Actually, I’m not surprised by Harriet Jacobs’ experience of slavery. As a woman who is a vulnerable group, she couldn’t fight with her owner like Frederick Douglass, she would also take more damage than a male slave. In “Life of a Slave Girl“, she was not only beaten and sexually assaulted by Dr. Flint but also envied by the mistress. To run away from Dr. Flint, she lived in a loophole for 7 years. Ironically, after she escaped and living in New York which is a Free State, she finally got freedom was sold herself. “A human being sold in the free city of New York”! “But much as I love freedom, I do not like to look upon it”. So I think Jacobs suffered more than Douglass physically. it didn’t use too many adjectives to shared her experience living in the little loophole.
I had read an essay “‘Sea Slaves’ Catch Dinner for America’s Pets” in New York Times. The first thing I learned is contemporary slavery still existed today, and it’s not that far away from us. The second thing is contemporary slavery is normal in many developing countries because it can bring so many benefits and save a lot of the salaries. The third thing is freedom is not given, it is won.
Hmmm, now I am curious. What is a “sea slave”?
A group of male laborers from Burma and Cambodia is trafficked into forced labor at sea as fishermen. Their working and living conditions were very poor, and they were often beaten and even died.
Here is the link:
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/27/world/outlaw-ocean-thailand-fishing-sea-slaves-pets.html