Beyond Slavery

Is there life beyond slavery? In the past twenty years, there has been an explosion of research related to human trafficking. However, very little of it has examined the moral issues that survivors face after they are freed, or that aftercare workers face as they help survivors try to live a life outside of bondage. And there has been almost nothing written on how the tools of moral and political theology might offer insight for Christians who wish to help survivors live a normal life after enslavement. This book hopes to address this gap in the discussion. Drawing on over fifty interviews with survivors, aftercare workers, and human trafficking specialists from his field work in India, Chris Gooding confronts difficult questions that arise during rehabilitation. Why do so many survivors of trafficking end up walking back into bondage? What might life after slavery look like for survivors who helped enslave other people? How can we build antislavery coalitions that keep survivors' voices at the center? Gooding looks at all these questions through the eschatological hope that Christians have that the Messiah will one day break every chain and free all people from all forms of bondage.