaves and the arrest of 163 traffickers and slaveholders.
But Boneberg’s work with the organization has hit closer to home. In addition to ensuring its administrative stability as a former board chairman and legal counsel before departing in December 2015 and now working just to spread its message, the Maplewood resident also furthered Free the Slaves’ fight against slave labor by advocating for laws that would prevent the sale of slave-manufactured products in the United States. Such policies are necessary, he said, because keeping track of what goes on in a company’s supply chain is a lot harder than one would imagine.
“It’s a difficult problem,” Boneberg said. “Slavery is illegal everywhere, so people don’t parade their slaves around.”
As a result, Boneberg explained, companies based in the United States may not be aware that a product it is offering stateside was manufactured by people being forced to work. For instance, an American jeweler could be oblivious to the fact that slaves helped craft the necklace he is selling at some point during the multistep process it takes to mine and refine gold.
Boneberg said the way to prevent this from happening is to pass laws mandating that corporations be more transparent about the origins of their merchandise. The way to get those types of policies on the books is to make legislators knowledgeable about the likelihood that the chocolate they eat, clothes they wear and sheets they sleep on could have been produced by the 78 percent of slaves forced into manual labor, he said. As such, he said he and other Free the Slaves advocates worked to galvanize anti-slavery organizations so that this issue is on the forefront of politicians’ minds.
Evidently, the voices of Boneberg and his fellow anti-slavery advocates have been heard. In 2010 California lawmakers passed the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act, which requires all retailers and manufacturers with annual worldwide gross receipts of at least $100 million that do business in the state to disclose on their websites all efforts they make to eliminate slave labor from their supply chains. Additionally, in 2012 President Barack Obama issued an executive order strengthening protections against slavery for government employees and contractors.
There are even two bills now being proposed at the federal level against slavery — the Business Supply Chain Transparency on Trafficking and Slavery Act, which is essentially a national version of California’s act, and the End Modern Slavery Initiative Act, which would increase funding for U.S.
anti-trafficking efforts. Boneberg said it would be very helpful to the cause if people urged their elected officials in the Senate and House of Representatives to support those pieces of legislation.
Aside from that, the Maplewood advocate said those interested in fighting slavery should consider donating to nonprofits such as Free the Slaves. Of course, he said simply raising awareness that forced labor and human trafficking are still prevalent problems throughout the world will also go a long way in combating the common misconception that slavery is a thing of the past.
Because if slavery is finally going to be eliminated in our lifetime, Boneberg said, it will require the initiative of people across the country to take a stand.
“The United States rightfully thinks of itself as the land of the free and the home of the brave,” Boneberg said. “In order to effect that, it is incumbent that we do all we can to eradicate modern slavery. I think it can be done, and I think it will be done.”
To hear more about the history of slavery and what can be done to combat, attend Boneberg’s speech on the matter at the Wyoming Presbyterian Church, 432 Wyoming Ave. in Millburn, on Sunday, Feb. 7, at 10 a.m. To learn more about Free the Slaves, visit www.freetheslaves.net.
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