STOP Human Trafficking!
This post was written by Kilusan Bautista
On Jan 18th, 2011, I stood in solidarity at a press conference against Human Trafficking in the 21st century. Located at the Bayanihan Cultural Center in Queens, New York, I listened to two Filipina women testify with their experiences of being used for their labor and taken advantage of based on their citizenship status. What was more shocking to learn was that the perpetrators of this apparent violation of one’s human rights was facilitated by Americans of Filipino descent. Represented by the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (NAFCOM), Leticia Moratal and Jacqueline Aguirre both have pending legal cases in their pursuit for justice.
International awareness is growing around human trafficking. No one should be used for their labor and paid lower than national minimum wages. One of the victims was paid absolutely nothing despite working over 80 hours a week for 10 years. Now if that isn’t modern day slavery I don’t know what is?
My cousin, Jacqueline Aguirre told me she really appreciates this article. Thank you for bringing awareness to these issues and her case specifically.
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