iSancturary awareness event at Sawdust - I Come, I Care, I Can stop human trafficking

At the Generate Hope booth with marketing
coordinator, Nicolle Monico (on right).

A few weekends ago I attended iSanctuary's ( a non-profit organization dedicated to helping women who have been rescued from human trafficking) 2nd annual awareness event at Sawdust in Laguna Beach.

It was a wonderful event that took place outside under the canopy of trees and moonlight.  Live music, mouthwatering food, beautiful jewelry (from iSancturary, where girls that have been rescued from human trafficking make jewelry to help restart their lives), and fair trade vendors made it a lovely evening for people to come together and believe in the hope of ending human trafficking.

To add to the uplifting spirit of the evening, many anti-trafficking organizations were present to help increase awareness of the worldwide issue as well as show people how they can participate in helping end human trafficking. Along with iSanctuary and their stunning jewelry,  California Against Slavery, (a non-profit dedicated to strengthening trafficking laws),  and Generate Hope, a shelter for women who have been rescued from sex trafficking in San Diego, were present. Namaste Nepal and the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force were present as well.

Human Trafficking Awareness Walk Through

Along with hope must come understanding, so iSancturary set up a brilliantly decorated, yet disturbing, walk through statistics and stories of human trafficking around the world and in the United States. The picture to the left is section of the walk, with women's and children's underwear to remind us just how young some of these girls are, and the horrors they go through.


Here is a close up of tinker bell underwear - the average age for a girl that has been trafficked is 13 and some girls can be as young as 5. >>>

The awareness walk was full of statistics like the one on the left, as well as stories of girls from around the world who had been trafficked. Some stories were ones of hope and others ended leaving you with a feeling of nausea and wet eyes.

Two other disturbing images I came across were a wall full of missing children and an add for "Models."  Many traffickers lure their victims by offering them fake jobs such as modeling.

    iSancaturary had a great turnout.  It was amazing to see so many people becoming aware of human trafficking and the fact that it is happening in their own neighborhoods. I met a lot of dedicated and inspiring people and I look forward to attending next year.

On my way out, I bought a pair of beautiful peacock earrings from iSancturary.  Knowing that I had purchased with a purpose, I began to see how something as small as buying a pair of earrings can bring us one step closer to creating more survivors than victims and help end human trafficking.   

California Against Slavery 5k walk/Fundraiser

This past weekend I participated in California Against Slavery's 5k walk/fundraiser called Move To Stop Modern Day Slavery. I was joined by groups of people dedicated to ending modern day slavery right here in their own home town, San Diego. It was amazing to see so many people walking for a cause that many people are unaware of and yet human trafficking takes millions of lives each year.

After the walk, a sex trafficking survivor, Nikki Junker--a U.S citizen representing With More Than Purpose, told her story of being trafficked by a man she had thought was her boyfriend. She told us that she came from a middle class family and that she was trafficked to Las Vegas. Currently Nikki helps other girls that have been rescued from sex trafficking. She gives all of us hope that other trafficking victims can become survivors and find their place in the world again.

She told us that if the girls she worked with knew how many people had shown up to support them, they would be happily surprised.  According to Nikki, most of the time these girls feel like they are the "scum of the earth." That is why it is important that we help give them a voice, and spread the word that modern day slavery exists and WE WILL NOT STAND FOR IT.

California Against Slavery is trying to pass an initiative for the 2012 ballot to help create harsher laws for traffickers in CA, including increasing the prison sentence of a trafficker from the current 3 - 8 years to LIFE. If you would like to learn more about the initiative and how you can help, please visit California Against Slavery.  I personally enjoyed raising money for them with my team MiraCosta Rotaract. It was also a great way to create awareness that human trafficking is happening right here in San Diego.

JUSTICE at HERSHEY'S

Watch this video and see how Hershey is abusing college students right here in the United States.

Abolish child slavey and expose the dark side of Hershey's Chocolate

Join modern day abolitionist across the country and show the world that Hershey is using child slaves to produce our candy bars. Watch this video and see how you can end slavery with a simple consumer alert card.

Stories of Hope - Polaris Project

Reading about human trafficking can get overwhelming and many times you just begin to feel hopeless, you begin to think, "is there any hope in this situation?" The answer is YES! And the organization, Polaris Project has proof, they have stories of hope, stories of real survivors who are on their way to recovery. Below are some of the stories I found on their website.

Labor Trafficking | Domestic Servitude

Upon coming to the United States with a wealthy family, Sabine was imprisoned in their home; unable to leave, she was made to work around the clock.

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Sabine was the only member of her family to survive the genocide in Rwanda, so she agreed when a wealthy family offered her a chance to move to America with them.  Shortly after arrival, however, she was imprisoned in their home; forced to work around the clock and made to sleep on the kitchen floor. Finally after six months of servitude, Sabine was allowed to go to church for an hour each Sunday.  On one visit, she was approached by a kind Rwandan man who learned of her situation and helped her escape.  He took Sabine to one of our partner agencies and who immediately referred her to Polaris Project. 

Before participating in the Transitional Housing program, Sabine was afraid of everything.  She did not want to leave the apartment after 4:00 p.m.--because it was too dark--and was afraid to walk to the Polaris Project office by herself.  She had never been independent in the U.S., so even going to the grocery store or using a gift card terrified her.  Her Polaris Project Case Manager not only accompanied her when shopping, but also conducted case management sessions in her transitional housing home, where she felt safe and secure.  Because of her attentive Case Manager, after only three months, she was able to visit the office on her own.  She also began shopping on her own and familiarizing herself with the neighborhood.  When she came to Polaris Project she spoke no English, but after taking English lessons she is now conversational.  She became the most enthusiastic and eager student in our Job Training program, and continued to visit the center to practice the computer skills.

Sex Trafficking | Residential Brothel

Gabriella worked at a grocery store in Colombia. After moving to the United States in search of a better job, she was forced into prostitution by a person she trusted.

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Several years ago, Gabriella lived in Colombia with her family and worked at a grocery store. As the eldest child, she had to provide for her mother and sisters after her father committed suicide. A childhood friend of Gabriella’s moved to the United States some years before, and he offered to help her move to America every time he visited Columbia. He promised he would help her to find work in a restaurant so she could better support her family. After a year, she agreed.

The next thing she knew, Gabriella was taken to the U.S. and forced into prostitution. Not only was she held in debt bondage for $10,000, but she was told that if she tried to escape, her family would be harmed. For five long years, Gabriella lived as the property of her traffickers. She was moved to a different brothel almost every week, never knew where she was, and wasn't able to seek outside help. Unfortunately, Gabriella’s story is not unique. Polaris Project regularly assists victims of human trafficking who are left without homes, employment, family, or friends. Fortunately for Gabriella, Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) caught her trafficker. Gabriella was rescued through a raid that ICE did on the brothel where she was held. ICE referred her to Polaris Project for services.

Gabriella met with one of our case managers at least once a week for much needed emotional support and comprehensive care. Polaris Project assisted Gabriella in finding an apartment for her and her 2-year-old daughter, helped her enroll in ESL classes, and provided her with employment assistance.

Slavery in California

Many forget that human trafficking happens in the United States of America, in fact it happens in every state of the U.S. Here is a video about sex trafficking in CA. Watch this video and hear from two survivors who were trafficked in CA. And hear how one of girl was only 12 years old when she was trafficked... 

Learn how you can help stop trafficking in CA and what California Against Slavery is doing to try and strengthen trafficking laws by visiting, http://californiaagainstslavery.org/. 

Meet Nomi Network

See how the Nomi Network is trying to combat human trafficking and find out how they chose the name "Nomi" from meeting an eight year old sex trafficking survivor.

Child Sex Trafficking on San Diego's Streets

Can buying Ben and Jerry's Ice cream really help stop modern day slavery?

      You always hear such horrible stories about human trafficking and many wonder if there really is anything we can do to stop such a horrendous crime. And the answer is YES, there are many things we can do to stop human trafficking. One of the most important things we can do is buy certified fair trade products. Fair Trade means that no slave had their hands in the production of the product, it also means that the product was made through environmentally friendly means, and that the workers were paid a decent wage. You can tell if a product is fair trade certified if you see one of these symbols on a product.

Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream is working on becoming fully fair trade certified by 2013, currently they have many ice creams that are fully certified or are at least half way there. Check out their website to see what flavors are fair trade certified. If you want to learn more about fair trade products and companies that make fair trade products including: clothing, coffee, chocolate and much more check out Fair Trade USA. And remember, next time you want some ice cream choose Ben and Jerry's!!! 

Please Don't Close Your Ears to the Truth

Modern Day Slavery isn't an easy topic to swallow, many people I talk to simply don't really want to know about it. Why? Well for one its depressing; who wants to hear about children being raped or women and men being forced to make our clothes or our coffee? Which brings us to another point, guilt. People don't want to feel guilty, because when we feel guilty we feel uncomfortable and lets face it no one wants to feel uncomfortable.

Picture your loved ones face here...

      I have many friends that will be shocked and horrified when I tell them stories of girls prostituted by their own families, or little boys trafficked to produce Hershey chocolate. But after that they simply don't want to hear it, they don't want to see it. Many people say, "Well, slavery happens in other countries, not America so why do we have to worry about it?" Well even if that were true, that slavery does not happen in America (which it's not), we as American consumers contribute to slavery whether we are aware of it or not. More than half the things we buy are slave produced; from gas, to cell phones, computers, agriculture, clothes, coffee, chocolate, diamonds, rubber, bricks. I'm not saying you should feel guilty because its not your fault, we just aren't aware of it because let's face it: companies aren't about to shout out, "Hey we sell you slave-produced products!"
    I know that hearing about slavery can be a real downer, and many people feel it's a hopeless battle. But if we turn our backs on this egregious crime against humanity then we let down millions of people who are praying for the day they will be set free; the day they see their families again; the day they get to see their traffickers imprisoned. Just think, slavery happens everywhere, not just to the poor or in some small tribe in Africa. It happens EVERYWHERE and TO EVERYONE including the rich, the middle class and the poor. These kids could be your kids; these victims could be your daughter, your son, your cousin, your niece, your nephew, your mother, your father, yourself. And I know none of us would want our loved ones to be enslaved. So remember that, when you hear a story of someone who was trafficked, it's time to listen to the truth no matter how horrifying it is--beacuase if we don't speak out for the freedom of 27 million slaves, then who will?

Side Note
For those of you wondering how you can help the fight against human trafficking I will soon be posting blogs about the many things people are doing around the world to not just speak out about this horrific crime but to take action. I will show you how you can buy "fair trade" products which means slaves did not produce them; how you can help change laws for traffickers in your own state or country, all the different ways you can help bring awareness to your community, and how you can help raise or donate money to help those that have suffered. So keep reading and remember there is something you can do to help abolish slavery, even if its as small as just telling somebody the truth that slavery still exists.

10 Minute Teaser of Call+Response

Check out this trailer for the new documentary Call and Response, which shows us the horrors of sex trafficking from inside the brothels and also incorporates some of the top singers in the music industry. Also check out their website and see how you can help stop modern day slavery http://www.callandresponse.com/

Meet a Real Survivor of Human Trafficking

Human Trafficking at Fashion Valley

According to 10 news, in 2009 a 14 year old girl (who 10 news is calling Amber) was trafficked into prostitution by a women, named Tara Duncan, whom Amber met at the Fashion Valley shopping center. A few days after their meeting Duncan took Amber to a party, where Amber was raped multiple times by 3 to 4 men who turned out to be Duncan's pimps. After that her and Duncan would go to motels and turn tricks. Duncan would actually drop Amber off at home, but Amber was to ashamed and afraid to tell her family what was going on. Amber was rescued by police and Duncan was sentenced to two years probation and fined $160 dollars.

Do you own (stuff made by) slaves?

Many people don't know this but we contribute to labor trafficking by buying products that were made by slaves. It's not really our fault since companies have not felt the need to tell us when they are using slaves in their production line. But our ignorance is contributing to slavery and in order to stop slavery we must become informed. Many of the things we buy from fruit, to jewelry, to coffee, to chocolate, to clothes, to cell phones (especially the I-phone) and even gas, has a high likely hood of coming from a production line that used slavery. Watch the video below to find out more.

Branded - Sex trafficking Film

When I was in 11th grade I decided I wanted to make a film that would capture the horrors of human trafficking and bring awareness to the public. So I created Branded, a short experimental film, that uses dance, voice over, and music to give people a sense of what it would be like to be trafficked - to feel hopeless, to feel trapped.

A quick intro

Human trafficking is defined as the recruitment, harboring transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person to perform labor or a commercial sex act through force, fraud or coercion.” There are many forms of human trafficking, but the main three are Sex slavery, Labor slavery, and Indentured Servitude.  All three of these types of slavery involve turning a person into a product that can be sold (used) over and over again. Slavey takes place in almost every country in the world, but many Americans don't realize its happening in their own backyard. In fact the Super Bowl is the biggest day/event for sex slavery.                Traffickers higher taxi cabs to be turned into brothels right outside the Super Bowl. Around 10,000 girls of all ages, ranging anywhere from 5 to 25 are trafficked in from all over the world to be used for sex. Now if we look back at the history of America, a slave in  the south, in 1850 cost $40,000 of to days dollars, today the average cost of a slave is $90 dollars. This means that slaves - human beings are very disposable to a slave owner, meaning if one dies they can easily be replaced. A scary thought about an already horrific industry is that modern day slavery generates $32 million dollars a year, many say it will soon surpass the drug industry (which is the largest industry in the world). You can only sell a drug once but you can sell a child over and over again.