Project Orange, a group that aims to educate others about human trafficking, featured a documentary that included under-cover footage of police rescuing child slaves from brothels and slave-filled brick kilns Monday night at the Performing Arts Center.
More than 500 students watched “At the End of Slavery: the Battle for Justice in Our Time,” which took the audience inside the reality of buying and selling human beings in the Philippines, India, Cambodia and the United States. After the documentary, community member Cassie Azevedo discussed her trip to India in January. She stayed with a host family in Andhra Pradesh for two weeks and spent time with the people of the country.
“We just kind of listened to the elders and the stories they would tell,” Azevedo said. “I did a lot of questioning of my host family about human trafficking. They told me when you get home is when you will be able to make a difference.”
Social sciences junior Sarah Wietbrock, agricultural sciences senior Landon Friend and political science graduate student Bethany Lick hosted the event to encourage people to join the anti-slavery movement. Campus Crusade for Christ helped bring Project Orange to campus.
“The most realistic way to get involved is to educate yourself,” Wietbrock said.
The students created a Web site for Project Orange and went to members of the greek system to tell them about the cause and ask whether they would like to get involved. Several sororities and fraternities got involved in the project; four have planned philanthropic events for next quarter. The events range from a barn dance to cleaning houses to raise money for Project Orange.
After learning about the prevalence of human trafficking, Wietbrock said she now knows the field she wants to pursue as a career.
“Now I want to spend my life as a social worker for women getting taken out of brothels in Thailand,” Wietbrock said. “Prostitution and sex slavery is the thing that breaks my heart.”
Megan Hassler contributed to this story.