JODI COBB

A brothel in Tel Aviv, Israel, 2002

1rom there she tra%eled to nine other countries to photograph as many of the three sides of the nar2 rati%e as she could- the different kinds of ensla%ed workers, the peo2 ple who ensla%ed them, and the peo2 ple who worked to free the sla%es. +n +srael she had only four days to work. +n )osnia, she ate lunch with a man known to be %ery dangerous. he risked reprisal on the streets of 3umbai for using her camera outside the brothels. he cried sometimes while she worked. /+ was either in fear or in tears while + was shooting,0 says Cobb. /+t was the worst of human nature4and the best4in that story,0 she continues. /1or e%ery e%il guy there was some bra%e person trying to help.0 +t is safe to say that /25st Century la%es,0 the 262 page story that National Geographic maga!ine published in eptember 2007, is the pinnacle of a career that has blossomed from her early days as a staff photographer at the News Journal in 8ilmington, &elaware. After a two2year stint as a freelance photographer, Cobb "oined the staff of National Geographic maga!ine in 59... ince then she has researched and photographed 2: stories, co%ering sub"ects as wide open as /;ondon0 or /The <nigma of )eauty.0 )ut she also speciali!es in opening the doors to closed worlds, as she did in her story /The 8omen of audi Arabia,0 or in her highly acclaimed 599: book, Geisha: The Li e! the "oices! the #rt$ To learn more, go to www$nationalgeographic$com. =r take a class with Jodi. he regularly teaches at the Photography at the ummit workshop in Jackson #ole, 8yoming.

is story begins with a blurb in the Washington Post about the passage of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000. Jodi Cobb read it and wondered if any stories had been done on the illegal trade of trafficking humans. he contacted organi!ations such as The Protection Pro"ect affiliated with Johns #opkins $ni%ersity. he contacted people at the tate &epartment. he read reports issued by committees at the $nited 'ations. he read (e%in )ales*s book Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy. +n the end, she reali!ed there wasn*t a picture story that told the entire truth- 2. million people in the world are sla%es. /+ knew it was going to be a %ery difficult story because it was in%isible,0 says Cobb who spent a year on the pro"ect. he started in +ndia and 'epal, where she felt she could make pictures. There she already knew of brothels where women worked and places that employed children. he had located ensla%ed families who worked to pay off debts incurred by unfair lending practices.