We live in a society where the media thrives on reporting crimes, celebrity fallouts and anything else that may be classified as "the big story." What seems to receive less coverage are the successes, the triumphs or stories of those that truly make a difference in our society. And despite what successes are out there, those stories don't always make headlines across the media channel.
We realize that there is much to report on Human Trafficking and what we need to do to raise awareness to combat this vicious crime against humanity. But we also want to highlight many of the success stories of overcomers that have been rescued from this billion dollar industry and shed some light into this dark abusive business.
The journey to being rescued and restored is long and hard but one that we unite with each of you to help share their stories.
Persistance is required. Hope is not lost. Lives can and will be saved.
Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Tip Leads to Rescue of 85 Trafficking Victims
In New York, Peruvian migrants were subjected to forced labor and debt bondage. A husband and wife were sentenced to 11 and 15 years, respectively, for Conspiracy to Commit Forced Labor and Document Servitude, Conspiracy to Bring In and Harbor Aliens and Engaging in Extortionate Credit Transactions.
Trafficker Arrested in Cameroon
In Baltimore, a 10-year-old girl from Cameroon was brought to the U.S. for the purpose of domestic servitude and subjected to physical abuse and isolation. The trafficker fled the U.S. and was later arrested in Cameroon. The trafficker was brought back to the U.S. to serve a 17-year sentence for Involuntary Servitude and Harboring for Financial Gain. The trafficker was ordered to pay $100,000 restitution to the victim.
Trafficker Sentenced to 23 Years
In Texas, four Mexican women were rescued from traffickers who raped them and forced the victims to cook and clean for them. Eight defendants were convicted of human smuggling/trafficking violations. The lead defendant was sentenced to 23 years for Involuntary Servitude.
Sex Traffickers Sentenced to 40 years
In Los Angeles, 15 women and girls were forced by a family-run human trafficking organization into prostitution. As a result of the investigation, seven Guatemalan and two Mexican nationals were found guilty of conspiracy, sex trafficking of children by force, and importation and harboring of illegal aliens for purposes of prostitution and sentenced to terms of imprisonment ranging from two to 40 years depending on their level of involvement.
Traffickers Arrested in Hair Braiding Salon
In Newark, 20 young women and girls from Togo and Ghana were brought to the United States through a visa scheme, forced to work in hair braiding salons under appalling conditions, and subject to physical abuse and threats. Six traffickers from Togo entered guilty pleas or were convicted by a jury for offenses involving forced labor, conspiracy, document servitude, visa fraud, transportation of a minor across state lines to engage in criminal sexual activity, and alien smuggling.
Cooperation with Mexican Law Enforcement Rescues 24 Victims
In New York, an investigation led by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in collaboration with the government of Mexico, targeted a trafficking organization that smuggled Mexican women into the United States and then subjected them to commercial sexual exploitation. Twenty-four women were forced into prostitution at brothels on the East Coast through threats of violence against them and their children. The principal traffickers were sentenced to terms of imprisonment from 25 to 50 years each. The mother of the main defendants was arrested in Mexico and later extradited to the United States where she was sentenced to 10 years in prison for her involvement in the scheme.
Russian, Ukrainian and Czech Labor Trafficking Victims Rescued in Detroit
In Detroit, a concerned citizen reported women being forced to work against their will as exotic dancers. Ten women were brought to the United States through a visa fraud scheme where they were forced to work as dancers through threats of violence, sexual abuse, and threats of jail and deportation. The investigation resulted in the arrest and indictment of nine defendants. All of the defendants pleaded guilty and their sentences ranged from probation to 14 years imprisonment.
Domestic Servitude Victim Rescued on Long Island
On Long Island, ICE agents arrested a husband and wife as a result of a domestic servitude investigation. The couple was alleged to have held two Indonesian females in their residence where they were forced to perform domestic services. They were found guilty by a jury of forced labor, peonage, document servitude, harboring aliens and conspiracy. The wife was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment and her husband was sentenced to three years. The jury ordered that their residence, valued at $1.5 million, be criminally forfeited in order to assist with victim restitution.
One phone call from one trucker... 9 lives saved... 31 offenders convicted... 13 state ring shut down... from one phone call.
One voice can make the difference. make
August 31, 2010
One truck driver who noticed two young girls being worked at a truck stop, made the 911 call to police and an amazing set of events took place. The two girls, 15 and 14...
Watch the video testimonial here.
Child Trafficking Survivor Graduates Highschool as High School Valedictorian
By Amanda Kloer
July 3, 2010
Rosita Curry is a remarkable young woman. As she walked across a Columbus, Ohio, stage to receive her high school diploma, she did so with her head held high as her class valedictorian. But just 15 months prior, Rosita was trapped in a life of slavery and abuse.
Rosita's walk across that stage...
Jill is an American and a Was a Runaway Teen - Rescued Through a Hospital Visit
By Jill Leighton and Katherine DePasquale
In 1981, I became a statistic: I became a runaway teen, escaping sexual and physical abuse. When I ran away, I no longer had a place to live with my parents nor did I have a living relative who would take me in. Filled with a sense of bravado, invincibility and bravery, I left, figuring that my life couldn't be in any more jeopardy than it already was at what I'd called home. In leaving I hoped...
Ashi Kamed Was Rescued as a Labor Trafficking Victim
By Nancy Solomon
July 10, 2004
Nancy Solomon reports on the plight of foreigners brought illegally to the United States and forced to work for little or no pay. They work behind closed doors, as servants in private homes or as prostitutes in brothels.
Human Trafficking: The Victims
Dai was a Human Trafficking Victim in Las Vegas
Hi my name is Dai,* I’m a survivor of human trafficking and exploitation. I have experienced the harm that these forms of violence inflict on those of us who have been sexually exploited. Let me tell you a little history about my life. I have been an American for nearly 21 years. Abused as a child, I made a promise to myself that I would never be abused again. As I continue with my speech, I’m here to share my story specifically regarding my traumatic experience in the sex trafficking.
One question that has always perplexed me is the need to share my experiences, and what I witnessed in Las Vegas...
Debbie and Miya Never Expected to be Trafficked in the U.S...Now Moving on to Restoring their Lives
Fifteen-year-old "Debbie" is the middle child in a close-knit Air Force family from suburban Phoenix, and a straight-A student -- the last person most of us would expect to be forced into the seamy world of sex trafficking.
Kyi Visits the Brothel... to Offer Other Young Girls a Chance at Hope
The baby’s first cry out of the womb temporarily muted her mother’s pain. Ky had been in this hospital several times before, but this time was different. On each visit before, she Came to the hospital pregnant, but always left with nothing more than an intensely lonely pain – the kind of pain you can only know if you have been in love and then lost that same love.
As a teenage prostitute in a small brothel...
Read Julie Shematz and Another Overcomer's Story
The following is a documented record of the life experience of Julie Shematz and of a victim that has been in the Beauty From Ashes’ safehome.
United Nations Human Rights
Giving Voice to the Victims and Survivors of Human Trafficking
21 Year Old Timea Nagy and the Salvation Army Bring Awareness to Human Trafficking
September 10, 2009
When 21-year-old Timea Nagy arrived in Toronto to earn a living as a waitress, her passport was taken, she was kidnapped, controlled, and forced to work in the sex-trade industry. Now, 10 years later, she shares her harrowing ordeal in an attempt to save trafficked victims through education and awareness.
Two Survivors Share Their Stories
By Laura Bauer, The Kansas City Star
She fiddles with her cell phone. In mid conversation, she holds it out, showing off who is on the screen. "Here's my son," she says, pronouncing those three words in perfect English.
The following is a documented record of the life experience of Julie Shematz and of a victim that has been in the Beauty From Ashes’ safehome. The survivor herself will not be reading the part.
