When some picture slavery, they may see historical images of
trans-Atlantic slave ships or laborers in cotton fields in the Deep
South.
But advocates on campus Tuesday said a very different type of
slavery exists today ““ downtown, across the street or above
mainstream coffee shops in Los Angeles and other major cities.
A coalition of groups came together Tuesday to educate students
on the problem of human trafficking.
The goal was to dispel the belief that slavery is something that
only existed in the past or that it is a problem that does not
affect the U.S., said Kathryn Lim of the Polaris Project.
Polaris is a nonprofit organization that works to combat human
trafficking by working with law enforcement and governments to
crack down on traffickers. The UCLA chapter opened several months
ago, Lim said.
Rather than a distant occurrence, advocates say that human
trafficking happens right here in Los Angeles, under
students’ noses.
“It’s just in your normal city areas … in
residential areas,” Lim said. “Even here in
L.A.”
Student groups set tables in Bruin Plaza to show the ways in
which the human trafficking industry affects different communities
worldwide and to show that slavery is not a thing of the past.
“There’s slavery still going on in the U.S. and in
many places in the world,” said Catherine Vinh, a volunteer
with Amnesty International.
This current slavery comes in the form of forced prostitution
and labor of men, women and children, often from third world
countries.
These people are used by traffickers as commodities and goods to
be bought and sold, said John Dizon of Samahang Pilipino at
UCLA.
And advocates say that traffickers treat their
“commodities” brutally and allow them no freedom of
movement.
“These people are beaten … beaten until they are
broken,” Vinh said.
It is nearly impossible to get accurate figures on this
industry, but the U.S. Department of Justice estimates that 600,000
to 800,000 people are trafficked across borders each year. Between
14,000 and 17,000 of these victims are brought into the United
States.
The industry is so widespread because it is so easy to get away
with ““ the victims are easily hidden from authorities and
they are usually people who have little legal protection even in
their own country, said Karen Chan, co-director of Polaris.
“The profits are high and the risk is low for
traffickers,” Lim said. “It’s replaceable, its
re-usable. Humans can be constantly re-used.”
The human trafficking business works like any other underground
trade, and is the third most widespread.
After drugs and arms, human trade is the biggest industry
““ and is the fastest growing, Lim said.
Like these other black market trades, it is hard for authorities
to find and prosecute offenders, Lim said.
The close link between trafficking and prostitution also makes
it difficult to prosecute.
“(The authorities) see this as prostitution,” Lim
said. “It’s hard to tell if people are doing it by
force.”
Polaris is currently working on legislation to combat this
problem.
The first step in this process was made in 2000 with the passage
of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which offers some legal
protection for victims of sex trafficking and differentiates this
type of sex industry from other forms of prostitution.
Students from various campus groups handed out information and
spoke with students about how the human trafficking business
affects different countries and communities.
In California, many people from Mexico and South American are
transported here for forced labor.
“Especially because we’re so close to Mexico, cheap
labor is just so available,” said Chan.
Many people are brought to the United States from South and
Central America to work in sweatshops, some of them here in Los
Angeles.
“Downtown (L.A.) is the capital of sweatshops,” said
Herily Espinoza, a member of MEChA of UCLA.
They live in extremely bad conditions and work “from
sunrise to sunset,” she said.
The United Khmer Students spoke about how human trafficking
affects Cambodia in particular.
Cambodia has developed a sex tourism industry, in which
foreigners come to the country for the purpose of “trying
out” local girls, said Caroline Phan, a member of the Polaris
Project and UKS.
In Cambodia, girls as young as age 5 are used as prostitutes,
and many of these girls have little opportunity to leave.
Many believe that prostitution is the only way to provide money
for themselves and their families.
A similar tourist industry exists in the Philippines, and Dizon
said he saw this for himself when he visited Manila.
Dizon said he was approached on the street in Manila and was
offered sex with a young girl.
Behind the pimp, he said he saw “a group of little
children huddled together like animals.”
Polaris and other student groups will be out in Bruin Plaza
again Friday to educate students and the community about human
trafficking because they say spreading the word on the problem is
one of the best ways to combat it.
“Informational events like these really help … (by)
pressuring lawmakers to take responsibility,” Espinoza
said.