Slavery has been abolished for centuries, but this does not mean that it does not continue, albeit in more 'modern' forms. For example, in Hong Kong there are hundreds of thousands of domestic workers whose status resembles that of 'serfs' more than that of domestic workers. They come from Indonesia or the Philippines, have no legal protection, work seven days a week, and almost all of their salary goes to more or less fraudulent agencies that have given them the job. There are limits to the commissions that these agencies can charge (no more than 10% of the salary), but other burdens are invented that bring the monthly installments up to 90%, and when the cleaners don't pay, various forms of pressure start , bordering on persecution, which force the debtors into permanent subjection. Those who cannot pay end up in the clutches of loan agencies (modern term for 'loan sharks') who encourage borrowing by offering TVs or mobile phones, but then charge interest of up to 60% per annum, legal under Hong Kong law.
Various non-profit institutions try to help these unfortunates, but the intertwining between employment agencies, loan agencies and, often, the same families who employ them, constitutes a difficult knot. And meanwhile the maids are like in a prison with no hope of being able to escape.
