Up to 90% of households in Kuwait employ domestic helpers. A government law passed in 2015 guaranteed new rights for these workers, including a weekly day off. Their employers are uncomfortable with the restrictions now being imposed on them following this new legislation. It was the birth of a new industry boom – an online community where domestic workers were sold and exploited like slaves. In Silicon Valley’s online slave market, BBC Africa goes undercover to investigate the inner workings of the criminal enterprise.
This new form of human trafficking is made possible through the use of popular apps powered by major companies such as Google, Facebook, Instagram, and Apple. Under this black market system, domestic workers are vulnerable to repugnant abuse. If they dare to give up their jobs, they may be imprisoned.
In order to uncover this corrupt network hidden in plain sight, the documentary film crew embarks on an ambitious covert espionage operation. Two journalists used the apps to pose as a couple in need of a full-time maid. They scour the internet for people who go hand in hand with home rentals and used car sales. Candidates are not just providers of professional services; once leased, they often become the property of the buyer.
The undercover team met with a salesman who was offering a 16-year-old girl who was kidnapped from her home in Guinea, West Africa. Much of the film is devoted to how she saves this vulnerable underage girl from a terrible fate. They enlist the support of local authorities and social workers, use their hidden cameras to capture the nefarious activities of the slave trade, speak to other victims who have survived years of abuse, and work to hold the world’s most popular social media accountable for its characters. in this crisis.
Silicon Valley’s Online Slave Market is a sobering record of the humiliation endured by those helpless in the maelstrom of this popular online slave trade. The documentary crew’s mission to save a girl from these dangers lends the film a tremendous sense of urgency.
Directed by: Jess Kelly
