Forced Migrations and Forms of Slavery

A comprehensive vocabulary review of forced migrations, distinction between types of migrants, and the four categories of slavery identified by the United States State Department.

Forced migrations

Migrations where people basically have no choice but to leave.

Immigrants

People entering a country.

Emigrants

People leaving a country, coming from the French term emigre.

IDP

Internally displaced persons, categorized as a specific focus within forced migration.

Slavery

The process of detaining a human against their will, which includes the trafficking of humans across the globe for sex or labor.

Bonded labor (Debt bondage)

A type of slavery where a person owes a debt; for instance, a migrant transported for work whose wages are entirely withheld because debt is allegedly owed to the transporter.

Domestic servitude

A type of slavery where domestic servants, such as maids and butlers, are kept in bondage by employers who confiscate and hold their passports.

Forced child labor

A form of slavery where children are forced into working camps or other conditions, sometimes by their family members, to pay off a debt or earn money to support the family.

Child soldiers

Children well below the age of 18 who are forced to fight in civil wars and other conflicts.

Refugees and asylum seekers

People who are forced to migrate or leave a country based on political facts.