When you hear the word ‘slavery,’ you probably get images in your head of pre-Civil War America. But it’s happening right now, with over 41,000 people estimated to be kept as slaves right here in 21st century Australia.
It usually comes down to people at a vulnerable moment in their life who are exploited by the person they thought they could trust.
That’s what happened to Moe Turaga, a modern slavery survivor who travelled to Australia as a teenager on the promise from a cousin that he could earn a good wage as a farm worker to help his mother and siblings who were struggling economically back in Fiji. When he arrived his passport was confiscated and he was forced to work on a farm without pay. Turaga felt trapped.
“It’s a powerful thing, you know, and it’s also fully respecting because it’s a family member that got us out here, the shame to be going home. With nothing at all. And then the shame on you.“
Katrina Blowers hears Turaga’s heart-wrenching ordeal on today’s episode of The Briefing and we also hear from Louise Burton, the CEO of the Sisters of Charity Foundation which helps victims of slavery in Australia.
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