CSULB
professor helps country with trafficking
By Sonya Smith
On-line Forty-Niner
The
United Nations reports that 4 million people
annually are traded against their will and
are forced to work in servitude in one form
or another according to the Coalition to
Abolish Slavery and Trafficking Web site.
On Oct. 1, Kathryn McMahon, the founder
of CAST and a Cal State Long Beach assistant
professor in international studies, met
with top government and non-government leaders
from the country of Kyrgyzstan, a country
in central Asia, to discuss how to solve
the problem of human trafficking.
Kyrgyzstan was looking to CAST during their
week long visit to the United States for
help on how to handle specifically their
problem of being a source and transit country
for trafficking victims, said Elisabeth
Wilson from the Office of International
Visitors.
McMahon said that they discussed various
strategies including how CAST trains its
members, police and FBI, how they take care
of the victims and how they work with 30
other non governmental organizations nationally
and internationally.
When asked about the reason she started
CAST in 1998, McMahon said she felt something
had to be done about the problems, such
as the 50,000 people brought to the United
States annually as slaves.
“I could not know about this and feel morally
responsible without doing something about
it,” she said.
Human trafficking involves but is not limited
to: forced prostitution, domestic work,
illegal labor, bonded labor, servile marriage,
false adoption, sex tourism and entertainment,
pornography, begging and use in criminal
activities, according to the CAST Web site.
Human trafficking is an important issue
to the U.S. Department of State and the
U.S. government, Wilson said, and that the
Department of Justice and the Department
of Health and Human Services are working
on a resolution. Legislation passed in 2001,
the Protection of Victims of Trafficking
and Violence against Women Act, these victims
are given refugee status and given aid,
Wilson said.
As a result of this legislation more government
departments are given missions — to focus
on this problem. A report also given annually
on every country’s efforts to end human
trafficking.
McMahon described the process taken with
each victim. First the victim receives food,
clothing and shelter because they usually
have nothing when they are found.
Second the victims are given medical care
and legal representation depending on if
they choose to press charges against their
attackers.
Third, they are educated on their basic
human and legal rights and a new job referral
service is also being implemented.
Fourth, the victims receive aid to either
return home or receive citizenship in the
United States.
CAST has employed student interns from CSULB
along and universities in the past. For
more information on this issue or on how
to help, contact CAST at cast@traffickedwomen.org
or at (213) 473-1611.
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