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Freedom United @freedomunitedhq.bsky.social · 20h

Stop billionaire-backed forced labor! Sign the petition here: www.freedomunited.org/advocate/sto...

Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bernard Arnault, and Amancio Ortega - these billionaires sit atop empires built on exploitation. Let's call them out.

www.freedomunited.org

Freedom United @freedomunitedhq.bsky.social · 20h

We’re out here trying to make an honest living, while billionaires build fortunes off forced labor.

Elon Musk. Jeff Bezos. Bernard Arnault. Amancio Ortega. All linked to forced labor.

Repost to call them out! 🔁

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Freedom United @freedomunitedhq.bsky.social · 20h

"This system may have been built on our silence, but our silence has not kept us safe. So, we are sharing our stories." Yesenia Cuello tells her story of exploitation as a child laborer in the tobacco fields of North Carolina.

Opinion: A life in the shadows of North Carolina fields

A former child farmworker and the daughter of immigrants reflects on her life and the current moment.

www.freedomunited.org

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Freedom United @freedomunitedhq.bsky.social · 1d

The most important takeaway from last week’s publication of the 2025 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report isn’t what’s inside the document, but the circumstances of its release. The future of the report itself is in peril, as is the office that produces it.

TIP report reveals serious perils for America’s anti-trafficking efforts - FreedomUnited.org

This TIP report undermines US leadership in the global fight to combat trafficking and tarnishes the TIP Report’s reputation and credibility.

www.freedomunited.org

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Freedom United @freedomunitedhq.bsky.social · 1d

A study reveals that even healthy US diets can carry the risk of forced labor. Analysing over 200 foods, researchers traced risks of forced labor across various food supply chains—from fruit farms and nut plantations to slaughterhouses and fishing vessels.

When "good" food hides forced labor - FreedomUnited.org

Research shows that foods often promoted as “healthy”, carry some of the highest risks of forced labor—including seafood, nuts, and fruits.

www.freedomunited.org

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Freedom United @freedomunitedhq.bsky.social · 2d

For International Day of the Girl Child, UNA-NY and Freedom United screened UNMUTED: CHILD BRIDES, highlighting forced child marriage in the US and India, followed by a panel discussion that inspired awareness and action.

Screening inspires lively discussion and action - FreedomUnited.org

A recent film screening shone a light on the global issue of forced child marriage, fostering lively discussions between audience members and panelists.

www.freedomunited.org

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Freedom United @freedomunitedhq.bsky.social · 2d

A new US rule cuts wages and increases risks of exploitation for agricultural workers. These policies abuse migrant laborers and push domestic workers out of the industry, creating a cycle of shortages and further entrenching exploitation in agriculture.

Temporary agricultural worker policy has exploitation baked in - FreedomUnited.org

Immigration raids have devastated the agricultural workforce in the US but Americans don’t want the jobs. To bring in affordable guest workers a new rule has been added that is full of exploitation loopholes.

www.freedomunited.org

Freedom United @freedomunitedhq.bsky.social · 9d

A Libyan patrol boat opened fire on a rescue vessel in the Mediterranean days after 42 NGOs sent an open letter to Brussels about EU funding enabling violence. Aid groups say the attacks expose the deadly consequences of Europe’s migration pact with Libya.

EU funds, Libya fires, and migrants pay - FreedomUnited.org

A Libyan patrol boat opened fire on a rescue vessel in the Mediterranean just days after 42 NGOs sent an open letter to Brussels on EU funding was enabling violence.

www.freedomunited.org

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Freedom United @freedomunitedhq.bsky.social · 10d

At the Make Them Pay rally in London we highlighted how billionaire wealth has grown in parallel with forced labor. Freedom United joined voices demanding accountability, calling out fortunes built on the backs of exploited workers in supply chains, particularly fashion.

Londoners take to the streets in protest of oppression and injustice

Crowds marched through the streets of London demanding the government start protecting workers instead of billionaires.

www.freedomunited.org

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Freedom United @freedomunitedhq.bsky.social · 11d

Kenyan police stopped 22 Kenyans from being trafficked into forced conscription for Russia's war on Ukraine. Authorities seized recruitment materials and arrested one suspect, exposing a syndicate exploiting job seekers through debt bondage schemes.

Government breaks up trafficking ring forcing victims to fight - FreedomUnited.org

Amid growing concerns about the number of Kenyans being lured into modern slavery by false promises of a good job overseas, a recent raid led to arrests and liberation.

www.freedomunited.org

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Freedom United @freedomunitedhq.bsky.social · 11d

For years, migrant workers recruited abroad into California's agriculture sector were exploited by unscrupulous recruiters. Now, in a ground-breaking step, these recruiters will no longer operate without oversight, helping prevent human trafficking before it starts.

Historic win: passage of ground-breaking California law - FreedomUnited.org

California Governor Gavin Newsom signs major legislation into law that Freedom United and partners have been tirelessly campaigning for.

www.freedomunited.org

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Freedom United @freedomunitedhq.bsky.social · 12d

At 13, Shams Ali* was forced into marriage, losing her childhood and rights. Now a survivor, she warns Iraq’s new law lowering the marriage age to nine will entrench child marriage and exploitation. Her story is a call to action.

www.freedomunited.org/news/child-m...

Forced child marriage survivor condemns Iraq's new marriage law

Forced child marriage survivor condemns Iraq’s new marriage law—"Passing such a law means nothing but legitimizing violence".

www.freedomunited.org

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Freedom United @freedomunitedhq.bsky.social · 13d

CAMPAIGN WIN! Governor Gavin Newsom has signed AB 1362 into law!

The passage of this bill is a groundbreaking step forward in ensuring temporary migrant workers in #California are safer from exploitation, abuse, & unfair recruitment practices.

More on this success: ow.ly/b7nY50X5U37

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Freedom United @freedomunitedhq.bsky.social · 14d

After escaping years of trafficking, Cassandra is rebuilding her life but facing crippling coerced debt from fraudulent loans made in her name. While financial institutions acknowledge her situation, the Canada Revenue Agency refuses to offer relief.

Trapped by fraudulent debt Canadian government failing survivors - FreedomUnited.org

Most financial institutions recognize debt incurred in trafficking situations as “coerced debt” but the CRA is failing survivors.

www.freedomunited.org

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Freedom United @freedomunitedhq.bsky.social · 15d

UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is putting lives at risk with her dangerous statements about trafficking survivors. Mahmood accused survivors of making “vexatious last-minute claims” relating to modern slavery to prevent their forced removal.

Dangerous rhetoric puts trafficking survivors at risk - FreedomUnited.org

UK home secretary is accused of putting lives at risk after accusing asylum seekers of making “vexatious last-minute claims”.

www.freedomunited.org

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Freedom United @freedomunitedhq.bsky.social · 15d

Pakistan’s new law banning child marriage was celebrated globally. Yet weak enforcement allows forced child marriage to persist across the country, exposing millions to exploitation, early pregnancies, domestic violence, and exclusion from education.

Pakistan’s lax enforcement leading to millions of child brides - FreedomUnited.org

Despite constitutional protections, child marriage still runs rampant in Pakistan due to a lack of enforcement.

www.freedomunited.org

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Freedom United @freedomunitedhq.bsky.social · 16d

Africa’s mineral boom for clean energy runs on exploited workers. Lawsuits expose tech giants’ supply chain abuses over modern slavery and child deaths in cobalt mines, while women leaders fight to break the cycle and demand safe and just mining practices.

Clean energy boom powered by child labor across Africa - FreedomUnited.org

The clean energy transition is driving a surge in demand for minerals from the DRC and across Africa—and powering a child labor crisis.

www.freedomunited.org

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Freedom United @freedomunitedhq.bsky.social · 16d

An Italian journalist’s photographs and video captured Libyan militias dumping migrants into the Mediterranean. The images expose the deadly costs of Europe’s partnership with Libya, enabling trafficking, forced labor, and murder.

Libyan officials dump migrants at sea

Shocking new footage shows Libyan officials throwing migrants into the Mediterranean. Survivors say some were executed.

www.freedomunited.org

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Freedom United @freedomunitedhq.bsky.social · 19d

London’s High Court halted the deportation of an Eritrean man, ruling the Home Office failed its legal obligations to investigate human trafficking claims, marking the first legal challenge to the UK-France controversial “one in, one out” removal policy.

www.freedomunited.org/news/uk-sche...

UK’s “one-in, one-out” scheme undermines trafficking protections - FreedomUnited.org

UK's new "one-in, one-out" scheme risks violating the their statutory obligations to identify and protect victims of human trafficking.

www.freedomunited.org

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Freedom United @freedomunitedhq.bsky.social · 19d

Venezuela’s economic collapse fuels the exploitation of women, children, Indigenous people, and migrants through forced labor, sexual exploitation, and forced marriage, aided by corruption, organized crime, and weak international coordination.

www.freedomunited.org/news/traffic...

Traffickers in Venezuela exploiting economic collapse - FreedomUnited.org

Between forced labor, sexual exploitation and forced marriages, criminal networks are leveraging Venezuela's current instability.

www.freedomunited.org

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Freedom United @freedomunitedhq.bsky.social · 20d

Migrant workers arriving in the UK on skilled visas are being trapped in debt bondage across hotels, restaurants, & takeaway outlets. They face illegal fees, coercion, and threats of deportation—echoing the systemic modern slavery uncovered in the care sector.

www.freedomunited.org/news/hospita...

Modern slavery moves into UK's hospitality sector- FreedomUnited.org

Lured by promises of a better life, migrant workers are instead experiencing the same abuses as caregivers at the hands of their employers

www.freedomunited.org

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Freedom United @freedomunitedhq.bsky.social · 24d

Cuba’s prisons operate a state-run forced labor system, compelling at least 60,000 incarcerated people—disproportionately Afro-Cuban—to produce cigars and charcoal for export under threats, unsafe conditions, and sexual violence.

www.freedomunited.org/news/cuban-c...

Cuban cigars linked to forced prison labor

A new report estimates that least 60,000 prisoners in Cuba are in forced labor, making cigars and charcoal under threats.

www.freedomunited.org

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Freedom United @freedomunitedhq.bsky.social · 25d

The Trump administration is set to cut funding for over 100 victim service providers across the US —leaving at least 3,000 survivors of human trafficking without support in effect on October 1.

www.freedomunited.org/news/traffic...

US anti-trafficking capacity gutted, survivor support in jeopardy

US anti-trafficking capacity is being dismantled worldwide and at home while lifesaving services for survivors are at risk of shutting down.

www.freedomunited.org

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Freedom United @freedomunitedhq.bsky.social · 27d

🎤 We hit the streets to test people’s knowledge on modern slavery and forced child marriage.

How many did you get right? 🤓

👉 Take the quiz on Forced Child Marriage: www.riddle.com/view/WpulZtdG

#StreetInterview #FreedomUnited #TestYourKnowledge

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Freedom United @freedomunitedhq.bsky.social · 29d

Data shows that temporary visa holders are vulnerable to trafficking, yet federal agencies have looked away. California could pass a law that would strengthen protections for temporary migrant workers against exploitation by abusive labor recruiters.

Can California stop traffickers before they strike?

California could hold foreign labor recruiters accountable and protect more temporary migrant workers from trafficking and exploitation.

www.freedomunited.org

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