Slaves in Los Angeles. And where you live, too... =============== Molina and her sewing teacher were flown to Tijuana, where a powerful woman known in Puebla as “la Senora” met them at the border. She confiscated Molina’s documents and clothing for “safekeeping.” “I thought it was strange,” Molina says, “but she had been living in the U.S. for so long so I thought, she knows how things are run.” A coyote took the two women to Los Angeles, where they were immediately put to work in a sewing factory. Molina’s workday started at 4 a.m., sewing by the dim light on the machine. During the regular workday, she ironed, unloaded and reloaded delivery trucks, and stitched labels into dresses—some for major American stores. When the other workers went home, Molina cleaned the entire factory. She was subjected to physical abuse, and wasn’t allowed to leave the building unattended. She was, for all practical purposes, a slave. “I thought slavery was only in the books,” she says. “I was surprised to find myself living in it.” According to the International Labor Organization, nearly 21 million people are victims of forced labor—often called modern-day slavery—across the world. Many of them are exploited in agriculture, construction, domestic servitude, and manufacturing. An estimated 15,000-17,500 people are trafficked into the United States alone every year.
Posted on: Mon, 23 Sep 2013 21:56:38 +0000
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