A book review: The Trafficker Next Door

Written by Rhacel Salazar Parreñas, a professor of sociology, and gender and sexuality studies at Princeton University, it shares story after story of migrant workers ensnared in forced labour due to poverty and debt bondage.  

The book opens with Sir Mo Farah’s now famous story of domestic servitude and questions why Farrah was trafficked, what circumstances led to his trafficking and how the woman responsible for his entrapment could believe she had done nothing wrong. Parreñas continues along this thread – trying to understand how many seemingly upstanding citizens in the US, Middle East and Asia justify their exploitative practices.   

Domestic servitude often receives less attention than other forms of modern slavery – this book aims to help its readers deepen their understanding of how and why it occurs.  

Parreñas examines the entrenched social and legal norms and the “employer saviour complex” that fosters a sense of ownership among employers over their domestic workers. She also illustrates the migrants’ desperation, and the power dynamics that lead to a global network of exploitation – helping to explain why many workers cannot leave the exploitative situation. 

As well as pointing the finger at harsh migration policies and systemic issues, Parreñas exposes the evil and greed within individuals: “trafficking or slavery ultimately happens because individuals take advantage of their power and act on the structural vulnerability of others.” 

It was deeply uncomfortable to read of Western expatriates justifying their behaviour and believing that paying a worker below-average wages, denying them food and withholding passports or access to phone calls was acceptable because their set up “wasn’t as bad as other employers.” 

The book concludes with the suggestion of a three-pronged strategy to reduce the prevalence of domestic servitude: employer punishment, formal recognition of the occupation and moral advocacy toward the greater valuation of domestic work. 

We would urge you to read the book – it is just 121 pages long and easy to read but the stories and challenges will stay with you long after you have finished it. 

The publishers of The Trafficker Next Door have offered our newsletter subscribers a special discount of 30%. To order the book, click here and add the code WN328 at the checkout.