A two m long wooden shed2 , without adequate heating, in a northern European country was the place where a man was kept for 40 years under conditions analogous to slavery.
This Tuesday (18), one of the people who put the 58-year-old man in this situation confessed to the crime before a court in the English city of Carlisle, almost on the border with Scotland.
Peter Swailes, 56, was arrested in October 2018 after investigators from the Gangmasters and Labor Abuse Authority, the British agency responsible for investigating cases of labor exploitation, received an anonymous tip that a man was being held in degrading conditions.
At the time, the defendant’s father, who has the same name, was also arrested. At the place of detention, the agents found the small wooden shed and, after knocking on the door, were greeted by the victim.
Authorities said the man told officials he had lived there for four decades and asked to wash up, pointing to a kitchen sink in a building near the shed, where he likely showered.
Authorities also noted the existence of another shed on the site, used to house the family dog, which was in much better condition than the one intended for the man.
In interviews, the victim stated that he worked on farms, with painting services, in addition to other heavier jobs, since he was 16 years old. Altogether, he was paid 10 pounds sterling (R$ 74) per day – in the United Kingdom, the minimum wage stipulated by law is 8.81 pounds (R$ 66) per hour.
Following investigations, the suspects were charged with facilitating someone’s travel to exploit them later, which is considered a crime under the UK’s 2015 slavery law.
Swailes, however, was released after posting bail and is expected to receive his sentence on February 4th. His father died in September 2021, aged 81, shortly before his trial.
At Tuesday’s hearing, according to the BBC, Swailes denied having knowledge of how the man was treated, but confessed that he paid him “less than his minimum duty”. Martin Plimmer, head of the investigation, said that in his entire career, he had never known a case of modern slavery where “exploitation took place for such a long period of time.” “It’s good to see that Swailes did the right thing and pleaded guilty.”
The victim, in turn, was accepted into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) on the day she was rescued and continues to receive specialist support. Currently, the man lives outside the region where he was found, in accommodation supported by the government program.
“Unfortunately, we are very aware of the fact that he will be traumatized by his experience for the rest of his life. I am committed to ensuring that he continues to have the regular and consistent support he needs, allowing him to lead a life closer to normal as possible,” said Plimmer.
A UN estimate made in 2017 pointed out that about 25 million people are victims of slave labor worldwide and another 15 million live in prison after being forced to marry – of the total, 71% are women and girls. Last year, the United Nations celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery; in 2021 alone, 18,000 victims received assistance from organizations supported by the initiative.
Furthermore, according to data released by Unicef ​​in June, nearly 80 million children aged 5 to 17 are subjected to hazardous work, classified as a contemporary form of slavery.
In Brazil, in 2020 alone, 942 people were rescued from a condition similar to slavery, according to the Observatory for the Eradication of Slave Labor and Human Trafficking. Also according to the platform, 55,712 people have been released from degrading work situations since 1995.
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