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曾沦为奴隶的一位渔民与母亲在分别22年后在缅甸孟邦（Mon State）团聚。 (© AP Images)

根据《2016年人口贩运问题报告》（2016 Trafficking in Persons Report），包括哥伦比亚、塞浦路斯和菲律宾在内的20个国家加强了打击现代奴役的斗争。但有27个国家打击人口贩运的努力不如以前。

今年的报告将包括美国在内的188个国家按照打击人口贩运的力度排名。报告基于各国达到《人口贩运受害者保护法》（Trafficking Victims Protection Act）中提出的”消除人口贩运活动的最低标准“的程度，将这些国家分为四个类别。

https://share.america.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/AP_182417576108.jpg流动移民坐在从克罗地亚前往塞尔维亚的车上。流动人口和难民容易沦为人口贩运的受害者。(© AP Images)

毛里塔尼亚的毕拉姆·达赫·阿贝德（Biram Dah Abeid）是在本年度《人口贩运问题报告》发表时，受到美国国务院表彰的九位勇士之一。他说，太多西方人不知道奴役状况仍然多么普遍。他说：“他们认为那只是旧时代的事情。”

阿贝德与《人口贩运问题报告》的另一位勇士、同是来自毛里塔尼亚的卜拉欣·比拉勒·拉姆德汉尼（Brahim Bilal Ramdhane）曾因在国内大力公开反对奴役行为而在2014年被逮捕。在2016年的报告中，毛里塔尼亚列在最差国家类别中。

阿贝德说，”人们越忽视奴役问题，就越让它有繁殖和泛滥之机“。

What is the world doing to end modern slavery?

Twenty nations, including Colombia, Cyprus and the Philippines, have improved their fight against modern slavery, according to the 2016 Trafficking in Persons Report. On the other hand, the report finds 27 nations doing less to combat human trafficking than in previous years.

The report ranks 188 countries, including the United States, on their effectiveness in combating human trafficking. The report places countries in one of four tiers based on the extent to which they meet the “minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking” as outlined in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act.

https://share.america.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/AP_182417576108.jpgMigrants rest on a bus from Croatia to Serbia. Migrants and refugees are vulnerable to human traffickers. (© AP Images)

Biram Dah Abeid, from Mauritania and one of nine Trafficking in Persons Report heroes recognized by the State Department at the release of the report, says too many people in the West don’t understand the extent to which slavery still exists. “They think it’s just something from old times,” he says.

Along with fellow Mauritanian and Trafficking in Persons Report hero Brahim Bilal Ramdhane, Abeid was arrested in 2014 for a high-profile campaign against slavery in their country, which is ranked in the lowest tier — Tier 3 — in the 2016 report.

“The more you neglect slavery,” Abeid says, “the more you give it the opportunity to reproduce itself and expand.”