KATHMANDU: 'Where Were You?: A Profile of Modern Slavery', penned by Matthew Friedman, has been launched.

The book is a recount of real-life stories about human trafficking from Nepal and other countries.

It was launched by the 852 Freedom Campaign on Tuesday in Hong Kong. The 852 Freedom Campaign is "a new justice movement" in Hong Kong aimed at raising up a generation of people to help end modern day slavery in our lifetime.

The writer, Matthew Friedman, is a former USAID (Nepal) and United Nations’ expert.

Over a period of 25 years, Friedman has obtained in-depth first-hand knowledge with boots-on-the-ground works throughout nearly a dozen Asian countries. However, many of his most important lessons were learned during his eight years in Nepal, the 852 Freedom Campaign stated in a press release.

Friedman writes that human trafficking exists in nearly every nation on the earth.

He has personally interviewed hundreds of freed slaves in Nepal and throughout South and Southeast Asia, as well as imprisoned traffickers. 'Where Were You?: A Profile of Modern Slavery' provides an up-to-date overview about human trafficking, a largely ignored present-day evil.

According to the 2014 Global Slavery Index published by the Walk Free Foundation, there are nearly 36 million slaves around the world – which means there are more slaves today than any other time in history.

According to the US State Department’s 2014 Trafficking in Persons report, it is estimated that around 50,000 victims were helped globally. Even with the collective response of governments, the UN and civil society partners, less than 0.12 percent of the victims are assisted.

Friedman commented, “We are not winning the fight against human slavery. Relying solely on the anti-slavery community around the world to tackle the scourge of modern slavery and the criminals behind it simply is not working. Unless something drastic changes, this trend will continue unabated.”

'Where Were You?: A Profile of Modern Slavery' is now available on Amazon. Proceeds from this book will go to Mobilizing Men, a campaign to engage men in the fight against human trafficking.