Just like you can make lemons into lemonade, now you can turn your tweets into donations that benefit human trafficking survivors around the world. The Body Shop, who has already launched a line of lotion and donated buckets of cash to prevent child sex trafficking, will donate up to $15,000 more to organizations which help women and children overcome being enslaved. But they'll only do it, if you ask them to!
The project is called "Turn Lemons Into LemonAID", and you can visit their website to participate here. Here's how it works: The Body Shop will donate cash, up to $15,000, based on the number of people who Tweet, Facebook, and otherwise share their message. So far, the response has been astounding -- so great, in fact, that they reached their goal almost immediately and so decided to increase the amount they would donate. All donations will go to leading child protection organization ECPAT and the Cambodia-based Somaly Mam Foundation, which lifts women and girls out of trafficking in the commercial sex industry. This is a great way to both channel funds to anti-trafficking groups who need it and support a corporation working hard to be socially responsible.
You can participate in several ways: Fan The Body Shop on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, tweet with the hashtag #lemonAid, enter their online sweepstakes, and add their contest widget to your blog or website. My favorite part is actually their widget, where you can squeeze an electronic lemon and it drops $0.50 cents into a cup, representing the donation you just made. I can't tell if I love it because it reminds me of fresh squeezed lemonade or if it's because I giggle when it looks like the lemon is pooping change. Either way, this is a must-have for your website.
So take a few minutes, and hop on Twitter or Facebook for The Body Shop, ECPAT, and The Somaly Mam Foundation. It's a simple and direct way you can make a difference in the fight against human trafficking. And when you're done, you can kick back and celebrate with a nice tall glass of lemonade.-- Story by Amanda Kloer, Change.org
Monday, March 29, 2010
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Bringing to light the reality of Human Trafficking.
51% founders: Bringing to light the reality of human trafficking
By Tryce Czyczynska and Lisa N. Sanders, Guest Contributor
Wednesday, January 13, 2010 3 comments | read comments | post a comment
Like the threat of AIDS in the 80s, nuclear war in the 90s and terrorism in the early 21st century, it’s clouded with misunderstanding and fueled by economics. Like all threats against humanity, it continues to grow on a global basis. For those who are aware of it, they fear it. For those who dare to study it, they’re overwhelmed by it. For those who are ignorant, they risk becoming its victim.
San Diego: sdnn-opinion392It is human trafficking, a gentler term for modern day slavery. For those in the industries attempting to curtail it, it is accepted that more people today are in involuntary servitude than at any other time in history, some say as many as 27 million.
Its rise mirrors the rise of poverty and desperation seen throughout the world. We can be certain traffickers will prey upon the remaining, impoverished victims of Haiti as they struggle to make sense of the devastating earthquake that just struck there.
Although its label is at times misleading, human trafficking commonly involves the transport of people away from their familiar communities to where they have no resources for escape. It is in these foreign communities that these trafficked victims live short lives of extreme work for no pay. However, the term “trafficking” does not require that the victim be physically moved, but that the victim is exploited for unpaid work or commercial sex. You might think of it less as a victim being trafficked ‘out’ as much as paying customers are the traffic moving ‘in’ on an innocent victim, such as a child prostitute.
A common role for forced servitude is sex slavery and involuntary prostitution, 70 percent of female victims are trafficked into the commercial sex industry. The most common trafficked victim is either a young female or a child. The average child who is trafficked lives two years once their enslavement begins. The average trafficked sex slave who is brought into the U.S. lives four years once their forced work begins.
Click here to find out more!
The illegal trade of humans and the illegal drug trade are the second most lucrative criminal industries in the world. The most lucrative criminal industry is the illegal arms trade. Unlike drugs, which can only be used once, humans can be used over and over until entirely used up. Unlike drugs that must be grown, harvested and processed, humans can be snatched up off the street.
More by Tryce and Lisa: Let’s think outside of the box | bebe trends no longer satisfy a serious woman| To accept the saying ‘boys will be boys’ is dangerous
Modern slave owners aren’t concerned with owning and keeping slaves for a long duration, but are willing to use them up for short-term cash. The forced servitude of people is considered a profitable industry that is relatively easy to enact. Replacing a victim is considered easier than the risk of letting a victim live. The longer a captive slave lives, the more likely they are to escape and expose their captors.
Furthermore, being caught with drugs is an automatic offense in most countries; being caught with a human has to be investigated to label it a crime. It’s no wonder it’s the fastest growing illegal trade on the planet at this time.
Like the worst dangers of the last few decades, AIDS, nuclear war and terrorism, human trafficking is a hard topic to digest. Its scope is enormous and its reach overlaps these other issues. The victims of forced prostitution, and their paying customers and pimps, help spread AIDS. Modern slaves are controlled by force, fear and by keeping them drugged. The sale of drugs, humans and the profits from their forced prostitution can be stockpiled, laundered and used to purchase illegal weapons. The routes and point of entries used by human traffickers and smugglers are testing ground for terrorists to cross our borders undetected.
All of our worst fears have grown, snowballed and become intertwined. Combating one part of the related jumble can assist progress in them all.
Monday was National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. President Obama has proclaimed the entire month of January as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. In honor of its month-long national spotlight, our next few blog entries will highlight different aspects of human trafficking and examine our local role as a major city that shares an international border.
Tryce Czyczynska & Lisa N. Sanders are the founders of 51%
Tags: AIDS, Drug Trade, Haiti, human trafficking, modern day slavery, National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, SDNN, Sex Traffickers
Read more: http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2010-01-13/blog/a-more-perfect-union/51-founders#ixzz0dTPqKGfQ
By Tryce Czyczynska and Lisa N. Sanders, Guest Contributor
Wednesday, January 13, 2010 3 comments | read comments | post a comment
Like the threat of AIDS in the 80s, nuclear war in the 90s and terrorism in the early 21st century, it’s clouded with misunderstanding and fueled by economics. Like all threats against humanity, it continues to grow on a global basis. For those who are aware of it, they fear it. For those who dare to study it, they’re overwhelmed by it. For those who are ignorant, they risk becoming its victim.
San Diego: sdnn-opinion392It is human trafficking, a gentler term for modern day slavery. For those in the industries attempting to curtail it, it is accepted that more people today are in involuntary servitude than at any other time in history, some say as many as 27 million.
Its rise mirrors the rise of poverty and desperation seen throughout the world. We can be certain traffickers will prey upon the remaining, impoverished victims of Haiti as they struggle to make sense of the devastating earthquake that just struck there.
Although its label is at times misleading, human trafficking commonly involves the transport of people away from their familiar communities to where they have no resources for escape. It is in these foreign communities that these trafficked victims live short lives of extreme work for no pay. However, the term “trafficking” does not require that the victim be physically moved, but that the victim is exploited for unpaid work or commercial sex. You might think of it less as a victim being trafficked ‘out’ as much as paying customers are the traffic moving ‘in’ on an innocent victim, such as a child prostitute.
A common role for forced servitude is sex slavery and involuntary prostitution, 70 percent of female victims are trafficked into the commercial sex industry. The most common trafficked victim is either a young female or a child. The average child who is trafficked lives two years once their enslavement begins. The average trafficked sex slave who is brought into the U.S. lives four years once their forced work begins.
Click here to find out more!
The illegal trade of humans and the illegal drug trade are the second most lucrative criminal industries in the world. The most lucrative criminal industry is the illegal arms trade. Unlike drugs, which can only be used once, humans can be used over and over until entirely used up. Unlike drugs that must be grown, harvested and processed, humans can be snatched up off the street.
More by Tryce and Lisa: Let’s think outside of the box | bebe trends no longer satisfy a serious woman| To accept the saying ‘boys will be boys’ is dangerous
Modern slave owners aren’t concerned with owning and keeping slaves for a long duration, but are willing to use them up for short-term cash. The forced servitude of people is considered a profitable industry that is relatively easy to enact. Replacing a victim is considered easier than the risk of letting a victim live. The longer a captive slave lives, the more likely they are to escape and expose their captors.
Furthermore, being caught with drugs is an automatic offense in most countries; being caught with a human has to be investigated to label it a crime. It’s no wonder it’s the fastest growing illegal trade on the planet at this time.
Like the worst dangers of the last few decades, AIDS, nuclear war and terrorism, human trafficking is a hard topic to digest. Its scope is enormous and its reach overlaps these other issues. The victims of forced prostitution, and their paying customers and pimps, help spread AIDS. Modern slaves are controlled by force, fear and by keeping them drugged. The sale of drugs, humans and the profits from their forced prostitution can be stockpiled, laundered and used to purchase illegal weapons. The routes and point of entries used by human traffickers and smugglers are testing ground for terrorists to cross our borders undetected.
All of our worst fears have grown, snowballed and become intertwined. Combating one part of the related jumble can assist progress in them all.
Monday was National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. President Obama has proclaimed the entire month of January as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. In honor of its month-long national spotlight, our next few blog entries will highlight different aspects of human trafficking and examine our local role as a major city that shares an international border.
Tryce Czyczynska & Lisa N. Sanders are the founders of 51%
Tags: AIDS, Drug Trade, Haiti, human trafficking, modern day slavery, National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, SDNN, Sex Traffickers
Read more: http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2010-01-13/blog/a-more-perfect-union/51-founders#ixzz0dTPqKGfQ
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Flickr Story- click on this title to go to the artists page
A few weeks ago my mobile starts lighting up with calls from my boy in the Balkans. I’m working at the time so I cannot immediately answer the phone. I call him back a few hours later and am surprised to her him say that he is going to Asia on a field trip with his school funded by the United Nations. He wants to know if I can take a few weeks off work and meet him in Asia because for some reason he thinks Kuwait is close to Asia.
I tell him to calm down and ask him where in Asia he is going. He doesn’t know. In fact, he can’t tell me what country in Asia he is going to. WHAT? That doesn’t make any sense I tell him. He tells me that this man from the UN came to his school and offered a free trip to “Asia” to any Sprski/Bosnaski kid who lost parents during the war. Kids from surrounding villages were also involved I find out later.
I ask him how he knows this man is from the UN and he tells me because he was wearing a uniform. I tell him that it makes no sense that a single man from the UN would walk into his school and offer a UN funded trip to Asia to kids who have lost a parent(s) in the war. Not to mention “forgetting” to leave out what city and country the kids will be going to. I tell him not to go on this trip until I can look into the matter. In the meantime I tell him to go to a trusted teacher and tell him/her my concern. He does….
I sent the following email on Aug 31 to a UN representative in Sarajevo after seeking the advice of a UN friend of mine here on flickr.
Mr. Xxxxx Xxxxxx:
Good day sir! You do not know me but my name is Xxxx Xxxxx. I have an issue with a school in the village of Xxxxx and the UN (United Nations) I'd like to discuss with you. I have an adopted son residing in this village who is now XX. I am an American who worked as a civilian security contractor inside Bosnia, Srpska Republka, in the villages of Xxxxx, Xxxxx, Xxxxx and Xxxxx. I speak a good deal of Srpski/Bosanski as my boy does not speak any English.
I got a call from my boy telling me that his school is telling him that the UN has funded a trip to Asia. The problem is, no one is giving any further information to my boy like not telling him what city or even what country he is going to. Male and Female teenagers are to go on this trip. I may be a bit paranoid but, my work has made me aware of certain things in the world the average person knows little about. I know human trafficking is a big deal in the Balkan region as well as in Asia.
I'm currently in the Middle East on a security contract in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. I work long days with little time to myself. I am finding it hard to verify the information my boy is being given. I find it hard to believe that the UN is providing money to a tiny village school in Xxxx for the kids of this school to go on a trip to Asia!! Something isn't adding up here. Why are Balkan teenagers being sent to Asia?
I don't know if I can stress the following more sincerely but, my boy is everything to me. I'd surely give my life for his safety and well-being. I told him not to go on this trip until I can get more information. My boy told the school what I told him and so far his school is saying they don't know where in Asia they are going. I'm not the smartest man and I know I'm a bit paranoid and over protective but, something about this whole thing is telling me that something is wrong.
I'd appreciate any information you may have on this issue.
Sincerely,
My boy called me again today scared out of his mind thanking me for telling him not to go on this UN funded fieldtrip. He tells me that a bunch of Srpski/Bosanski police arrived looking for this UN man. It turns out he gave a false name and doesn’t even work for the United Nations. I’m told that there was a long list of names of kids who had lost parents in the war who were being “processed” to go on this “Asian” fieldtrip.
I’ve been searching online for any supporting news on this but can’t find anything. It just happened, though, so maybe its not out yet. Does anyone have any connections in the Balkans regarding cases such as these? What about you, where ever you are, have you heard anything resembling this on TV or in any paper recently?
It all seems a bit “extraordinary” or, hell I don’t know…just seems, well, I don’t feel anything right now. This region of the Balkans is very poor with villagers living rough lives. Human traffickers are known to work in the area.
It is truly sad and shocking at times to know what human beings can do to fellow human beings…
A few months ago my boy asked if he could call me dad. He is an adult now himself! It felt good to have him ask that. Of course I didn't mind... I can remember going to his father's grave with him when he was young. I can only hope I did his real parents proud!
I tell him to calm down and ask him where in Asia he is going. He doesn’t know. In fact, he can’t tell me what country in Asia he is going to. WHAT? That doesn’t make any sense I tell him. He tells me that this man from the UN came to his school and offered a free trip to “Asia” to any Sprski/Bosnaski kid who lost parents during the war. Kids from surrounding villages were also involved I find out later.
I ask him how he knows this man is from the UN and he tells me because he was wearing a uniform. I tell him that it makes no sense that a single man from the UN would walk into his school and offer a UN funded trip to Asia to kids who have lost a parent(s) in the war. Not to mention “forgetting” to leave out what city and country the kids will be going to. I tell him not to go on this trip until I can look into the matter. In the meantime I tell him to go to a trusted teacher and tell him/her my concern. He does….
I sent the following email on Aug 31 to a UN representative in Sarajevo after seeking the advice of a UN friend of mine here on flickr.
Mr. Xxxxx Xxxxxx:
Good day sir! You do not know me but my name is Xxxx Xxxxx. I have an issue with a school in the village of Xxxxx and the UN (United Nations) I'd like to discuss with you. I have an adopted son residing in this village who is now XX. I am an American who worked as a civilian security contractor inside Bosnia, Srpska Republka, in the villages of Xxxxx, Xxxxx, Xxxxx and Xxxxx. I speak a good deal of Srpski/Bosanski as my boy does not speak any English.
I got a call from my boy telling me that his school is telling him that the UN has funded a trip to Asia. The problem is, no one is giving any further information to my boy like not telling him what city or even what country he is going to. Male and Female teenagers are to go on this trip. I may be a bit paranoid but, my work has made me aware of certain things in the world the average person knows little about. I know human trafficking is a big deal in the Balkan region as well as in Asia.
I'm currently in the Middle East on a security contract in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. I work long days with little time to myself. I am finding it hard to verify the information my boy is being given. I find it hard to believe that the UN is providing money to a tiny village school in Xxxx for the kids of this school to go on a trip to Asia!! Something isn't adding up here. Why are Balkan teenagers being sent to Asia?
I don't know if I can stress the following more sincerely but, my boy is everything to me. I'd surely give my life for his safety and well-being. I told him not to go on this trip until I can get more information. My boy told the school what I told him and so far his school is saying they don't know where in Asia they are going. I'm not the smartest man and I know I'm a bit paranoid and over protective but, something about this whole thing is telling me that something is wrong.
I'd appreciate any information you may have on this issue.
Sincerely,
My boy called me again today scared out of his mind thanking me for telling him not to go on this UN funded fieldtrip. He tells me that a bunch of Srpski/Bosanski police arrived looking for this UN man. It turns out he gave a false name and doesn’t even work for the United Nations. I’m told that there was a long list of names of kids who had lost parents in the war who were being “processed” to go on this “Asian” fieldtrip.
I’ve been searching online for any supporting news on this but can’t find anything. It just happened, though, so maybe its not out yet. Does anyone have any connections in the Balkans regarding cases such as these? What about you, where ever you are, have you heard anything resembling this on TV or in any paper recently?
It all seems a bit “extraordinary” or, hell I don’t know…just seems, well, I don’t feel anything right now. This region of the Balkans is very poor with villagers living rough lives. Human traffickers are known to work in the area.
It is truly sad and shocking at times to know what human beings can do to fellow human beings…
A few months ago my boy asked if he could call me dad. He is an adult now himself! It felt good to have him ask that. Of course I didn't mind... I can remember going to his father's grave with him when he was young. I can only hope I did his real parents proud!
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Tell Choice Hotels to Prevent Child Prostitution in Their Hotels
This is a link to a petition . If you read the information on the site and follow the "Take action:" links you will find more petitions and more information on how we can each do our part to end Human slavery.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Westcare News
Women nabbed in raid to stay; Trafficking victims won't be deported
By LYNNETTE CURTIS
REVIEW-JOURNAL
May 4, 2007
None of the more than two dozen women found working as prostitutes in Las Vegas brothels during a recent bust will be deported, officials said Thursday.
"We don't deport victims," said Lauren Hermosillo, a Salvation Army social worker who is helping the women.
Las Vegas police had said that most of the 25 women found in nine neighborhood brothels during an April 21 bust were here illegally and could face deportation.
Instead, the foreign women will receive special "T visas" designed to protect women, children and men who are the victims of human trafficking. They will eventually be able to apply for green cards and may choose to make their lives in Las Vegas.
Most of the women caught up in the raid came from Asian countries and speak little or no English. Police believe they were forced into prostitution as part of a human trafficking ring with ties to Asia.
Hermosillo vividly described the conditions in which the women were found living, mostly in the area of Arville Street and Spring Mountain Road.
"There were no actual beds, just mattresses on the floor," she said. "It smelled like stale cigarette smoke, feces and urine. They aren't allowed to open up the windows. It was disgusting."
Hermosillo said the residences were mostly bare, except for a few pairs of high heels and negligees hanging in the closets. The only separation between some mattresses was a hanging sheet.
"The mattresses and sheets are used over and over again," she said.
Police said the women were taken to Las Vegas by force or were tricked into coming here with the promise of a good job, a tactic common among sex traffickers.
"Some girls are told they will make $25 an hour working in a restaurant," Hermosillo said.
The women then are subjected to physical and emotional abuse and brainwashing.
"They are being told, 'If you talk to authorities, we will beat you. They'll deport you,'" she said. "Some aren't allowed to go to the kitchen or the bathroom without permission. They are brainwashed until they turn into little robots who say, 'I'll do whatever you want.'"
Martha Newton, director of refugee settlement for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the federal human trafficking program, said victims also fear for their loved ones.
"They are told their families back home will be harmed if they talk to law enforcement," Newton said.
The women also are often drugged into compliance.
Police found 3,500 Ecstasy tablets during the raid.
The bust came after a two-year investigation dubbed Operation Doll House. It netted eight arrests. Those arrested face charges including living off the earnings of prostitutes.
None of the customers found at the brothels during the raids were arrested, though they were questioned by investigators.
The group running the brothels advertised with business cards handed out to tourists and through taxi drivers, who brought customers in exchange for kickbacks, police said.
Hermosillo said handbills passed to tourists on the Strip and advertisements for Asian massage parlors are often direct links to human trafficking victims.
The prostitutes were taken in by the Salvation Army, which recently received a $450,000 federal grant to help trafficking victims.
The women are safe and living in a shelter or shelters, Hermosillo said.
Because they are victims of human trafficking, the women are eligible for many types of federal assistance usually denied noncitizens.
"Traffic victims are eligible for food stamps, employment training, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families," Newton said.
They will "absolutely not be deported," she said.
They'll also have access to mental health counselors and may take English classes.
Some former human trafficking victims end up staying in the area and working in hotels or beauty salons, Hermosillo said. They often are afraid to go home.
"They could be grabbed back up and forced back into it (prostitution)," she said.
Those who have been trafficked face a long and difficult transition back into society.
"You have a really distrustful person who is not sure what safety feels like anymore," said Marlene Richter, director of WestCare's community involvement center.
Richter has been working with local human trafficking victims for about a decade.
"They're used to chaos, little sleep, being told what to do for 16 hours a day. You have a person who doesn't have a voice, doesn't even know they can make a choice."
Those who investigate human trafficking cases and work with victims say the recent raid spotlighted a small portion of a huge problem.
Federal officials have said that the Las Vegas Valley is one of 17 communities in the United States at high risk for trafficking of humans.
Richter has sadly watched the growth of human trafficking in the valley.
"I met my first victim in 1997," she said. "I remember looking at her and saying, 'What do you mean you were bought?' I had no concept that human beings were bought and sold and brought to this country."
Richter now works with runaway children, some of whom have been trafficked. She estimates that she has worked with 1,000 victims of human trafficking, each with a different story.
Last year, a new office, the Anti-Trafficking League Against Slavery, opened within the Metropolitan Police Department to combat human trafficking in the valley.
The last major trafficking bust in Las Vegas came in 2000, when federal authorities cracked a prostitution ring during Operation Jade Blade.
Five people were arrested on charges they forced women into prostitution after they paid to be smuggled into the United States.
"People think it doesn't happen here," Hermosillo said. "It happens here. It happens to Americans, to kids, to your teenagers."
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
WestCare is a 501(c)(3) Tax Exempt Organization
By LYNNETTE CURTIS
REVIEW-JOURNAL
May 4, 2007
None of the more than two dozen women found working as prostitutes in Las Vegas brothels during a recent bust will be deported, officials said Thursday.
"We don't deport victims," said Lauren Hermosillo, a Salvation Army social worker who is helping the women.
Las Vegas police had said that most of the 25 women found in nine neighborhood brothels during an April 21 bust were here illegally and could face deportation.
Instead, the foreign women will receive special "T visas" designed to protect women, children and men who are the victims of human trafficking. They will eventually be able to apply for green cards and may choose to make their lives in Las Vegas.
Most of the women caught up in the raid came from Asian countries and speak little or no English. Police believe they were forced into prostitution as part of a human trafficking ring with ties to Asia.
Hermosillo vividly described the conditions in which the women were found living, mostly in the area of Arville Street and Spring Mountain Road.
"There were no actual beds, just mattresses on the floor," she said. "It smelled like stale cigarette smoke, feces and urine. They aren't allowed to open up the windows. It was disgusting."
Hermosillo said the residences were mostly bare, except for a few pairs of high heels and negligees hanging in the closets. The only separation between some mattresses was a hanging sheet.
"The mattresses and sheets are used over and over again," she said.
Police said the women were taken to Las Vegas by force or were tricked into coming here with the promise of a good job, a tactic common among sex traffickers.
"Some girls are told they will make $25 an hour working in a restaurant," Hermosillo said.
The women then are subjected to physical and emotional abuse and brainwashing.
"They are being told, 'If you talk to authorities, we will beat you. They'll deport you,'" she said. "Some aren't allowed to go to the kitchen or the bathroom without permission. They are brainwashed until they turn into little robots who say, 'I'll do whatever you want.'"
Martha Newton, director of refugee settlement for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the federal human trafficking program, said victims also fear for their loved ones.
"They are told their families back home will be harmed if they talk to law enforcement," Newton said.
The women also are often drugged into compliance.
Police found 3,500 Ecstasy tablets during the raid.
The bust came after a two-year investigation dubbed Operation Doll House. It netted eight arrests. Those arrested face charges including living off the earnings of prostitutes.
None of the customers found at the brothels during the raids were arrested, though they were questioned by investigators.
The group running the brothels advertised with business cards handed out to tourists and through taxi drivers, who brought customers in exchange for kickbacks, police said.
Hermosillo said handbills passed to tourists on the Strip and advertisements for Asian massage parlors are often direct links to human trafficking victims.
The prostitutes were taken in by the Salvation Army, which recently received a $450,000 federal grant to help trafficking victims.
The women are safe and living in a shelter or shelters, Hermosillo said.
Because they are victims of human trafficking, the women are eligible for many types of federal assistance usually denied noncitizens.
"Traffic victims are eligible for food stamps, employment training, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families," Newton said.
They will "absolutely not be deported," she said.
They'll also have access to mental health counselors and may take English classes.
Some former human trafficking victims end up staying in the area and working in hotels or beauty salons, Hermosillo said. They often are afraid to go home.
"They could be grabbed back up and forced back into it (prostitution)," she said.
Those who have been trafficked face a long and difficult transition back into society.
"You have a really distrustful person who is not sure what safety feels like anymore," said Marlene Richter, director of WestCare's community involvement center.
Richter has been working with local human trafficking victims for about a decade.
"They're used to chaos, little sleep, being told what to do for 16 hours a day. You have a person who doesn't have a voice, doesn't even know they can make a choice."
Those who investigate human trafficking cases and work with victims say the recent raid spotlighted a small portion of a huge problem.
Federal officials have said that the Las Vegas Valley is one of 17 communities in the United States at high risk for trafficking of humans.
Richter has sadly watched the growth of human trafficking in the valley.
"I met my first victim in 1997," she said. "I remember looking at her and saying, 'What do you mean you were bought?' I had no concept that human beings were bought and sold and brought to this country."
Richter now works with runaway children, some of whom have been trafficked. She estimates that she has worked with 1,000 victims of human trafficking, each with a different story.
Last year, a new office, the Anti-Trafficking League Against Slavery, opened within the Metropolitan Police Department to combat human trafficking in the valley.
The last major trafficking bust in Las Vegas came in 2000, when federal authorities cracked a prostitution ring during Operation Jade Blade.
Five people were arrested on charges they forced women into prostitution after they paid to be smuggled into the United States.
"People think it doesn't happen here," Hermosillo said. "It happens here. It happens to Americans, to kids, to your teenagers."
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
WestCare is a 501(c)(3) Tax Exempt Organization
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