Florida Farm Workers Tell How Drugs, Debt Bind Them in Modern Slavery
A former crack addict sues a Florida farm, accusing the owners of modern-day slavery—set up to live in an environment that preyed on his addiction and left him without a paycheck:
“There’s something going on in this small town and it might be hard to care because the victims are often homeless black men who live mostly in the shadows. Many have criminal records and sins in their past.
“But many served in the armed forces and lived good lives before they dropped out of society and wound up in bondage.
“Authorities have failed to stop a form of slavery that begins with indebtedness and sometimes doesn’t end until a worker is dead.
“And it continues today.”
Author:
Source:
Tampa Bay Times
Published: May 13, 2012
Length: 9 minutes (2,451 words)