E. Benjamin Skinner

Benjamin Skinner (* 1976 ) is a US -American journalist and author of the book Human Trafficking (AKA A crime so monstrous ).

Raised in Wisconsin and northern Nigeria , where his father worked as a British colonial administrator, he graduated from Wesleyan University in Connecticut in 1998 and then worked as a journalist. He reported on various topics from different countries. Skinner made his first encounters with slaves in 2003 in the war zone in Sudan , where he worked as a correspondent for Newsweek International . As a result, he researched the modern slave trade on four continents, making himself the first person in history to research human trafficking in this way. After five years of research, the book Menschenhandel ( A crime so monstrous ) emerged. Skinner defines slavery as work forced through deception and the threat of violence, for which only what is necessary to survive is obtained.

Skinner is generally critical of the ransom of slaves, as this stimulates the slave trade through higher prices. He also criticized the fact that, for example, evangelical groups in Sudan had handed over millions of US dollars for slaves into the hands of South Sudanese militias, who used them to finance their warfare. In addition, many slaves are neither economically nor socially possible to lead an independent life after their liberation. An end to slavery is therefore only possible through education and political and social changes.

Therefore, during his undercover research, Skinner tried not to leave the role of the observer and not to take an active role in the liberation of slaves. Nevertheless, he helped a mother buy her young daughter in Haiti and financed her schooling for US $ 84. In Romania he turned to the police after being offered a young girl in exchange for a used car in a brothel. However, the police did nothing.

Skinner's book attracted a great deal of international attention due to the explosive subject and the drastic descriptions. In the USA in particular, it was discussed many times, including at a reading at the Museum of Contemporary Arts (MOCA) in Los Angeles. Presidential candidate John McCain said of the book that Skinner is doing the public a "great service".

E. Benjamin Skinner lives and works as a journalist in Brooklyn and publishes reports and articles on contemporary human trafficking in various newspapers, including Newsweek International , Foreign Affairs and Travel + Leisure .

Works

• Human trafficking: Slavery in the 21st century , Lübbe, 2008, ISBN 9783785723425

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Interview with the author, November 21, 2008
2. ↑ Art info for reading in MOCA  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  

Web links

• Author's website with information about the book and the author (English)
• Deutschlandfunk report on Skinner's book human trafficking. Slavery in the 21st Century
• Entry at perlentaucher.de
• Recording and transcript of Skinner's negotiations with a slave trader in Romania (requires Quicktime for audio)