A little girl, around three and a half feet tall, approached me, holding out papers. Her mouth was open in a smile; her front baby teeth were out, and the new ones had not grown in yet. She handed me her addition and subtraction problems on lined paper. A staffer whispered, "We rescued her four months ago. Her father killed her mother in front of her when she was three, then relatives sold her to a brothel for tourists, where she worked from age four to seven." When the child was asked what things she had been made to do, she did not even know how to describe them. All she could say was, "Incorrectos."
Right now, there's a woman, hunched over a sewing machine, glancing beyond the bars on the window, knowing if just given the chance, she might some day sell her own wares, but she doesn't think anybody is paying attention. Right now, there's a young boy, in a brick factory, covered in dust, hauling his heavy load under a blazing sun, thinking if he could just go to school, he might know a different future, but he doesn't think anybody is paying attention. Right now, there is a girl, somewhere trapped in a brothel, crying herself to sleep again, and maybe daring to imagine that some day, just maybe, she might be treated not like a piece of property, but as a human being. And so our message today, to them, is -- to the millions around the world -- we see you. We hear you. We insist on your dignity. And we share your belief that if just given the chance, you will forge a life equal to your talents and worthy of your dreams.
ATEST/CNN Forum on Human Trafficking from ATEST on Vimeo.
This year marks the 15th anniversary of the raid on an El Monte apartment complex where more than 70 Thai nationals were being held against their will and forced to sew garments in sweatshop conditions.
After they were freed in the raid, the victims sued some prominent clothing companies and collected about $4 million in damages.
On Tuesday, some of those women joined public officials in speaking out about human trafficking and how important it is to be vigilant since slave sweatshops are still in business in Southern California.
Rotchana Sussman, one of the El Monte victims, said she was conned into coming to America, but when she arrived she was locked in an apartment complex that had armed guards and barbed wire on the fences. She had been forced to sew garments 18 to 20 hours a day.
"These human beings came for the American dream," Los Angeles City Council Member Tony Cardenas told the news conference called Tuesday. "What they got, was a nightmare."
The news conference was held on the south lawn of L.A. City Hall. Cardenas, who said he has worked on this issue since 2003, wanted people to know this was not just a third world crime: "This crime is occurring in our back yard every single day."
Cardenas cited a new report that estimated Latinos make up 46 percent of the victims, Southeast Asians, 24 percent; and East Asians, 12 percent.
Cardenas said the current state of the economy may be making people more vulnerable to human trafficking crimes.
Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck called it one of the worst crimes because it dehumanizes everybody. He has set up the L.A. Metro Task Force Against Human Trafficking, and he hopes to fight back "through prosecution, education and through partnership we can make a difference."
Task force member Kevin McClure said they've put together billboards, bus bench campaigns to help the public figure out what to look for in case human trafficking is occurring in your neighborhood.
The Task Force works in cooperation with the FBI and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Jose Guzman, the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of ICE, said there's more than one reason to be on the lookout for traffickers.
The same routes and methods these criminal networks use, can be used by terrorists seeking to do us harm," Guzman said.
At the news conference, some of the survivors of El Monte held up colorful quilts they had made themselves as a show of solidarity.
Sussman urged the public to call the police if they suspected people were being held as slaves.
"Please, everyone, don't overlook the situation. Human trafficking existed then and it exists now," Sussman said.
Speaking Out Against Human Trafficking | NBC Los Angeles
