Modern slave by Gaia Cooper
Modern slave by Gaia Cooper – A shocking true crime story of survival and resilience in the face of child criminal exploitation and sexual abuse – is about one of the girls abused by the Rochdale child sex abuse ring. For those who don’t know the story, a large group of Pakistani Muslims and an Afghan asylum-seeker were accused and some of them were convicted of raping and trafficking girls as young as 10-12. All were adult males, one of them was a religious studies teacher at a mosque, married, with five children. The girls were white. Most of the perpetrators worked as taxi drivers. Unsurprisingly, at the trial, they said that these were “white lies”, playing the race card to get out.
Reading about what is happening in UK is quite disheartening. Most of these men received only a few years in prison. Some believe, and I do to, that the police did less because they were afraid to appear racist. A report from 2012 said that 1 in 3 child sex abuses is done by Asian gangs, but the same report said that there shouldn’t be too much emphasis on ethnicity. Asians were, in the same period, 7% of the population.
Gaia was groomed and abused. She was 14 when it started. Her family was dysfunctional. The story is interesting and the book is fast to read. Because Gaia had a ghost writer the narrative could have been better presented. Also in the book is said again and again and again that she was 14 when these things started and that she was not to blame. That is partially true, she was a vulnerable child, but she didn’t ask for help, she said that she was not aware where the credit cards were coming from, despite each having a different name. Even after she “found out” that these were stolen she continue to commit credit card fraud. She could have stopped then, ask for help at that point, from a teacher considering their family’s condition. She completely ignores her own guilt in the fraud.
After a while the sexual abuse started and it is horrific. I was surprised by a thing she said, that she couldn’t have consented because her age was 14 and anyone under 16 can’t legally consent. That was peculiar. Age of consent is 15 in France, 14 in Germany and Austria. At 14 she was more mature than most her age because of her family’s past. Children from dysfunctional families have to grow up and mature faster. I think that she was trying to make sure nobody was blaming her of nothing.
From my point of view, her criminal activities before the rapes, are, in part her fault. The authorities did not do enough to protect her despite having multiple occasions to do so. She was let down by her parents, teachers, police, social workers. If they would have acted swiftly at the first issue, she wouldn’t have been raped. I think this book is a missed opportunity, for her to reflect on the societal problems and also how race and political correctness put white 10-15 years-old girls in harm’s way. She could have reflected on her own guilt in credit card fraud, her guilt in what she exposed her children to, which would not have meant that she was less of a victim. Even so, the book offers an interesting account of a victim who was groomed and exploited.
Modern slave by Gaia Cooper
Details about the picture: –
My rating: 4/5 Stars
Would I recommend it: yes
Published by: HarperElement
Year it was published: 2024
Format: Paperback
Genre(s): Memoir
Pages: 320
About the author: Her life story is in this book.
Website & Social Media Links: –
Modern slavery, whether in the sex trade or for forced labor, is not talked about enough. There are reports of children and teens snatched from parking lots (usually blonde with blue eyes), but often those stories are consigned to urban legend or conspiracy theory. The US can’t seem to get beyond the trans-Atlantic trade which ended 150 years ago. And while I agree that race relations here still have a long way to go (despite the civil rights moving being 50 years in the past), the “race card” is played far too often. (and I’d probably be called racist for even saying that)
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If you read about this case, the Rochdale (link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rochdale_child_sex_abuse_ring) you can see how huge this thing was. It’s hard not to think that their race and religion might have helped them evade justice.
I agree with you. It’s the same in UK where slavery is the trans-Atlantic trade and ignores the fact that black people enslaved and sold other black people. Without accepting the whole tragedy, people can’t learn from it, this is why there is modern slavery and very few people think of it. This thing bothers me a lot. Today there are slaves in UK and at TV they talk about reparations for things that happened 200+ years ago. Yes, that is a very important part of history, but living people today are slaves and that’s completely ignored. I think we should be able to do both.
I struggle with the entire concept of monetary reparations for something that happened that long ago. First of all, who would receive this money? Anyone who is black? (possibly even bringing back that “what percentage designates one as black” idea?) This biggest issue, though, would be where the money would come from. It’s not like you can just tax white people. And what about the many people who came to the US long after slavery was abolished? Those whose ancestors arrived in the early 20th century are not going to feel like they should pay. As far as that goes, I don’t know that any of my ancestors owned slaves. I don’t recall the exact statistic, but only a small portion of the population owned the majority of the slaves.
All that said…. I do not condone or excuse slavery in any form or fashion and I’m sorry it happened. It sickens me as many of the atrocities done over time do. But I refuse to be held responsible for it or made to feel guilty because of the color of my skin. I’ll get off my soapbox now.
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I agree with that too. How much money, who is going to pay, and to whom? So many issues there.
This made me remember a TV show we have here – Who do you think you are? – I’m not sure if you know about it. It’s a series in which people see who their ancestors were. In one, a black British woman (TV presenter if I remember correctly) discovered that one of her relatives owned slaves, as a black who was manumitted. I had no idea this could have happened and she was shocked. It just shows how complicated it is. Also, there were some in UK who inherited half of slave (like half of property) and they were quite poor, but had wealthier relatives.
For me, as a white from a country from which some slaves were taken by the Turks and subject to various empires a few decades before WW1, or as a pawn in US-UK-ussr relations, I don’t want to see myself as a victim. I don’t expect any compensation or excuse for nobody and that’s empowering.