Human trafficking gets Hollywood's attention

Claritza Jimenez

A frustration of anti-human trafficking activists is that the problem doesn’t receive adequate attention in the “mainstream” media. While doing some online digging for any new developments in human trafficking, I came across a few examples that might point to a growing sense of awareness about the issue. Surprisingly, the two examples come from Hollywood. A new documentary on the plight of human trafficking victims is set for release in March 2010. It’s called“Modern Day Slaves.” I checked out the documentary’s website where I watched a clip of the trailer. An American filmmaker is behind the documentary, which doesn’t look at the problem of human trafficking within the United States. Instead, Ted Unarce follows four Filipino citizens who leave their country to work overseas. The four people profiled in the documentary are supposed to represent what “Overseas Foreign Workers” are subject to when they leave their homeland—slave labor. The film goes even further by accusing the Filipino government of encouraging this type of modern-day slavery because of the millions of dollars “Overseas Foreign Workers” bring into that country through remittances.
Another feature documentary on human trafficking is called “Fatal Promises.” It was released in New York City last month. The documentary includes interviews with victims of human trafficking from several countries as well as experts on the issue. The filmmakers say they wanted to show the incongruence between the reality of human trafficking and what politicians say they are doing to combat the crime.
It makes sense to bring attention to the injustices of human trafficking in a documentary. But I didn’t expect a rock band could do the same through a music video. RadioHead teamed up with MTV and the U.S. Agency for International Development to make the music video for their song “All I Need.” The music video uses a split screen to compare a day in the life of an affluent child living in a stable home environment to a child forced into labor. Here’s a clip of the music video. The YouTube clip has received more than 1 million views to date. I must admit the music video is a powerful and effective way to educate the masses about human trafficking, especially young people.