BRADENTON HERALD

January 14, 2007

Nun: Human trafficking is 'alive and well' in U.S.

MAURA POSSLEY

Herald Staff Writer

MANATEE - Many Americans grow up learning that, by signing the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln abolished slavery forever.

Not true, says Sister Patrice Colletti. It still exists in today's society.

"Not only is slavery, unfortunately, alive and well in our world," Colletti said, "it's alive and well in the United States."

Human trafficking, or modern-day slavery, is the second-largest problem facing the United States, said Colletti, a member of the Salvatorian order. She spoke Saturday to a crowd of 50 at St. Bernard Catholic Church in Holmes Beach as part of a worldwide push to create awareness.

Human trafficking most commonly is found in the sex trade, but also plagues the lives of farmworkers, domestic servants and hotel and restaurant workers.

The $10 billion annual revenue generated through human trafficking, Colletti said, can start like it did for a Chinese girl, "Maria."

Maria is not her name but is a documented example of trafficking. She was sold in China for $2,000 and taken to France. She was then shipped to the United States, where she was sold to her owner for $8,000.

Maria logged 12-hour days in a Florida manufacturing company and received $20 per week. She earned $55,000 annually for her owner but had to pay from her own pocket for housing and food.

"What we need to do is recognize yes, it does exist," Colletti said.

More than 700,000 people are trafficked worldwide annually, according to Colletti, citing the United Nations. In total, 27 million people have been trafficked and 4 million sold across international borders.

Florida is ranked second in the nation for the highest volume of trafficking, behind California, she said. The state's marketplace of agriculture, manufacturing and its restaurant industry makes it a place where trafficking thrives.

"You're a hub of multiple nationalities and ethnic backgrounds," Colletti said. "You have all the kind of industries human trafficking is found in."

International human rights group Equality Now is currently waging a campaign for a state law on trafficking in New York, also a hub for the business.

"A lot of people say this is modern-day slavery and, in many ways, that's true," said Taina Bien-Aime, the organization's executive director. "People's lives, souls are destroyed for profit of a few."

While Florida has a state law in place, human trafficking can still be spotted when driving past migrant workers picking in fields for long hours and little pay, Colletti said.

The conditions of workers' lives, lacking basic human rights, breeds human trafficking, said Gerardo Reyes, of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, an organization advocating farmworker rights.

"All of those conditions are ground zero for slavery to flourish," Reyes said. "The only way to eliminate slavery is to eliminate the root cause of it."

The coalition found some workers have been forced to work with the barrel of a gun staring down on them. Or, workers were held captive by others using their illegal status to incite fear or by withholding workers' U.S. documentation.

The group's fight against human trafficking is aimed at what members call America's "big buyers," such as fast-food giants or major supermarket chains, which demand low costs. The companies have the money and power to change conditions, Reyes said.

"The agriculture industry is going to have to make the changes that need to take place in order to eliminate the abuses," he said.

A four-year boycott of Taco Bell by the coalition ended in 2005 with an agreement that the price of tomatoes per pound would increase by one penny, which was precedent-setting, Reyes said. The group will demonstrate at McDonald's Chicago headquarters this spring.

Even more common than in the fields, human trafficking is found in the sex trade.

Ken Franzblau, the anti-trafficking campaign director for Equality Now, said Florida has historically been a hot spot for sex tours offered by companies that offer customers sex-related exploits.

Currently, five such businesses operate in South Florida, more than in any other state, he said. More than three-fourths of the people trafficked are women, according to Equality Now.

While some Manatee County Sheriff's Office deputies have been trained on human trafficking, Franzblau said many local police agencies nationwide are not trained to recognize victims.

"You wind up having the victims arrested and the traffickers getting away scot-free," he said.