Siddharth Kara

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Siddharth Kara
Siddharth Kara.jpg
Born
Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.
Alma mater
Occupation(s)Author; professor

Siddharth Kara is an Indian author. He is a Pulitzer Prize finalist, a British Academy Global Professor, and an associate professor at the University of Nottingham. He is best known for his book "Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives" (2023). He has also published a trilogy on modern slavery: Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery (2009), Bonded Labor: Tackling the System of Slavery in South Asia (2012), and Modern Slavery: A Global Perspective (2017).

Contents

Early life

Kara was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, to Indian parents of Hindu and Parsi background. He grew up between Memphis, Tennessee, where he attended Memphis University School, and Mumbai, India, where he spent most of his summers.

Education and early career

Kara received a BA in English and Philosophy from Duke University (including one semester at Queen Mary College, University of London). While at Duke University, Kara co-founded the Duke Refugee Action Project, which was the precursor to the prestigious Hart Leadership Program at the Sanford School of Public Policy [1] The project was set up to enable students to volunteer in Bosnian refugee camps in the former Yugoslavia. [2] He and a few other students obtained a grant from the university, learned basic Bosnian, and procured placements from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to volunteer at camps in the region.

Kara worked as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch in New York City for several years, during which time he was involved in some of the firm's largest M&A and equity financing transactions. [3]

He received an MBA from Columbia University. While attending Columbia, he became increasingly aware of the need for a more analytical finance and economics approach to understanding modern slavery. [4] The summer he graduated from Columbia, he embarked on the first of several long self-funded journeys across the world to research contemporary slavery and child labor. Upon his return, he decided not to resume his career in investment banking, in order to be able to continue his research and analysis of contemporary slavery. [5] He later received a law degree from the BPP Law School in London. [6]

Research and writing

Kara's research travels have taken him to more than fifty countries across six continents, where he has interviewed several thousand former and current slaves of all kinds. [7] Most of the research for Kara's books has been self-funded, though he has also received research support from major charitable foundations such as Humanity United and Google.org. [3]

Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives (2023)

In January 2023, Kara's non-fiction book Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives was released by St. Martin's Press, which debuted on the NY Times Bestseller List and was a finalist for the 2024 Pulitzer Prize in nonfiction. [8] Cobalt Red is the first-ever book to investigate human rights and environmental abuses involving the mining of cobalt in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The DR Congo supplies almost 75 percent of the world's supply of cobalt, which is used in the manufacture of lithium-ion rechargeable batteries found in smartphones, tablets, laptops, and electric vehicles. Praise for Cobalt Red includes:

Kara has also appeared extensively in the media to talk about the human rights abuses involved with cobalt mining, including on The Joe Rogan Experience, Fresh Air, CNN, Fox News, and ABC News. [9]

Cobalt Red was a finalist for the 2024 Pulitzer Prize in nonfiction. [10]

In addition, the book was:

--- shortlisted for the 2023 Financial Times Business Book of the Year Award. [11]

--- named to the NY Times list of 100 Notable Books for the 2023. [12]

--- named to the New Yorker list of Best Books for the 2023. [13]

--- listed as one of the Best Books of 2023 by Goodreads. [14]

--- named one of the Top 16 Books of 2023 by Wired. [15]

Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery (2009)

Kara's first non-fiction book on contemporary slavery, Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery, was published by Columbia University Press in January 2009. The book won the 2010 Frederick Douglass Book Prize, given to the most outstanding nonfiction book on the subject of slavery and/or abolition and antislavery movements. [16]

The book has been recommended by the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. [17] It has been lauded by academics, policy-makers [18] and the press, with the Financial Times describing it as an "eloquent and campaigning book", [19] and slavery experts heralding it as "groundbreaking" [17] and the "best book yet on the enduring problem of modern-day slavery". [20]

Bonded Labor: Tackling the System of Slavery in South Asia (2012)

Kara's second non-fiction book on contemporary slavery, Bonded Labor: Tackling the System of Slavery in South Asia, was released by Columbia University Press in October 2012. The book focuses on the pervasive system of bonded labor, encompassing roughly six out of every ten slaves in the world. [21] Its geographic focus is South Asia, covering such industries as hand-woven-carpet making, tea and rice farming, construction, brick manufacture, and frozen-shrimp production. [22]

The book received high commendations from scholars, activists, non-profit organisations and governments, and was covered as part of a three part series on the CNN International primetime news program Connect the World with Becky Anderson. [23] [24]

Modern Slavery: A Global Perspective (2017)

Kara's third non-fiction book on contemporary slavery, Modern Slavery: A Global Perspective was released by Columbia University Press in October 2017. The book had its launch at the United Nations, and has been lauded by experts in the field, including Luis CdeBaca, former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons and Swanee Hunt, former U.S. Ambassador to Austria. [25]

Media

Kara has appeared extensively in the media as an expert on modern slavery, including appearances on the Joe Rogan Experience, Fresh Air with Terry Gross, CNN, Fox News, ABC News, and CNBC [26]

Kara is a regular contributor to The CNN Freedom Project: Ending Modern Day Slavery, CNN's initiative to expose modern-day slavery around the world and highlight the efforts being made to eradicate it. [27]

Academia

British Academy and University of Nottingham, UK

In the Summer of 2020, Kara was one of 10 experts and scholars awarded the prestigious Global Professorship by the British Academy. [28] As part of the program he began an Associate Professor position with the Rights Lab and the School of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Nottingham in October 2020. [29]

Harvard University

In the fall of 2009, Kara became the first Fellow on Human Trafficking with the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. [3] In the Spring of 2012, Kara taught the first course on human trafficking at the Harvard Kennedy School. He also accepted a joint appointment as a visiting scientist on Forced Labor at the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard School of Public Health. [30] In the spring of 2013, Kara became an adjunct lecturer in public policy [31] to continue to teach his course on slavery and trafficking. He also accepted an appointment as the director of the Program on Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. [32]

University of California, Berkeley

In the Spring of 2016, Kara became a lecturer in Global Poverty and Practice [33] at the Blum Center for Developing Economies at the University of California, Berkeley, teaching the same course on slavery and trafficking that he taught later in the year at Harvard University.

Personal

Kara spends his time between Los Angeles and London. He is married to neuroscientist Aditi Shankardass. [34]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Debt bondage</span> Form of slavery

Debt bondage, also known as debt slavery, bonded labour, or peonage, is the pledge of a person's services as security for the repayment for a debt or other obligation. Where the terms of the repayment are not clearly or reasonably stated, or where the debt is excessively large the person who holds the debt has thus some control over the laborer, whose freedom depends on the undefined or excessive debt repayment. The services required to repay the debt may be undefined, and the services' duration may be undefined, thus allowing the person supposedly owed the debt to demand services indefinitely. Debt bondage can be passed on from generation to generation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sex trafficking</span> Trade of sexual slaves

Sex trafficking is human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation. It has been called a form of modern slavery because of the way victims are forced into sexual acts non-consensually, in a form of sexual slavery. Perpetrators of the crime are called sex traffickers or pimps—people who manipulate victims to engage in various forms of commercial sex with paying customers. Sex traffickers use force, fraud, and coercion as they recruit, transport, and provide their victims as prostitutes. Sometimes victims are brought into a situation of dependency on their trafficker(s), financially or emotionally. Every aspect of sex trafficking is considered a crime, from acquisition to transportation and exploitation of victims. This includes any sexual exploitation of adults or minors, including child sex tourism (CST) and domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin Bales</span> American academic in the field of slavery; co-founder of Free the Slaves

Kevin Brian Bales is Professor of Contemporary Slavery at the University of Nottingham, co-author of the Global Slavery Index, and was a co-founder and previously president of Free the Slaves, the US sister organization of Anti-Slavery International.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Justice Mission</span> Non-profit organisation in the US

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kailash Satyarthi</span> Indian Social Campaigner

Kailash Satyarthi is an Indian social reformer who campaigned against child labor in India and advocated the universal right to education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Haugen</span> American lawyer

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slavery in contemporary Africa</span> Modern history of slavery in Africa

The continent of Africa is one of the regions most rife with contemporary slavery. Slavery in Africa has a long history, within Africa since before historical records, but intensifying with the trans-Saharan and Indian Ocean slave trade and again with the trans-Atlantic slave trade; the demand for slaves created an entire series of kingdoms which existed in a state of perpetual warfare in order to generate the prisoners of war necessary for the lucrative export of slaves. These patterns persisted into the colonial period during the late 19th and early 20th century. Although the colonial authorities attempted to suppress slavery from about 1900, this had very limited success, and after decolonization, slavery continues in many parts of Africa despite being technically illegal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slavery in the 21st century</span> Contemporary slavery, also known as modern slavery or neo-slavery

Contemporary slavery, also sometimes known as modern slavery or neo-slavery, refers to institutional slavery that continues to occur in present-day society. Estimates of the number of enslaved people today range from around 38 million to 49.6 million, depending on the method used to form the estimate and the definition of slavery being used. The estimated number of enslaved people is debated, as there is no universally agreed definition of modern slavery; those in slavery are often difficult to identify, and adequate statistics are often not available.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human trafficking</span> Trade of humans for exploitation

Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human trafficking in the United States</span>

In the United States, human trafficking tends to occur around international travel hubs with large immigrant populations, notably in California, Texas, and Georgia. Those trafficked include young children, teenagers, men, and women; victims can be domestic citizens or foreign nationals.

Human trafficking in Nepal is a growing criminal industry affecting multiple other countries beyond Nepal, primarily across Asia and the Middle East. Nepal is mainly a source country for men, women and children subjected to the forced labor and sex trafficking. U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons placed the country in "Tier 2" in 2017.

Human trafficking is the trade of humans, most commonly for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. Mexico is a large source, transit, and destination country for victims of human trafficking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The A21 Campaign</span> International non-governmental organization

The A21 Campaign is a global 501(c)(3) non-profit, non-governmental organization that works to fight human trafficking, including sexual exploitation and trafficking, forced slave labor, bonded labor, involuntary domestic servitude, and child soldiery. The organization was founded by Christine Caine, an international motivational speaker, in 2008. One aim of A21's Campaign says, "We exist to abolish slavery everywhere. And with your help, we will." their focuses are on combatting slavery around the world through educational awareness and prevention, the protection of survivors, the prosecution of traffickers, and various partnerships. The A21 Campaign has branches in the Australia, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Denmark, Greece, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Thailand, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the United States and more.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Debt bondage in India</span>

Debt bondage in India was legally abolished in 1976 but remains prevalent due to weak enforcement by the government. Bonded labour is a system in which lenders force their borrowers to repay loans through labor. Additionally, these debts often take a large amount of time to pay off and are unreasonably high, propagating a cycle of generational inequality. This is due to the typically high interest rates on the loans given out by employers. Although debt bondage is considered to be a voluntary form of labor, people are forced into this system by social situations.

Pardis Mahdavi is an American scholar and former president of University of La Verne. Previously, she was the provost and executive vice president of the University of Montana, the dean of social sciences at Arizona State University, acting dean of Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver, and the dean of women and chair of anthropology at Pomona College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Labor trafficking in the United States</span>

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International Rights Advocates, Inc. filed an injunctive relief and damages class-action lawsuit against Apple, Microsoft, Dell, and Tesla in December 2019. The plaintiff was representing fourteen Congolese parents and children seeking relief and damage fees for these companies aiding and abetting the use of young children in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) cobalt mining industry. The plaintiff also pursued relief on the common law basis of negligent supervision, enrichment, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. In November 2021, a federal judge dismissed the suit, ruling, among other things, that there was no causal relationship between the companies and the individuals' injuries. In March 2024, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that the plaintiffs had standing for the damages claims, but affirmed the dismissal because of failure to state a claim.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slavery in Nigeria</span>

Slavery has existed in various forms throughout the history of Nigeria, notably during the Atlantic slave trade and Trans-Saharan trade. Slavery is now illegal internationally and in Nigeria. However, legality is often overlooked with different pre-existing cultural traditions, which view certain actions differently. In Nigeria, certain traditions and religious practices have led to "the inevitable overlap between cultural, traditional, and religious practices as well as national legislation in many African states" which has had the power to exert extra-legal control over many lives resulting in modern-day slavery. The most common forms of modern slavery in Nigeria are human trafficking and child labor. Because modern slavery is difficult to recognize, it has been difficult to combat this practice despite international and national efforts.

References

  1. ↑ Siddharth Kara, Hart Leadership Alumnus, Institute of Policy Sciences and Public Affairs (now the Sanford School of Public Policy), Duke University
  2. ↑ Kara, Siddharth (January 2009). Sex Trafficking – Inside the Business of Modern Slavery. CUP. ISBN   978-0-231-13960-1.
  3. 1 2 3 Carr Center Fellows, Carr Centre for Human Rights Policy, Harvard University
  4. ↑ Marketplace with Kai Ryssdal Archived 10 July 2012 at archive.today on American Public Media Radio
  5. ↑ The Leonard Lopate Show on WNYC Radio, New York
  6. ↑ Book Details: Main, Sex Trafficking, Columbia University Press
  7. ↑ Worldview with Jerome McDonnell [ permanent dead link ] on Chicago Public Radio
  8. ↑ "2024 Pulitzer Prize Winners & Finalists".
  9. ↑ "Cobalt Red How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives". us.macmillan.com/.
  10. ↑ "2024 Pulitzer Prize Winners & Finalists".
  11. ↑ "FT Business Book of the Year Award shortlist". Books+Publishing. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  12. ↑ "100 Notable Books of 2023". Books+Publishing. 21 October 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  13. ↑ "The Best Books of 2023". Books+Publishing. 20 December 2023. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  14. ↑ "The Best Books of 2023". Books+Publishing. 6 December 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  15. ↑ "The 16 Best Books of 2023". Books+Publishing. 22 December 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  16. ↑ 2010 Frederick Douglass Book Prize Archived 15 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine , Gilder Lehrman Center, Yale University
  17. 1 2 Book Details: Reviews, Sex Trafficking, Columbia University Press
  18. ↑ About Siddharth Kara, Idea Project Dinner with Siddharth Kara
  19. ↑ Sex Trafficking, Financial Times, 24 January 2009
  20. ↑ An unconscionable business Archived 19 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine , Stanford Social Innovation Review, January 2009
  21. ↑ Bonded Labour Archived 26 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine , Anti Slavery International
  22. ↑ Book Details: Main, Bonded Labor, Columbia University Press
  23. ↑ Bonded Labor Stretches from Third to First World, CNN Freedom Project
  24. ↑ Shrimp Exports to West Tied to Bonded Labor, CNN Freedom Project
  25. ↑ Book Details: Reviews, Modern Slavery, Columbia University Press
  26. ↑ Crime Inc.: Human Trafficking, CNBC, June 2011
  27. ↑ Ending Modern-Day Slavery Archived 8 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine , The CNN Freedom Project
  28. ↑ Siddharth Kara becomes British Academy Global Professor, Nottingham University, 17 July 2020
  29. ↑ British Academy Global Professorships, Siddharth Kara, British Academy, July 2020
  30. ↑ Faculty, Staff and Affiliates, FXB Center for Health and Human Rights, Harvard University
  31. ↑ Adjunct Lecturer Siddharth Kara, New Faculty Feature, Harvard Kennedy School
  32. ↑ About Us, Program on Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery, Harvard University
  33. ↑ Interview with Lecturer Siddharth Kara, Blum Center, UC Berkeley
  34. ↑ TED Talk by Aditi Shankardass, TEDIndia 2009

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