People aren’t the only ones who live in slavery. Five killer whales have been named as plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) against Sea World, which says they deserve the same constitutional protection from slavery as humans.
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Not all slaves are black. In the UK, gypsies have been kidnapping homeless (mostly white) men and sending them abroad to work as virtual slaves. An investigation has discovered 32 victims of this practice. They are being transported to countries like Sweden, Norway and Belgium, where they are forced to work 14 hour days paving driveways (a traditional gypsy specialty) for little or no money. They are forced to live in cramped conditions and are threatened with violence. Many of these men are alcoholics or addicts. There is evidence that these gangs are also operating in Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark.
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American blacks searching for their African roots are finding it’s not so easy. In the January 27th edition of the New York Times, Edward Rothstein says, "The astounding thing about American slavery is not that it existed–the enslavement of one people by another may be one of history’s universals–but that it persisted. It lasted into an era when its absence could be imagined and its presence could become an outrage."
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We tend to think of both Native Americans and African Americans as cultural and ethnic groups who have been treated badly by history. But one thing most people DON’T know is that Indians once kept SLAVES. Now the freedmen who are the descendents of slaves kept by wealthy members of the Cherokee nation are fighting to be accepted of members of the tribe.
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