Slavery reborn: Modern day slavery, in America?

7/6/2011
Fredericksburg.com

PROMISED a good education, Evelyn came to the United States from her native Cambodia to work as a nanny. "I had to get up at like 5 a.m.," she told CNN. "I had to take care of the kids, change the diapers, cook, clean, clean the house, make sure to go to day care on time." Evelyn was 9.

Evelyn, a victim of human trafficking, was 17 before she escaped from her captor, who is now serving time in prison. Her story echoes those of the 15,000 to 20,000 people brought into the U.S. each year for sexual or labor slavery, a practice against which the U.S. government is taking the lead.

Last week, Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., Scott Brown, R-Mass., and John Kerry, D-Mass., introduced a bill to extend America's decade-long campaign against human trafficking until 2015. The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act enhances the diplomatic tools available to the State Department in its campaign to goad other nations to end the scourge. The bill, which includes a block grant program designed to help fund victim-assistance programs, follows hard on the heels of the State Department's annual Trafficking in Person Report.

This year's report tracks anti-trafficking progress in 184 countries, ranking them in three tiers depending on their efforts. International Justice Mission, a non-governmental agency dedicated to ending trafficking, notes: "[C]andid reporting on slavery and trafficking helps governments in poor countries identify and address weaknesses in their justice systems." In May, operating on a tip, IJM helped the Indian government free 514 people (including kids as young as 8) held captive in a brick-making facility in Chennai.

The U.S., reports TIP, is a destination of choice for labor and sex traffickers. Ambassador Luis CdeBaca, who heads the State Department's trafficking office, estimates there are up to 100,000 people (including U.S. citizens) in forced servitude here. Meanwhile, in Evelyn's native Cambodia (a Tier 2 country), an estimated 28,000 children are enslaved as domestic workers in Phnom Penh alone. There, too, virgin girls are sold as sex slaves for hundreds, often thousands, of dollars. Convincing police this is a criminal problem, not a cultural practice, is Step One.

Raising awareness, applying sanctions (such as cuts in U.S. aid to non-compliant countries), and exerting political pressure are all weapons in the fight. Of course, in these tight budget times, money is an issue. But, as IJM points out, State's TIP office's annual budget ($21.4 million) is less than half of what we spend on military bands ($42.5 million) in one month.

The late Ambassador Richard Holbrooke said, "One must never forget that slaves are first and foremost people. Their lives are filled with sorrow and injustice--but also they are touched with humor and joy. Just like regular people. Just like free people."

Ending human trafficking is a goal worth pursuing. The TVPRA deserves the support of every member of the Virginia congressional delegation.