Slaves Holders in New Jersey Sentenced to Over 20 Years in Prison
That’s right, you read correctly. Slaves in America in 2010. A sad story of cruelty and injustice. Many girls were sent from West Africa to the United States under false pretenses that they would be educated. Once they got to the United States, however, the reality was something very different. The girls were held as slaves for over five years. Many of the girls were forced to work in hair braiding salons in New Jersey. Aside from the mild interactions with strangers at the hair salons, the girls were completely shielded from the outside world. The girls allege that they worked for more than 12 hours a day on most days.
Perhaps the most shocking part is that the traffickers convicted in this case are of West African origin. The traffickers are Akouavi Afolabi, her husband Lassissi and their son Dereck. The captors are accused of sexually abusing, beating and withholding food from the girls. Earlier this year, the wife was sentenced to 27 years in prison while her husband was sentenced to 24 years.
Perhaps now the girls can finally pursue their dreams of being educated and living a free life.
