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Human Rights

World in Progress: Fighting slavery

Anke Rasper
March 11, 2020

In this edition: Millions of people are forced to toil in forms of modern slavery across the world. Find out what is being done to help them from an NGO that's been fighting slavery for almost two centuries — and: meet an inspiring woman who escaped slavery in the 19th century and became one of the icons of the abolitionist movement: the amazing story of Harriet Tubman.

https://p.dw.com/p/3ZDv4

In the US, almost everyone has heard about her, but elsewhere, the former slave who became one of the most famous abolitionists, Harriet Tubman, is much less known. Her image was set to be put on the US 20 dollar bill this year — but that's been postponed by the current US president. Anja Steinbuch and Michael Marek went to Chesapeake Bay, the swampy river delta east of Washington D.C., where once the big slave ships came ashore, to trace Harriet Tubman's story, and meet those who keep Tubman's heritage alive today. Neil King presents the story.  

Thanks to Harriet Tubman and many other political activists, slavery was legally prohibited in the US in 1865. Today, all countries prohibit slavery. But modern forms of slavery persist in many parts of the world, and more than 40 million people are believed to be victims. Jakub Sobik from the UK-based NGO Anti-Slavery International explains what's being done to help them.

Anke Rasper
Anke Rasper Anke is a senior editor with DW's environment team.