That lovely thought is from the mouth of a human trafficker, talking about his victims.
He mentions it a number of times in Lives For Sale, a documentary that traces the story of 2 young women who cross the US/Mexico border illegally and end up being trafficked--one in California and the other in Florida.
Lives For Sale shows the strong connection between immigration and human trafficking, and why immigrants are willing to risk everything--even slavery--for the American dream. Many, of course, have no idea they are signing up to be slaves.
Click here to watch the trailer.
Human trafficking is the 2nd most profitable illegal industry on the planet, after illegal drugs. You can sell a drug once, but you can sell a person over and over again--and that's what happens to the women in Lives For Sale.Here are some of the notes I scribbled in the dark while I was watching the film:
- There is an increasing "feminization of immigration." 54% of immigrants around the world are women--and many pay their way with their bodies--willingly or unwillingly.
- One young woman in the film was brought from Mexico to Phoenix to Los Angeles. When she arrived at a dark and dirty home, she was asked, "Do you know why you are here? To work. This is a brothel." To which she replied, "What is that?" This innocent young woman was forced to work as a prostitute.
- Another young woman was held hostage in a home in a middle-class neighborhood in the US--which was actually a brothel. A neighbor noticed what was going on and called the police, but it took many calls before anyone believed her and rescued the young woman and others held hostage in the same house. "Finally someone believed my story," the neighbor said.
- Quote from a state attorney in the US who prosecutes traffickers: "One of the first things I have to do is convince a jury that slavery actually exists."
- 500,000 undocumented people enter the US illegally every year. 70,000 of them will be trafficked. Desperation and crushing poverty lead them to believe the lies of traffickers who promise them the moon.
Whatever you think about illegal immigration, no one deserves to be a slave.
The film showed two programs in Guatemala that help people out of poverty -- which means they are less likely to become illegal immigrants and be trafficked:
One program gives kids economic incentives to go to school and stay in school. This is particularly important for girls. 80% of women in Guatemala are illiterate.
Another program--a coffee co-op--gives farmers a place to sell their coffee beans, make money, feed their families, and get out of poverty.
BTW, this excellent documentary has been shown on television only a handful of times. In Florida where much of it was shot, it was shown on a Sunday night at 12 midnight--not exactly prime time.
Why? Why don't more media show this type of film and expose the horror that is going on in our backyards?
To learn what The Born2Fly Project is doing to stop child trafficking, click here.
Comments