It was the middle of the night. Dense jungle. No sound but our footsteps.
I was still on duty. In fact, I was new to the @Federal Police.
We were deep in the heart of Pará.
The mission: to rescue people — still held as slaves in the 21st century.
The reality we found on that farm needed no forensic report.
Their “beds” were hammocks strung between trees, barely covered with plastic sheets.
The “toilet”? The bush.
Water, far away.
Food?
Whatever they could fish or hunt.
Their “wages”?
An unpayable debt — owed to the farm owners.
All work equipment had to be bought or rented — from the employers themselves.
At exorbitant prices. A cycle of debt — deliberately designed never to end.
The owners weren’t there.
Those in control were armed enforcers.
And the harshest truth?
Those enforcers lived in only slightly better conditions — yet believed they held power.
Believed they were “above” the others.
Today is 1st May. Labour Day, here in Brazil.
And I ask myself: what has really changed in over two decades?
Debt bondage still persists.
And modern slavery isn’t always rural.
Sometimes, it’s in an HR department that manipulates.
In a manager who humiliates.
In a system that promises freedom — yet binds with fear and appearance.
That offers no safe — or human — channel to speak up.
Workplace ethics isn’t a manual. It’s a mirror.
And it’s a fundamental right.
A matter of human dignity.
For every human being.
[If your company is ready to face this question, I can help.]
