A Brazilian suffers "slavery" for 38 years

Gordiano ... a slave in the twenty-first century.

From the source

Madalena Gordiano was only eight years old, when she knocked on the door of Maria das Gracas Milagres Riguera to order food in the state of Minas Gerais in southeast Brazil.

Maria, a white teacher, brought her home, promised to adopt her, and Gordiano's mother, who has eight other children, agreed.

But Gordiano has not been adopted or allowed to go to school.

For the next 38 years, she would cook, wash, clean the toilets, dust them and arrange for the Mariah family.

She was a victim of racial exploitation and, in the twenty-first century, a slave to a wealthy family.

The prosecutor investigating the case said she was not paid and was not allowed any leave.

When she was rescued on 27 November, she was 46 years old and had great difficulty expressing herself.

What Gordiano went through is a stark example of the legacy of more than 300 years of slavery in Brazil.

Which was one of the main destinations for the slave trade, and is the last American country to liberate slaves who were forcibly brought from Africa. Riguera's family not only exploited Gordiano's services, but also turned her into a source of income, and arranged her marriage to an elderly relative when Gordiano was still in the twenties Of her age.

He was 78 years old and had a military pension, more than 1,300 euros a month.

Gordiano, who did not actually live with this ancient warrior, inherited this pension at his death, but saw nothing of the money, which went entirely to the family. Gordiano was presented as a gift to Maria's son, the veterinary professor, Dalton Milagres Regueira.

Gordiano has been identified by the authorities in the house in which she lives with Dalton and his wife.

Gordiano was kept in a small room without windows.

She did not have a cell phone or television.

Her property was only three shirts.

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