Slavery lives
Mini-series tackles Human TraffickingSlavery lives
Tara Merrin Calgary Sun
January 2, 2006
The buying and selling of human beings is a thriving criminal enterprise, taking in an estimated $8 billion annually and ranking behind only sales of illegal guns and drugs in terms of illicit profitability.
GREAT ROLE ... Mira Sorvino earned a Golden Globe nomination for her work on Human Trafficking, which starts Jan. 2.
That so few people are aware of the problem is one of the reasons the TV mini-series Human Trafficking was made, says its star Mira Sorvino. “It’s just a terrible situation. Slavery never really died, it just kind of assumed another name, another form. It went underground.” As its title suggests, Human Trafficking, also starring Donald Sutherland, tells the story of the women and children who are lured, or outright abducted, every year from their home countries and forced into a world of sex slavery. Sorvino plays Kate Morozov, a Russian-born New York City detective, who, after witnessing the suicide of a young girl trafficked into prostitution, joins the fictional Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE), which attempts to expose and arrest the criminals who exploit such women. For Sorvino, the role was a natural fit — she’s the ambassador for Amnesty International’s Stop Violence Against Women program, and a frequent speaker on women’s advocacy issues. “It’s estimated that a million people, most of them women and girls, are trafficked annually around the world,” says Sorvino, who met with a pair of formerly trafficked women while researching for the film. “Somebody had treated these people like things, like animals in a laboratory. No humanity, no kindness, no respect. It was horrible.” When Human Trafficking hit the airwaves in the U.S. this fall, it turned people’s stomachs and yet became one of the most watched mini-series of 2005. Now the Golden Globe-nominated film is coming to Citytv and producer Michael Prupas expects much of the same reaction here in Canada. “It really hits close to home because the story really is about how these things could be going on in downtown Calgary and probably are. This is something none of us can afford to ignore.” Because human trafficking is one of the most profitable illegal businesses around today, it is growing every year, adds Prupas. “Today there are more women who are being trafficked across borders to cities in Canada and the United States than there were in the ’80s. It’s appalling. “In the United States slavery was outlawed in 1866 and in Canada it has been illegal for almost 200 years, yet these things are still going on right in our own backyard.” Part one of Human Trafficking airs January 2 at 9 p.m. on Citytv followed by part two at the same time on January 4. — with files from Steve Tilley
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