Latin sorority shows human trafficking film

11/06/07 - Slavery was abolished in the United States in 1863 with the Emancipation Proclamation. However, according to a 2006 study by the U.S. State Dept., approximately 14,500 to 17,500 slaves come into the U.S. each year. On Monday night, Chi Upsilon Sigma Latin sorority held a workshop to educate the University of Rhode Island community on modern day slavery, also known as human trafficking.Tenika DaPonte, a clinician knowledgeable on human trafficking, presented information on human trafficking to a small group at the Multicultural Center. DaPonte showed the first part of "Human Trafficking," a Lifetime miniseries. The miniseries followed a single mother tricked by a young man into becoming a prostitute, a 16-year-old girl lured to the U.S. with the promise of a modeling career, a 12-year old American girl abducted while vacationing in the Philippines, and a Filipino girl sold into slavery by her father.

While all kinds of people are victims of human trafficking, most are women and children. These people are tricked into slavery by promises of better-paying jobs in foreign countries. Parents in desperate financial situations might sell a child into slavery for the money and one less mouth to feed, DaPonte said.

Victims of human trafficking are sexually abused. They work in massage parlors, brothels, escort services, and strip clubs. The leaders of the human trafficking rings intimidate their victims through rape, abuse and threats of violence against family members.

According to the Polaris Project, a nonprofit organization that fights human trafficking, human trafficking is the second largest criminal industry in the world. In "Human Trafficking," one of the main characters called modern-day slavery the "business of the future." Organized crime organizations participate in human trafficking because of its profitability. Unlike drugs, which must be smuggled and can only be sold once, a person can be purchased for a small amount and sold over and over again daily.

The amount of people trafficked into the U.S. is only about 2 percent of the 800,000 human trafficking victims worldwide, according to the U.S. State Dept. These statistics only account for those trafficked across international borders. The State Dept. estimates that millions more are trafficked within their countries' borders.

In Aug. 2006, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement shut down 20 brothels in the northeastern U.S. posing as legitimate businesses, including one in Providence. DaPonte said massage parlors and salons are fronts for brothels.

Although most of the victims are women, boys are also trafficked. DaPonte said that boys in war-torn countries are forced to be soldiers, some as young as seven years old. Some parents in the Middle East sell their young sons as camel jockeys, the riders for camel races.

"These boys are forced to live in harsh settings with no education," DaPonte said.

People from a variety of races and socioeconomic groups provide the means to continue human trafficking. Wealthy sexual predators travel to Thailand and the Philippines to pay for sex with young boys. In "Human Trafficking," a man in a wealthy neighborhood paid for a group of trafficked prostitutes to provide their services at a party.

DaPonte said diplomats bring domestic servants with them to the U.S. Although human trafficking is a crime in the U.S., diplomatic immunity prevents the government from pressing charges.

The human trafficking presentation was part of Chi Upsilon Sigma's awareness week. To retain recognition by the national organization, each chapter of Chi Upsilon Sigma must hold a week of events to promote awareness of political, social, and cultural topics.

Guishard said Chi Upsilon Sigma might hold another workshop on human trafficking to educate more members of the URI community on this human rights issue.