Shyima Hall

Too many people think that slavery is nonexistent in contemporary times, but that is far from the truth. Shyima Hall is beyond courageous to unveil the atrocities that happened to her internationally and in the United States.

This would be a great book to feature in the library alongside Sold and other text that discusses the current situation with modern slavery. This would also be a great book to teach in a journalism class to spark young reporters to write stories of other little know tales of contemporary slavery and what social services and law enforcement is doing to combat this problem.… (mere)

Shyima Hall was eight years old when her parents sold her into slavery. Before this, she lived with them and her ten siblings in poverty in a small town near Alexandria, Egypt. She worked 18 to 20 hours a day for her captors, receiving no compensation, medical care or schooling. When her owners moved to the United States, Shyima was illegally transported to California, where she lived in a garage and was forbidden to have outside contacts. This memoir follows her experiences from her early childhood and captivity to her life after she was rescued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. An engrossing, moving memoir of modern domestic slavery that fortunately ends on a hopeful note.… (mere)

At eight years old, most kids are playing outside, riding bikes, playing with friends, not a care in the world. When she was eight, Shyima Hall was sold into slavery by her parents. Shyima was one of eleven kids from an impoverished Egyptian family; her older sister had been working for a wealthy family but had been discovered stealing and was dismissed. To repay the debt and bring honor back to the family, Shyima's parents sold her to the family. Shyima was not a paid servant; she was a slave. Called only "stupid girl" and forced to work for up to 18 hours a day, Shyima could not believe her parents wanted her to live this way. When her captor family moved to the US in 2000, they trafficked Shyima with them. And life was worse when they got to the US. The family had to get rid of all of the other servants, so Shyima had an extra burden to do all of the other work those servants had completed. She had to live in a closet in the garage without heat or a bathroom. She was beaten and berated every day. She was not allowed to go to school. Then one day the police came and rescued her. She was put into foster care and went to several homes before finding one that was a reasonable home for her. She was able to go to school and finally learn to read and write at the age of 14. This book is eye-opening. Human trafficking is a big problem, but it seems to get swept under the rug. While Shyima had a happy ending to her captivity, many modern slaves don't. I can't imagine being in this kind of situation, being forced to work without food or medical care, and not being able to go to school or learning to read and write until I was 14. Slavery still exists, and this book brings some of those details to light.… (mere)