Documentary reveals depth of human trafficking in Asia
They leave their hometowns in search of a better life for themselves and their loved ones only to find themselves deceived and coerced into some form of slave labour.
Siti is one such victim of human trafficking.
The young Indonesian woman left for Malaysia “to gain life experience” and “to earn money for the future”, having been recruited by an agent to work in a factory.
An only child who was left alone in the world when her parents and grandfather passed away, she found that she had been tricked when she reached her agent’s house, where over 70 people were living.
Instead of a factory worker, Siti was forced to work as a domestic slave. She had to take care of babies and the elderly from house to house, from 8 in the morning to 11 or 12 at night seven days a week.
If she tried to escape, she would be caught, then scolded and slapped by her agent.
But that wasn’t the end of her torture.
One night, Siti’s agent lured her out of the house on the pretext of looking after a baby.
Siti was drugged and she later woke up in a car to find herself naked and in pain. Until now, she has no idea who raped her while she was unconscious.
Siti is just one of the millions of victims affected by the human trafficking trade. Her story is highlighted in a new MTV EXIT (End Exploitation and Trafficking) documentary that aims to raise awareness and increase prevention of such exploitation in Asia.
Enslaved: An MTV EXIT Special will premiere on MTV Southeast Asia channel this Saturday on 17 September at 1:30pm.
The powerful half-hour documentary, hosted by Jared Leto from Thirty Seconds to Mars, is the Southeast Asian version (in English) and features a compilation of real human trafficking stories across Asia. It tells the experiences of people affected by the trade and explores the roles played by everyone in the chain, including convicted traffickers.
The latest version follows from the previous release of MTV EXIT’s first documentary, Traffic, hosted by Lucy Liu. Created over the past nine months, Enslaved is the second in a series of twelve new documentaries to launch across the region with the remaining versions featuring locally specific human trafficking stories from each country, hosted by local celebrities.
Our systems (law enforcement and justice systems) tend to see trafficking victims as offenders first, as opposed to victims Siddharth Kara
MTV EXIT announced the release of Enslaved: An MTV EXIT Special at IndoChine, The Forbidden City at Clarke Quay on Tuesday evening.
Campaign director of MTV EXIT, Matt Love, said, “Human trafficking and exploitation is modern day slavery. Traffickers do not discriminate as to whom they are trying to deceive; everyone is vulnerable. The power of conversation is very important and being informed is the first step to protecting ourselves.”
Among the guest speakers who graced the media conference and documentary screening yesterday was Siddharth Kara, fellow on human trafficking at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Carr Centre for Human Rights Policy.
“The fundamental logic of human trafficking as it’s practiced today is the ability to generate immense profits at almost no real risk,” said Kara, who was on his first trip to Singapore.
An author and one of the world's foremost experts on modern-day slavery, Kara has been researching on human trafficking for eleven years, during which he met and documented the cases of more than 1,000 victims of slavery of all kinds.
“On the profits side, the cost of a slave has dropped by more than 90 percent in the last two centuries. It is very easy and inexpensive to transport people all over the world,” he explained.
“On the risks side, human trafficking remains poorly understood… (and) inadequately investigated and prosecuted.”
“Our systems (law enforcement and justice systems) tend to see trafficking victims as offenders first, as opposed to victims,” said Kara, adding that this was one reason why the trade has become such a rewarding business venture for criminals and exploiters.
“We need to switch the way we approach them to seeing them as potential victims first,” Kara told Yahoo! Singapore. “Doesn’t matter how they got here or why they got here – someone’s being coerced in slave-like conditions. We should just stop and get the facts straight.”
“The fundamental importance is that we identify and disrupt people who are exploiting them in slave-like conditions. And if we just… deport them (trafficking victims), we’re never going to accomplish that goal.”
Broadcast Details:
ENSLAVED: AN MTV EXIT SPECIAL (30 MINS)
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PREMIERE: Saturday, 17th September
12.30 PM (WIB), 1:30 PM (SG/HK/PHIL), 2:30 PM (MAL)
REPLAYS:
Wednesday, 21st September
11.30 PM (WIB)
Thursday, 22nd September
12:30 AM (SG/HK/PHIL), 1:30 AM (MAL)
Saturday, 24th September
6 PM (WIB), 7 PM (SG/HK/PHIL), 8 PM (MAL)
