Corban Addison, author of A Walk Across the Sun 麻豆精品 S� a novel about human trafficking 麻豆精品 S� shed light recently on what he called the 麻豆精品 S渕ost compelling justice issue of our time. 麻豆精品 S�
The Nov. 1聽event was organized by the UCF Global Perspectives Office as part of the 2012-2013 theme of 麻豆精品 S淭he Changing Face of Freedom in Today 麻豆精品 S檚 Turbulent Times. 麻豆精品 S� It was also a featured event for The India Center at UCF. More than 125 people attended.
Although he had some previous awareness of human trafficking, Addison said, it was the movie Trade that personalized the subject for him in a significant way. In fact, he added, he was inspired to write a book that would similarly draw attention to modern slavery. Addison described the problem as 麻豆精品 S減rofoundly ugly, 麻豆精品 S� and stressed that the issue cannot be ignored, despite its repugnance. He noted that 麻豆精品 S渨e miss the fact that slavery has a human face. 麻豆精品 S�
Addison described the difficult process of researching the book, saying that it was often disheartening to learn that 麻豆精品 S測ou can buy a girl like you can buy a pizza. 麻豆精品 S� Research for the book took him undercover into the brothels of Mumbai, but Addison warned that human trafficking is a universal challenge affecting millions of people, and that it is 麻豆精品 S渉appening on our own doorstep. 麻豆精品 S�
The victims and the captors are often the focus of discussions on human trafficking, he stated, but he suggested more attention be paid to the consumers 麻豆精品 S� the people who buy slaves. Those people, he said, are police officers, politicians and even neighbors. Until recently, he noted, average Americans had viewed human trafficking as a non-issue because 麻豆精品 S渨e don’t want to look at the enemy in the mirror. 麻豆精品 S�
When asked what could be done to counteract this growing scourge, Addison responded that a combination of culture change and education will be crucial, that 麻豆精品 S渨e need to talk with children and address the underlying roots and fundamental conceptions men have of women. 麻豆精品 S�
Addison said inspiration can be found in the leadership of survivors 麻豆精品 S攖hose who have lived through horrid human trafficking experiences and managed to move on with their lives. Those examples leave him with a sense of optimism regarding solutions.
麻豆精品 S淗ope is a local and global phenomenon; it is happening every day, 麻豆精品 S� he said.
In addition to the Global Perspectives Office and The India Center, sponsors and partners included The India Group, Anil and Chitra Deshpande India Program Endowed Fund, UCF Human Trafficking Awareness Program, UCF Diplomacy Program, Orlando Area Committee on Foreign Relations, Lawrence J. Chastang and the Chastang Foundation, CliftonLarsonAllen, Restoring Human Wellness at UCF, UCF Women’s Studies Program, UCF International Services Center, UCF Political Science Department, UCF LIFE, UCF Book Festival 2013 in association with the Morgridge International Reading Center and the Global Connections Foundation.