According to research carried out by the organization Free the Slaves, more people are enslaved worldwide than ever before.

In its 400 years, the transatlantic slave trade is estimated to have shipped up to 12 million Africans to various colonies in the West. Free the Slaves estimates that the number of people in slavery today is at least 27 million.

Originally published http://fact-o-tron.com/facts/people/human-rights-day/

Anuradha Koirala of Nepal was named CNN Hero of the Year 2010. According to CNN, Anuradha Koirala and her group, Maiti Nepal, “have helped more than 12,000 victims of Nepal's sex trafficking business.” She leads anti-human trafficking efforts in her country. Sources say that as this year's awardee, CNN Hero of the Year 2010 Anuradha Koirala will receive $100,000 in addition to the $25,000 awarded to her when chosen as one of the Top 10 CNN Heroes. Koirala was chosen by the public through an online poll that ran on CNN.com for eight (8) weeks.

Anuradha Koirala was chosen by the public in an online poll that ran for eight weeks on CNN.com. CNN’s Anderson Cooper revealed the result at the conclusion of the fourth annual “CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute.”

“Human trafficking is a crime, a heinous crime, a shame to humanity,” Koirala said earlier in the evening after being introduced as one of the top 10 CNN Heroes of 2010. “I ask everyone to join me to create a society free of trafficking. We need to do this for all our daughters.”

Koirala was introduced by actress Demi Moore, who along with her husband, Ashton Kutcher, created DNA, The Demi and Ashton Foundation, which aims to eliminate child sex slavery worldwide.

“Every day this woman confronts the worst of what humanity has to offer,” Moore said of Koirala. “She says, ‘Stop. Stop selling our girls.’ By raiding brothels and patrolling the India-Nepal border, she saves girls from being sold into the sex trade, where they are being repeatedly raped for profit, tortured and enslaved.

“Since 1993, she has helped rescue more than 12,000 women and girls. Through her organization Maiti Nepal, she has provided more than a shelter for these girls and young women, she has created a home. It is a place for them to heal, go to school, learn a skill, and for some who are infected with HIV/AIDS, it is the place where they can spend their days surrounded by love.”

See Koirala’s fan page on CNN Heroes

Koirala will receive $100,000 to continue her work with Maiti Nepal, in addition to the $25,000 awarded to each of the top 10 Heroes honored.

“This is another responsibility to me to work with all your support,” Koirala told the audience after being named Hero of the Year. “We have to end this heinous crime. Please join hands with me to end this crime. … Please try to respect the youth. They are the ones who are going to build the next generation. Thank you so much.”

Koirala’s speech capped the gala event, which was taped November 20 before an audience of nearly 5,000 and premiered Thanksgiving night on the global networks of CNN.

The show opened with a salute to the 33 Chilean miners and five of the people who rescued them last month after the miners spent 69 days underground.

“For 69 days we were amazed by these 33 brave miners,” Cooper said in welcoming the miners onto the Shrine stage. “Their ordeal was unthinkable; their rescue, unbelievable. No one has ever been trapped underground so deep for so long and survived.

“They endured a nightmare, experienced a miracle, and in the end became each others’ brothers and heroes. On behalf of CNN Heroes, we salute all 33 Chilean miners.”

After the miners sang the Chilean national anthem, two of them — speaking through a translator and holding the Chilean flag — expressed their appreciation.

“We want to thank the world, and we want to thank God for your prayers,” Luis Urzua told the audience in Spanish.

“Our families suffered. Our children suffered, too. But thanks to the prayers of the whole world, we could come out of this difficulty,” Mario Sepulveda added.

“Some of our rescuers are here with us tonight,” Urzua said. “Thank you for bringing us home. You are our heroes.”

CNN brought the miners and their rescuers to the United States to attend the tribute show. The five rescuers were selected to represent the many thousands whose talent and effort led to the dramatic rescue.

The top 10 CNN Heroes, chosen by a blue-ribbon panel from an initial pool of more than 10,000 nominations from more than 100 countries, were each honored with a documentary tribute and introduced by a celebrity presenter.

The program also featured performances by Grammy Award-winners Bon Jovi, John Legend and Sugarland.

Rock legends Bon Jovi performed “What Do You Got?,” a new song from their greatest hits album, which came out earlier this month. Legend performed “Wake Up Everybody” along with hip-hop artist Common and R&B singer Melanie Fiona. Sugarland performed “Stand Up,” a new song from their album “The Incredible Machine,” which made its debut in October.

All three performances echoed the spirit of the CNN Heroes campaign, which salutes everyday people whose extraordinary accomplishments are making a difference in their communities and beyond.

Celebrity presenters included Halle Berry, Demi Moore, Jessica Alba, Kid Rock, LL Cool J, Renee Zellweger, Gerard Butler, Kiefer Sutherland, Marisa Tomei, Aaron Eckhart and Holly Robinson Peete.

“CNN Heroes has illustrated the best of humanity through the telling of stories of selfless acts of kindness, courage and perseverance” said Jim Walton, president of CNN Worldwide. “We are honored to bring these Heroes the recognition they so deserve. It is a program the entire CNN family is proud of and excited to share with our viewers on Thanksgiving night.”

Again this year, producer/director Joel Gallen served as executive producer of “CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute.” Among his credits, Gallen produced telethon events supporting victims of the Haiti earthquake, the 9/11 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina. He won an Emmy Award and a Peabody Award for “America: A Tribute to Heroes.”

Preceding the tribute broadcast, CNN and HLN aired a red carpet special, “Showbiz Tonight @ CNN Heroes,” at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. Hosted by A.J. Hammer and Brooke Anderson, the special featured exclusive coverage of celebrity arrivals and interviews, as well as a celebrity-hosted social media suite tapping into the worldwide online passion and interest in the Heroes event.

Here are the 2010 top 10 CNN Heroes in alphabetical order:

Guadalupe Arizpe De La Vega founded a hospital in Juarez, Mexico, that cares for about 900 people daily — regardless of their ability to pay. Despite the escalating violence in the city, the 74-year-old travels there several times a week to make sure residents get the care they need. Learn more about Guadalupe

Susan Burton was once caught in a cycle of addiction and incarceration. Today, her nonprofit A New Way of Life Reentry Project provides sober housing and other support services to formerly incarcerated women in California. Learn more about Susan

With her weight-loss challenge, Shape Up Vicksburg, Linda Fondren is helping her Mississippi hometown battle the bulge. Through free fitness activities and nutrition classes, residents have lost nearly 15,000 pounds to date. Learn more about Linda

Anuradha Koirala is fighting to prevent the trafficking and sexual exploitation of Nepal’s women and girls. Since 1993, she and her group, Maiti Nepal, have helped rescue and rehabilitate more than 12,000 victims. Learn more about Anuradha

Narayanan Krishnan brings hot meals and dignity to India’s homeless and destitute — 365 days per year — through his nonprofit Akshaya Trust. Since 2002, he has served more than 1.2 million meals. Learn more about Narayanan

Since 1992, Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow has dedicated his life to helping people in need. Today, his program, Mary’s Meals — run from a tin shed in the Scottish highlands — provides free daily meals to more than 400,000 children around the world. Learn more about Magnus

Harmon Parker is using his masonry skills to save lives. Since 1997 he has helped build 45 footbridges over perilous rivers in Kenya, protecting people from flash floods and predatory animals. The bridges also connect isolated villagers to valuable resources.Learn more about Harmon

Aki Ra is helping to make his native Cambodia safer by clearing land mines — many of which he planted years ago as a child soldier. Since 1993, he and his Cambodian Self Help Demining organization have cleared about 50,000 mines and unexploded weapons. Learn more about Aki Ra

Evans Wadongo, 23, invented a way for rural families in Kenya to replace smoky kerosene and firelight with solar power. Through his Use Solar, Save Lives program, he’s distributed an estimated 10,000 free solar lanterns. Learn more about Evans

Since 2005, Texas home builder Dan Wallrath has given injured Iraq and Afghanistan veterans homes of their own — mortgage-free. He and his Operation Finally Home team have five new custom homes under construction. Learn more about Dan

This story appeared on the CNN website On November 20, 2010

About the conference

The Bay Area Anti-Trafficking Coalition, in concert with Menlo Park Presbyterian Church and affiliated organizations, is presenting Freedom Summit 2011, to be held on Friday, January 21^st and Saturday, January 22^nd, 2011 at Harbor Light Church in Fremont, California.

Freedom Summit 2011 is a conference on human trafficking and modern-day slavery with Former Secretary of State Dr. Condoleezza Rice providing the keynote address and musical artist/activist Sara Groves performing live on both nights.  Dr. David Batstone, Founder of Not for Sale, Bradley Myles, Executive Director of Polaris Project, and Lt. John Vanek, head of the San Jose Police Department Human Trafficking Task Force will lead the plenary sessions.  Freedom Summit 2011 will place strong emphasis on ‘training the trainer’ with robust breakout sessions designed to turn awareness into action by equipping individuals to fight human trafficking in their own communities.

Register online at freedom-summit.org.

Message from the conference chair

The inspiration behind this year’s Freedom Summit was to mobilize our heightened awareness of human trafficking here in the Bay Area into tangible action that brings rescue for victims. Our aim is to equip every concerned individual to be able to impact his/her sphere of influence in a way that empowers communities to be traffick-free and an example to others. Together, we are taking a stand to say the Bay Area is NOT a place where human trafficking: both sex slavery and labor trafficking, will be tolerated.

We feel deeply and that takes us somewhere. But where?

Lately, I’ve been struck by how much easier it is to focus on the emotional aspects of human trafficking than the less sensational realities which demand personal lifestyle change. Emotions can either give us the energy to move decisively forward, or can be a smokescreen, deflecting personal responsibility and steering us off course. For example, we become angry and demand action when faced with child sex trafficking (and we should!), but then turn around and eat tomatoes picked by slaves in our fields. Labor trafficking is not as sensational and doesn’t get the same press as sex trafficking, but it is still modern slavery. We contribute every day to labor trafficking. We can not be content with freeing kids from pimps and then eat tomatoes harvested by slaves. It’s fairly easy to get angry about something I read in the paper. It’s more difficult to sacrifice parts of my lifestyle permeated by slavery.

Are we just getting high off the emotion of righteous anger or are we using the energy to propel us
beyond awareness to lifestyle change and smart activism?

What are your thoughts about this?

There is much more to this E-Blast… Check out the full content here .

When you click on the above link you will come to the Stop Trafficking! home page.  You will have an opportunity to sign a petition to tell Apple to block app that facilitate child sex trafficking.  Please consider signing the petition.

The September issue is now posted online at:

http://www.stopenslavement.org/index.html

There is a very important debate going on for a short time online at the Economist. It is polling readers as to their position on legalizing prostitution. I urge you to go to:

http://www.economist.com/debate/debates/overview/182

and VOTE.

Those versed in the complex issues and facts around human trafficking know that legalization of prostitution would further the cause of pimps, users and all those who make money off vulnerable women and children. Please vote! And comment, if you are able.

Gratefully,
Jean Shafer, sds

Afghan Women and the Return of the Taliban

By Aryn Baker

____________________________________________________

The following is an abridged version of an article that appears in the Aug. 9, 2010, print and iPad editions of TIME magazine.

+++++++

The Taliban pounded on the door just before midnight, demanding that Aisha, 18, be punished for running away from her husband’s house. Her in-laws treated her like a slave, Aisha pleaded. They beat her. If she hadn’t run away, she would have died. Her judge, a local Taliban commander, was unmoved. Aisha’s brother-in-law held her down while her husband pulled out a knife. First he sliced off her ears. Then he started on her nose. (See managing editor Richard Stengel’s message to readers about this week’s cover.)

This didn’t happen 10 years ago, when the Taliban ruled Afghanistan. It happened last year. Now hidden in a secret women’s shelter in Kabul, Aisha listens obsessively to the news. Talk that the Afghan government is considering some kind of political accommodation with the Taliban frightens her. “They are the people that did this to me,” she says, touching her damaged face. “How can we reconcile with them?”(See pictures of Afghan women and the return of the Taliban.)

In June, Afghan President Hamid Karzai established a peace council tasked with exploring negotiations with the Taliban. A month later, Tom Malinowski from Human Rights Watch met Karzai. During their conversation, Karzai mused on the cost of the conflict in human lives and wondered aloud if he had any right to talk about human rights when so many were dying. “He essentially asked me,” says Malinowski, “What is more important, protecting the right of a girl to go to school or saving her life?” How Karzai and his international allies answer that question will have far-reaching consequences, not only for Afghanistan’s women, but the country as a whole.(Watch TIME’s video on photographing Aisha for the cover.)

As the war in Afghanistan enters its ninth year, the need for an exit strategy weighs on the minds of U.S. policymakers. Such an outcome, it is assumed, would involve reconciliation with the Taliban. But Afghan women fear that in the quest for a quick peace, their progress may be sidelined. “Women’s rights must not be the sacrifice by which peace is achieved,” says parliamentarian Fawzia Koofi.(Comment on this story.)

Yet that may be where negotiations are heading. The Taliban will be advocating a version of an Afghan state in line with their own conservative views, particularly on the issue of women’s rights. Already there is a growing acceptance that some concessions to the Taliban are inevitable if there is to be genuine reconciliation. “You have to be realistic,” says a diplomat in Kabul. “We are not going to be sending troops and spending money forever. There will have to be a compromise, and sacrifices will have to be made.”(Watch TIME’s video “Portraits of the Women of Afghanistan.”)

For Afghanistan’s women, an early withdrawal of international forces could be disastrous. An Afghan refugee who grew up in Canada, Mozhdah Jamalzadah recently returned home to launch an Oprah-style talk show in which she has been able to subtly introduce questions of women’s rights without provoking the ire of religious conservatives. On a recent episode, a male guest told a joke about a foreign human-rights team in Afghanistan. In the cities, the team noticed that women walked six paces behind their husbands. But in rural Helmand, where the Taliban is strongest, they saw a woman six steps ahead. The foreigners rushed to congratulate the husband on his enlightenment — only to be told that he stuck his wife in front because they were walking through a minefield. As the audience roared with laughter, Jamalzadah reflected that it may take about 10 to 15 years before Afghan women can truly walk alongside men. But once they do, she believes, all Afghans will benefit. “When we talk about women’s rights,” Jamalzadah says, “we are talking about things that are important to men as well — men who want to see Afghanistan move forward. If you sacrifice women to make peace, you are also sacrificing the men who support them and abandoning the country to the fundamentalists that caused all the problems in the first place.”

See pictures of Muslim women leading a soft revolution. Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2007238,00.html#ixzz0wQsieTFP
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2007238,00.html#ixzz0wQsfMhNj

To read this article in its entirety, pick up a copy of TIME magazine at your local newsstand or download the TIME iPad app. Or, to have TIME magazine delivered to your door every week, subscribe.

^^^Click above  for full details^^^

Join Us On Thursday, July 8_, 2010

To Protest Craigslist

at their San Francisco Headquarters

The Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW) in partnership with Prostitution Research and Education (PRE) and other co-sponsors will be holding a protest in front of Craigslist Headquarters in San Francisco on July 8^th to bring attention to Craigslist’s facilitation of and profiting  from sex trafficking. “Craigslist continues to cynically profit by functioning as an online pimp,” says Norma Ramos, Executive Director of CATW. “Craigslist is the new stroll where pimps traffic, johns buy and Craigslist profits,” says Melissa Farley, Executive Director, PRE.

Craigslist is projected to realize a 22% increase in revenue – an estimated $36 million in 2010 – largely attributable to its functioning as a virtual red light district for pimps/traffickers and johns. Craigslist displays a reckless disregard for human rights by increasingly becoming a part of the sex industry. Craigslist could act to create a sex trafficking free internet by no longer hosting prostitution ads and thereby setting an industry standard.

We invite you to join CATW, PRE and our co-sponsors who include: Gloria Steinem, Breaking Free, Equality Now, A Call to Men, End Child Prostitution and Trafficking (ECPAT-USA), and many others at our protest to hold Craigslist accountable for facilitating and profiting from the rank exploitation of others.

Speakers Include:

• Joy Friedman, Women’s Program Manager, Breaking Free
• Glenda Hope, Executive Director, SafeHouse San Francisco for Homeless Women Escaping Prostitution
• Victor Malarek, Author/Activist, The Natashas and The Johns
• Aaron Cohen, Author/Activist, Slave Hunter
• Terria Joseph, Actor

When: Thursday, July 8, 2010

Where: Craigslist Headquarters

1381 9^th Avenue
(Between Judah and Irving Streets)
San Francisco, CA 94122

Time: 12:00 NOON – 2:00 PM

Co-Sponsors Include: Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Center for World Indigenous Studies (Mexico/USA), Men Stopping Violence, Dayton Human Trafficking Accords, UNANIMA International, Aboriginal Women’s Action Network (Canada), The Temple Committee Against Human Trafficking (Canada), The Barnaba Institute, Global Centurion, National Organization For Women – NYC (NOW-NYC), Kathleen Barry, Robin Morgan, Embrace Dignity Campaign (South Africa), The Rebecca Project for Human Rights, Stop Porn Culture, Media Watch, Pacific Alliance to Stop Slavery, Girl Fest Hawaii, Public Good Project, Children’s Civil Rights Union, California Survivors of Craigslist Trafficking, Chab Dai USA, Veronica’s Voice, Women’s Justice Center, LOOKBOTHWAYS, California Against Slavery, A Girl Like Me Campaign, Nomi Network, Women’s Global Resource and Development Initiative, Minorities and Survivors Improving Empowerment (MASIE), Live2Free, Lydia Today Foundation, Love146, Nevada Coalition Against Sexual Violence, Nevada Coalition Against Sex Trafficking, National Dominican Women’s Caucus, Because Justice Matters, New York League of Puerto Rican Women, Inc. (NYLPRW), Soroptimist International of the Americas, Women’s Support Project (Scotland), Revolt: Fight To End The Commercial Sex Trade, Exploited Voices now Educating (EVE),  My Sisters’s Place, Inc (Canada), What If It Were Your Daughter/Silver Braid, Sex Industry Survivors, REED (Resist Exploitation, Embrace Dignity) (Canada), Apne Aap (India), Asian Women Coalition Ending Prostitution, Bamboo Bridges, Vancouver Rape Relief and Women’s Shelter (Canada), Canadian Association of Sexual Assault Centres, Council for Prostitution Alternatives,  Abolish Slavery, Mrs. Gingerbread Inc., Technorazzi.com, Asian Americans for Community Involvement (AACI),Feministiskt Initiativ (Sweden), Raise The Bar Productions, EAVES (UK),  TFK Ventures, LLC., Setting the Captives Free Ministries (Canada), Women’s Front of Norway, Florida Coalition Against Human Trafficking, Sisters of the Holy Family…

* Please help get the word out by e-mailing this notice to your contact list. You can use the PDF link at the top of the page.

Smuggling migrants involves the procurement for financial or other material benefit of illegal entry of a person into a State of which that person is not a national or resident.

Virtually every country in the world is affected by these crimes. The challenge for all countries, rich and poor, is totarget the criminals who exploit desperate people and to protect and assist victims of trafficking and smuggled migrants, many of whom endure unimaginable hardships in their bid for a better life.

As the only United Nations entity focusing on the criminal justice element of these crimes, the work that UNODC does to combat human trafficking and the smuggling of migrants is underpinned by the United Nations Convention on Transnational Organized Crime and its protocols on trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling.

Learn more

To learn more visit What is human trafficking? and What is migrant smuggling?

Download UNODC’s anti-trafficking and anti-smuggling Tools and Publications

Watch Public Service Announcements and listen to expert interviews here

To learn about the Global Initiative to fight Human Trafficking (UN.GIFT) visit the UN.GIFT website

**********************************************

Do More:

Can you help our anti-trafficking effort by sending a letter?

• Hotel chain and trafficking
• Craigslist and the erotic services section petition from Change.Org
• The World Cup and Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and The World Cup

Your support and involvement are imperative for vulnerable families. There are many ways you can join us and help Stop Trafficking!

Please also contact your Representatives to urge for policy reform.

• Senate - http://www.senate.gov/
• House of Represenatatives - http://www.house.gov/writerep/

A poster for the awareness campaign to fight human trafficking during the June 11-July 11 World Cup soccer tournament in South Africa. (CNS/courtesy of Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference)

VATICAN CITY – An international network of women’s religious orders has launched a worldwide awareness campaign aimed at preventing human trafficking during the June 11-July 11 World Cup soccer tournament in South Africa.

The campaign titled, “2010 Should Be About the Game,” has been targeting fans, religious leaders, potential victims of trafficking and the general public — warning them about the risks and urging them to spread the word.

Using the 2010 World Cup to exploit vulnerable women, children and men for slave labor, the sex industry or the drug trade is “an outright perversion of the spirit and ethical dimension of sport as well as of the idea and dignity of the human person,” said Salesian Sister Bernadette Sangma.

Sister Sangma, who coordinates the anti-trafficking project of the International Union of Superiors General, and others spoke at a Vatican news conference May 6.

A similar anti-trafficking campaign coordinated by the superiors general and the International Organization for Migration was highly successful during the 2006 World Cup in Germany, said Stefano Volpicelli, a migration office official who has been working with the sisters…

READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT CatholicNews.com

PLEASE SEE LETTER YOU CAN SEND, CLICK  HERE

National Freedom Day is an observance in the United States that honors the signing of a resolution that proposed the 13th amendment of the nation’s constitution on February 1, 1865. Abraham Lincoln, who was the president at the time, signed the resolution to outlaw slavery. This anniversary is annually observed on February 1.

National Freedom Day remembers when Abraham Lincoln (image pictured above) signed a resolution for the United States Constitution's 13th amendment in order to abolish slavery. ©iStockphoto.com/Eric Foltz

What do people do?

Many people in the United States reflect on and remember the importance of freedom on National Freedom Day. The United States president may annually issue a proclamation on the day. Some educational institutions may incorporate themes relating to National Freedom Day as part of class discussion, readings, and other learning activities that explore the importance of the day and its history.

Information on local celebrations or events that center on National Freedom Day may be publicized prior to and on February 1. For some people, it is a time to promote good will, equality, and to appreciate freedom. Wreath-laying at the Liberty Bell has also been a tradition to mark National Freedom Day for many years. Other events include annual breakfasts, luncheons, musical entertainment, film screenings, and literature meetings that explore the theme about freedom.

Public life

National Freedom Day is an observance but it is not a public holiday in the United States.

Background

National Freedom Day commemorates the date – February 1, 1865 – when Abraham Lincoln, who was the nation’s president at the time, signed a joint resolution that proposed the 13th amendment to the United States Constitution. The amendment was made to outlaw slavery and was ratified on December 18, 1865.

Major Richard Robert Wright Senior, a former slave who founded the National Freedom Day Association, played a crucial role in creating the observance. Major Wright was deemed as a community leader in Philadelphia and was active in education, the media, business and politics. He hoped to see a day that would be dedicated to celebrating freedom for all Americans.

The first commemoration of such a day took place on February 1, 1942, although it was not made into law yet. A tradition of laying a wreath at Liberty Bell also began. On June 30, 1948, President Harry Truman signed a bill to proclaim February 1 as the first official National Freedom Day in the United States.

Symbols

National Freedo

National Freedom Day remembers when Abraham Lincoln (image pictured above) signed a resolution for the United States Constitution's 13th amendment in order to abolish slavery. ©iStockphoto.com/Eric Foltz

m Day’s theme is about freedom for all Americans.  Wreath-laying at Liberty Bell, which symbolizes freedom or liberty, has also occurred on this day over the years.

By Kristin Bender, Oakland Tribune

Posted: 01/25/2010 12:01:00 AM PST
Updated: 01/25/2010 09:19:00 AM PST

OAKLAND — On a warm May evening in 2008, Richard Ashley, an Oakland minister at the time, met a man named Kalvin Craven in a motel parking lot.

Craven was 20, a cocky street pimp who picked up girls on the streets of Oakland and put them to work having sex with men, police said. Ashley was a 54-year-old father and husband who had worked as a pimp for 20 years in his younger years, spent four years homeless and then turned to religion for redemption and direction.

The men were meeting in East Oakland because of a girl, a 17-year-old whom Ashley recently had met after she smiled and waved at him, trying to get his attention, when he drove by her at an Oakland bus stop. At first glance, he thought she was a young woman from his church.

“Then she asked me, ‘What are you doing?’ Then I knew,” he said. “I called her over and asked her if she believed in God.”

The two prayed together at the bus stop, and the minister passed his cell phone number to her. If she wanted to change her life, get out of prostitution, he was there to help.

Two days later she called. She asked if he would he come get her and take her home?

What happened next — the shooting of Ashley by Craven — set off a chain of events that earlier this month became a big victory for Alameda County prosecutors, who are cracking down on people who are trafficking and sexually exploiting minors.

Early this month, Craven agreed to plead

guilty to human trafficking of a minor and to shooting into an occupied vehicle. He will serve 15 years in state prison, with formal sentencing scheduled for April.

The case was important for Alameda County prosecutors because Craven became the first person in Alameda County to face asset forfeiture and a fine of up to $20,000 under a new human trafficking law, AB17, said Deputy District Attorney Sharmin Eshraghi Bock, head of the HEAT unit of the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office. (The acronym means Human Exploitation and Trafficking.) Fifty percent of the fines will go to support services for sexually exploited minors.

Before AB17, which was written by Assemblyman Sandre Swanson, D-Alameda, and signed into law last fall by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the fine was $5,000.

“Pimps are out there selling kids and getting richer by the day — as well as more violent, brazen and organized,” Eshraghi Bock said. “Human trafficking is big business, and it requires a big-business response. Until our Legislature raises prison terms for traffickers, AB17 targets what the bad boys treasure the most — their cash stash.”

Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley agreed.

“The fines that will be given when (people) are sentenced are very significant,” O’Malley said.

‘It’s not good’

On the evening of May 15, 2008, Craven clearly knew he would lose part of his cash flow if he lost the 17-year-old girl. Still, Craven agreed to meet the girl and Ashley at a motel at First Avenue and 12th Street, where the teen and the pimp had been staying.

Before the meeting, Ashley called Craven — he didn’t want any trouble, he told the younger man.

“If I had heard anything in his voice that made me think we were in danger, I would have had the police go with us. But I didn’t,” said Ashley, who was shot four times in Jack London Square in 1987 before he turned his life around. “I used to be in that (pimp) lifestyle. It’s not good.”

In his car in the parking lot, Ashley stuck his hand out the window and shook Craven’s hand. The girl had gone inside the motel to retrieve her things, and Craven walked around to the passenger side of Ashley’s car. The door was open, and Craven bent down. The two locked eyes.

Craven pulled a gun from his waistband and pointed it at Ashley’s head, demanding his money and valuables.

“I looked at him right in the eye, and I said, ‘You don’t want to do that,’ ” Ashley recalled.

It was too late. Craven lowered the gun and shot Ashley in the arm, police said. Then Craven took off running.

“I thought I was going to get to tell him about some of the things (about the life of a pimp), but we didn’t get that far,” Ashley said. “All he was seeing was that I was taking away his meal ticket.”

Ashley drove himself to a hospital, and a witness later helped police track Craven to an Eighth Avenue backyard where he was hiding. He was arrested and jailed.

“Ashley tried to help because I think he wants to make a difference “…,” Eshraghi Bock said, adding that the HEAT unit’s newly developed HEAT Watch program aims to encourage others to do the same — help girls get off the streets.

Since the shooting, Ashley still ministers to people, but he has not renewed his ministry license and said he is looking for work. He has regained nearly all the function in his right arm but still suffers some nerve pain.

The girl, whose name was never released, was uncooperative with police and prosecutors. Ashley believes she is off the streets and living with family.

“Ultimately, the sexually exploited minor in this case was uncooperative with our efforts to prosecute her pimp, which makes clear the strong hold that traffickers have on their victims, even from jail,” Eshraghi Bock said.

The reason: money.

‘Big business’

Many girls have to meet quotas of roughly $500 a day, working seven days a week. Girls are often told to charge around $40, and many girls are required to turn 10 to 15 tricks a night, authorities said.

Profits generated by human traffickers can add up to $67,200 per victim per year, according to data from the Polaris Project, a Washington-based group working to combat human trafficking in the United States and worldwide.

An estimated 200,000 American children are at high risk for trafficking into the sex industry each year, according to the Polaris Project.

“It’s big business,” Eshraghi Bock said.

The first application of AB17 comes as O’Malley is unveiling HEAT Watch, which lays out five strategies for combating human exploitation and trafficking at local, regional and national levels. The idea is to get the word out to neighborhood groups, churches, philanthropic organizations, schools, residents and businesses that human trafficking “knows no borders and exists right before their very eyes,” O’Malley said.

“The reason why we apprehended Craven is because a citizen who was not a party to the case was observant, opened his eyes and ears, took action and helped,” Eshraghi Bock said. “And that is what we are asking other citizens to do with the HEAT Watch program.”

The District Attorney’s Office has an anonymous tip line, 510-208-4959, and an e-mail address, heatwatch-da@acgov.org, for reporting suspected sexual exploitation.

HEAT Watch is working with police departments and local, state and federal law enforcement agencies on training, case-by-case assistance, and on complex cases that cross city, county and state lines.

Additionally, HEAT Watch is stepping up prosecution of offenders. Eshraghi Bock was the first prosecutor in Alameda County to impose the human trafficking fine under AB17. What’s more, since the passage of the state’s human trafficking statute four years ago, prosecutors have convicted 122 adult traffickers out of the 164 cases that were charged.

The blueprint also looks to educate policy makers, community leaders and legislators about child commercial exploitation. Ashley believes in this strategy.

“It’s absolutely possible (for community members to get involved). One of the things I told (the 17-year-old) and I tell other girls is if you get $500 every time you turn a date, it would not be enough money,” Ashley said. “The reason is because you are priceless and you are precious and you don’t get but one of you. And at any point, on one little crazy date, it could be over with.”

The District Attorney’s Office has created support services to be the first point of contact for females on the street through the legal process and beyond. Providing services to the victim is important, O’Malley said, because sexually exploited minors must be supported at every step of the investigation and prosecution.

Luis C. de Baca, U.S. State Department, Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons

Luis CdeBaca,
Ambassador-At-Large

January 6, 2010

Dear Friend,

Happy New Year!  I am energized and hopeful about the good work we can do together in this important anniversary year.  2010 will mark the 10^th year since the promulgation of the United Nation’s Palermo Protocol and the signing of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) by President Clinton.  In that time, we have made measured progress and forged strong partnerships to combat trafficking in persons both abroad and here in the United States.  I look forward to our continued partnership to find new ways, new resources, and new partners to fight modern slavery.

To kick-off the New Year, President Barack Obama announced January 2010 as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, culminating in the annual celebration of National Freedom Day on February 1.  Under President Obama’s leadership and through greater cooperation we can all work together to eradicate modern slavery from every community, culture, and country.

As we know, human trafficking is such a multi-faceted issue that it can only be approached through strong partnerships.  Indeed, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke out against human trafficking on December 2, 2009, the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, stating, “Modern slavery is a global phenomenon and must be addressed with global partnerships between governments, non-governmental organizations, and civil society. Through new partnerships, the United States and the international community will work to rescue and serve survivors, bring traffickers to justice, and create a world where every person has the freedom and opportunity to fulfill his or her God-given potential.”   I echo the Secretary’s sentiments and look forward to working with you all to strengthen current partnerships and to bring new partners into our efforts this year.

In addition, our anti- trafficking partners on Capitol Hill have taken action to raise public awareness.  The U.S. Congress is working to establish January as National Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Month, with the Senate having already taken action under the leadership of Senator Dianne Feinstein.  Members of the House of Representatives have a similar measure under consideration.

Finally, G/TIP’s International Programs section received a record number of applications for anti-trafficking grants focused on prevention, protection, and prosecution – over 500!  Many of the applicants have never before submitted a proposal and we are excited at the prospect of forging new partnerships through this process.  The entire G/TIP team would like to thank every organization for their thoughtful submissions.  Following the technical, competitive review of Statements of Interest, selected applicants will be invited to submit full proposals for a final competitive review.

Thank you for your tireless work.  There is no greater reward than restoring and preserving liberty and I look forward to continuing to support and engage in this work with you.  Again, Happy New Year!

Sincerely,

s/Ambassador Luis CdeBaca

The girl soon found herself in the hands of a man who transported her into another country, where she was entrapped into prostitution. Her only recourse was prayer.

Years passed, but she continued to trust that her prayers for deliverance would be answered…and they where. She was freed.

—

During a conference at the First Presbyterian Church in Berkeley, this same young woman told her story. Her plea to the participants, in concern for those still enslaved, was:

“Please, please, hurry! Go save them!” Speakers from Southeast Asia, Latin American, India and Africa – each of whom are spending their lives in efforts to free women, men and children from today’s form of slavery – presented examples of entrapment, as well as the various approaches used in attempts at abolition in their respective areas.

Persons who lack resources for food, potable water, sufficient shelter and adequate healthcare are easy prey for traffickers. The “plague of poverty” is the basis of entrapment for those desperately seeking ways to provide for their families.

We may tend to assume that North America and Western Europe are “the majority world.” In actuality, the vast majority of persons live in impoverishment, subsisting on as little as a dollar a day. What we take for granted in terms of food, water, shelter and medicine are simply unavailable to the vast majority in the world.

It is in this regard that our embrace of the principles of the Earth Charter and the promise of the Millennium Development Goals flows into our focus on human trafficking. Working toward the alleviation of poverty is vital to striking at the roots of human enslavement.

Presidential Proclamation:

National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month

President of the United States, Barak Obama

A PROCLAMATION

The United States was founded on the principle that all people are born with an unalienable right to freedom — an ideal that has driven the engine of American progress throughout our history. As a Nation, we have known moments of great darkness and greater light; and dim years of chattel slavery illuminated and brought to an end by President Lincoln’s actions and a painful Civil War. Yet even today, the darkness and inhumanity of enslavement exists. Millions of people worldwide are held in compelled service, as well as thousands within the United States. During National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, we acknowledge that forms of slavery still exist in the modern era, and we recommit ourselves to stopping the human traffickers who ply this horrific trade.

As we continue our fight to deliver on the promise of freedom, we commemorate the Emancipation Proclamation, which became effective on January 1, 1863, and the 13th Amendment, which was sent to the States for ratification on February 1, 1865. Throughout the month of January, we highlight the many fronts in the ongoing battle for civil rights — including the efforts of our Federal agencies; State, local, and tribal law enforcement partners; international partners; nonprofit social service providers; private industry and nongovernmental organizations around the world who are working to end human trafficking.

The victims of modern slavery have many faces. They are men and women, adults and children. Yet, all are denied basic human dignity and freedom. Victims can be abused in their own countries, or find themselves far from home and vulnerable.

Whether they are trapped in forced sexual or labor exploitation, human trafficking victims cannot walk away, but are held in service through force, threats, and fear. All too often suffering from horrible physical and sexual abuse, it is hard for them to imagine that there might be a place of refuge.

We must join together as a Nation and global community to provide that safe haven by protecting victims and prosecuting traffickers. With improved victim identification, medical and social services, training for first responders, and increased public awareness, the men, women, and children who have suffered this scourge can overcome the bonds of modern slavery, receive protection and justice, and successfully reclaim their rightful independence.

Fighting modern slavery and human trafficking is a shared responsibility. This month, I urge all Americans to educate themselves about all forms of modern slavery and the signs and consequences of human trafficking. Together, we can and must end this most serious, ongoing criminal civil rights violation.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 2010 as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, culminating in the annual celebration of National Freedom Day on February 1. I call upon the people of the United States to recognize the vital role we can play in ending modern slavery, and to observe this month with appropriate programs and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fourth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.

BARACK OBAMA

In Las Vegas, the Associates and Sisters have been working very hard to use this date, as an awareness and educational “moment”. To commemorate this day, Associates and Sisters have been stuffing “thousands” of small plastic bags with rosary beads and prayer cards, to be handed out after all the Masses on the 10th, and 11th, of January.

National Human Trafficking Awareness Day is a perfect time to let people know that human slavery – also known as human trafficking – is still happening today! Millions of people, including children as young as age five, are among the millions of people recruited, sold, and otherwise enslaved globally each year for the purposes of prostitution and other forms of commercial sexual exploitation. In Las Vegas, the sex industry is a multibillion-dollar business each year, and that is why we have focused in on prostitution for human trafficking.

After hearing Sister Martin, suggest saying the rosary for victims, we moved ahead and developed a Rosary for prostitution victims “Set the Captives Free Rosary”. The front of the card compares the five sorrowful mysteries, with the tragic reality that the women and children face each day as victims of this crime. The back of the prayer card tells “What we can do to help the elimination of this problem.

These women and children are not anonymous, faceless victims: they’re someone’s daughters, sisters, mothers and friends.

What can we do?

• Learn more about sexual slavery and the complex reasons it exists;
• Raise awareness about sexual exploitation as a local and national concern in need of prayer;
• Advocate for tougher laws to fight trafficking and exploitation of human beings; and
• Join or support groups that work to end sexual trafficking of women and children.

In Las Vegas, we need to become a strong abolition movement for the elimination of sexual trafficking, the prosecution of sex traffickers, and the protection of survivors. In the light of this whole human rights violation, and because of forces like “Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman who has proposed legalizing prostitution in Las Vegas as a ‘redevelopment tool, and has suggested turning ‘old motels into beautiful brothels,” our Sisters and Associates are sponsoring a prayer campaign to stop this horrible situation in our city and around the world.

When are people trafficked?

Each year vulnerable women and children are lured, coerced, tricked, kidnapped and sold into the hands of those making billions in this sex trade.

And where are they trafficked to?

These women and children are obtained for sexual exploitation in direct prostitution, production of pornography, nude dancing or live sex shows.

1. People are trafficked to residential homes in expensive neighborhoods for prostitution.
2. People are trafficked to Massage parlors for prostitution.
3. Strip clubs and lap dance clubs.
4. Women and children are trafficked through Escort Services provided in Las Vegas.

We know this through police reports, FBI investigations, and ICE Immigration & Customs Enforcement. Investigative journalists like John Smith, and George Knapp also have written reports in our local newspapers. Victims are made to endure unspeakable acts of physical brutality, violence and humiliation including rape by so called customers. In their daily lives they acquire alcohol and drug dependencies, suffer major psychological trauma as a result of their extreme emotional and physical abuse.

In order for this law to be effective, we must continue to advocate for change! 

It’s time to turn our attention to making the Wilberforce Act come alive.  The attached letter, addressed to Attorney General Eric Holder, focuses on our demands that the U.S. Department of Justice promptly and fully enforce all of its mandates under the Act, including provisions related to sex trafficking. 

See the Letter Here. 

The April 2009 Stop Trafficking! newsletter is now available at:  http://homepage.mac.com/srjeanschafersds/stoptraffic/index.html

I passed the information on to several friends who work with children and have contacts that I don’t. Rita Bohling, who teaches at St. Perpetua and works on Social Justice projects at St. John Vianney, ran with it. 

Through Rita’s efforts, Red Hands were sent in from St. Perpetua’s School. Rita teamed up with Glenna Benton at St. John Vianney and the Red Hand Project was done in the CCD classes as well as at several of the Masses on Sunday.  SJV showed the older children a short film on children soldiers that stirred up some very good discussion.  It didn’t end there. 

The Principal of St. Francis School learned about the Red Hands Project when it was done after Mass. She took the information and planned to do it at St. Francis. 

I would have never known about the project if it hadn’t been for SHF…a seed that was planted grew!

~ Pat Moran

Will  raise our awareness of human trafficking, and discuss ways to support survivors of human trafficking, sponsored by Sisters of the Holy Family and the Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose.

The Peace and Justice Committee is planning an informational day open to the public entitled Modern-Day Slavery: Human Trafficking for Saturday, June 20, 2009, 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.  The day is being co-sponsored with the Dominican Sisters and will be held at SHFMotherhouse.  The day includes:

Speakers from: 

• Asian Anti-Trafficking Collaborative, San Francisco, assists victims/survivors of Asian descent
  who are exploited mainly through forced labor.

• Special Agents of the FBI;

• Not for Sale, an international abolitionist group founded at
  USF, San Francisco;

• MISSSEY, Oakland who works with sexually exploited youth.

We will have items for purchase that are made by survivors of human trafficking.

As the internet has become more and more a part of everyday life, the conference presenters focused on two questions:

• How is the internet used as a tool for violence, for the trafficking and sexual exploitation of people, especially women and girls?
• How can it be a tool for social change to counter violence?

The internet is increasingly used to facilitate the trafficking of persons both within the U.S and globally. One of the examples given at the conference was “Craigslist” a popular website that posts housing, household items, etc. There is, however, a dark side. In the “Erotic” section, human traffickers have found Craigslist to be one of the most efficient, effective (and free!) ways to post children and women for sale.

A campaign has been organized by anti-human trafficking advocates to have this site implement stronger safeguards and monitoring procedures. Although Craigslist states via its feedback forum that it welcomes ideas for improvement, when confronted by anti-human trafficking advocates, the policy is to ignore or deny that it is a source of human trafficking and sexploitation of children. Presenters at the conference expressed that Craigslist is one of the prime offenders, and shared shocking stories of trafficking taking place on this site.

For more information regarding the ‘Craigslist Campaign’ and how you can join with other advocates go to: www.notforsalecampaign.org 

Opposition to internet trafficking is not opposition to the internet, but rather to its use as a conduit to trafficking human beings.

One of the conference presenters, Laura Lederer, said it well: “Our role is to make the harm visible.”

You can find more information on the conference and the work of the End Trafficking Coalition at:
www.eitcoalition.org