iEmpathize

Brad and the Sex-Cafe from Tom Davis on Vimeo.

Because of its geographical location and current economic situation, Moldova has emerged as a major country of origin for trafficking in women and children. It is also a transit country for trafficking from Ukraine and other countries of the former Soviet Union.

We arrived in Moldova to learn more about their human trafficking dilemma and explore partnership opportunities. One of our first meetings was with a safe home director who works with survivors rescued from the sex trade. Our driver picked her up and she greeted us with the statement, “I have a surprise for you.” Moments later we were in the heart of  the capitol city, Chisinau, at a cafe.

I thought the surprise might be the best espresso in the city but I would soon learn the reality of the space I was in. We sat down and she explained that this cafe was a front for Middle Eastern traffickers. One of the girls in her safe home was trafficked by the very men that surrounded us.

Traffickers lurking over our shoulders

The operation goes down like this: A group of older Middle Eastern men run the place. Young attractive guys work the cafe and “befriend” the girls. Moldovan girls are lured in by ads in the paper and by the younger guys working the streets. Jobs are few and far between so young Moldovan girls jump at the chance. After a season of learning Middle Eastern customs at the cafe the girls are then transferred to Turkey. Before they know it they are being prostituted in a foreign land. There was clearly a sense of eerie control the men at this cafe had over the servers and random girls coming in and out of the cafe.

Cafe owner with young Moldovan girl

The young woman from the safe home trafficked by these men suffered horrific exploitation but thank God she is free now and experiencing beautiful restoration. It was an incredible feeling to blatantly film an interview on the cafe patio in broad daylight. We made the whole cafe crew very nervous.

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May 4th we leave for Mexico City on an iE Media Expedition. Brad Riley, in collaboration with photographer Peter Gibson of NYC and filmmaker Simon Scionca of Colorado Springs, will be producing a new mixed media exhibit on the issue of child trafficking in Mexico.  We begin the trip with the honor of attending the President’s Cinco de Mayo Celebration and then jump right into capturing the story of a young girl prostituted at a seedy hotel brothel in Mexico City. Her story continues with an amazing rescue and beautiful restoration. We are partnering with Congresswoman Rosi Orozco who leads the government’s human trafficking task force. Rosi is also the founder of Camino a Casa, the first Mexican safe home focusing entirely on the restoration of child trafficking survivors who have been sexually exploited.  The exhibit will be produced in Spanish as an awareness tool in Mexico. Mexican university students will be installing the exhibit on campuses beginning this June. In addition, iE will have an English version for advocacy in the U.S. Funds raised will support the Mexico safe home and prevention projects in Mexico City. Follow us on twitter and the iE blog for exciting step-by-step updates of the expedition and undercover work!

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iE Gallery – This month we installed our SE Asia Child Trafficking Exhibit in a gallery space in downtown Boulder, CO. The space was in shambles but over six days several volunteers flipped it and made it a beautiful gallery. We have had groups of people hosting awareness and fundraising events all month long.

Thursday the 29^th from 7-8 PM we will show the iE short film and Brad will personally share the stories behind the photographs and artifacts. If you live in the Colorado Front Range area invite your friends and come be a part!

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