The Global Slavery Index 2023

Spotlights 4 

The Costs of the Climate Crisis (Part 3)

​Leaving to survive, fighting to return: the impact of climate change 
In 2013, Super Typhoon Haiyan, known locally as Typhoon Yolanda, struck the Philippines, destroying millions of homes and livelihoods, killing more than 6,000 people, and leaving many more displaced. Luwalhati (* not her real name), who is 31 years old, and her family were among those who survived; however, the aftermath of the disaster left them in poverty and Luwalhati was forced to seek work abroad to support her ailing mother and two younger brothers in Tacloban City. 
 
She met a local recruiter who offered her a well- paid position in a factory overseas, promising all her expenses would be covered as well. Yet after arriving in Manila for training, Luwalhati was forced to work in a house there without pay. The man who later accompanied her to obtain her passport instructed her to apply with the name written in the papers she was holding if she wanted to go abroad, otherwise she should go back home at her own expense. 
 
Luwalhati left the Philippines for Thailand holding a tourist visa. From there, she travelled to Dubai. After working in Dubai for some time, she was sold as a domestic worker to an employer in Kuwait, a country she had never even heard of. Upon arrival, her passport was confiscated and she was left feeling confused, depressed, and isolated. 
 
She was forced to work for 12 to 15 hours a day and her salary was often withheld if she made a mistake. Her employers did not allow her to talk to anyone nor leave the house, and she was physically abused by them. All she could do was stay strong for her family and not give up. 
 
Luwalhati was forced to work in Kuwait for five years. Every time she disposed of the waste outside, a young Kuwaiti woman next door smiled at her. One day, the neighbour told her to contact an NGO on social media to help her. Luwalhati contacted them secretly and they helped her escape. 
 
She was brought to the authorities, who helped her file a case and she was repatriated back to her country. At present, Luwalhati has set up a small store to support herself and family using the reintegration livelihood assistant program that the NGO helped her to acquire, while attending vocational education in Tacloban City. 
 
A vicious circle driven by extractive industries
Environmental degradation, often a side- effect of the economic activities of extractive industries such as mining and oil extraction, can similarly become a driver of migration that causes higher vulnerability to severe exploitation. In these cases, individuals can become trapped in a “vicious circle” where people flee their homelands due to environmental degradation caused by extractive practices, but end up working in these very same extractive industries, often experiencing exploitation. This is evidenced by Anti-Slavery International’s research in Peru and Bolivia. 
 
Extractive industries not only continue to destroy the environment and exacerbate the negative impacts of climate change, fuelling migration from affected communities, but also heavily rely on the severe exploitation of people. Often, people who have lost their livelihoods are then left with no option other than accepting exploitative conditions to earn some income to feed their families. 
 
Walk Free 2023. Global Slavery Index 2023. Minderoo Foundation Ltd. Australia.