So rather than being reactive, the organization asked itself “What does a long-term solution look like?”

But after a few years, Not For Sale noticed patterns about what made communities vulnerable to human traffickers. In the beginning, the organization continued David’s path of building shelters for human trafficking survivors. Named after David’s book, his organization Not For Sale is generally identified as a charity because they’re rescuing people from modern slavery. He doesn’t consider himself a hero, but the way he sees it, he just took one step that led to another: “People we consider heroes are probably just taking one step, and then that step led them to one more thing, and then one more thing, and then you’re fully into it, and other people can’t imagine how you could do that. In Thailand, he met Kru Nam, a woman who rescued 27 children from modern slavery, but barely had adequate shelter to care for them. That was the only plan I had.”Īfter a year of learning about the tragedies and triumphs of human trafficking survivors, his plans unexpectedly changed. He took a year off from teaching to write a book about how modern slavery permeates the global economy: “Uncover it, make it visible, write a book, and then go back to my previous life. In all the years he ate there, he never once asked himself whether these employees were there by choice – who does?īut David couldn’t let it go. One morning, David Batstone read in the San Francisco Chronicle that his favorite Indian restaurant had been the hub for a human trafficking ring.

Not for sale by david batstone