between 1854 and 1929, more than 250,000 children were taken from their impoverished homes on the east coast and given to adopters in the midwest with little to no background checks on the adopters, many of whom used the 'orphan train' children as slaves.

in pakistan, poor families sometimes sell their children into bondage, even though the practice is officially illegal. one child, iqbal masih, was sold by his family for $16 in 1987, when he was 4 years old. he wore chains and worked 14 hours a day, 7 days a week, for a carpet company.

he escaped at age 10 but was returned to the carpet company by the police. he escaped again, and eventually freed 3,000 other pakistani children who had also been sold into slavery. iqbal gave speeches about child labor around the world until he was shot and killed at age 12 upon returning to pakistan from a trip to america.