A two-hour flight from the tourist beaches of Bali, the Indonesian island of Sumba hides a dark secret. A rigid caste system dictates that some people are born into a lifetime of slavery.
They work from dawn to dusk without pay, are passed on in marriage and can suffer years of physical and sexual abuse at the hands of their ‘masters’.
Yet many are resigned to their fate. As one young slave – or ata – said, their status “cannot be wiped away.”—Aug 5, 2026
Main image: BAY ISMOYO
