is an initiative to engage every human being in each of their five senses to rise up for injustice using their gifts and talents. To feed the creative mind and soul of each individual and connect them to a need. To inspire, challenge and encourage action. To inform each individual of issues in the world and how they can help using their resource, creativity and artistic abilities. To change mindsets and reframe thinking.To begin a movement, a revolution that effects all and transcends borders, boundaries, boxes and any limitations. Simply put - another way to change the world.
is an initiative to engage every human being
in each of their five senses to rise up for injustice using their gifts and talents.
To feed the creative mind and soul of each individual and connect them to a need.
To inspire, challenge and encourage action.
To inform each individual of issues in the world and how they can help
using their resource, creativity and artistic abilities.
To change mindsets and reframe thinking.
To begin a movement, a revolution that effects all and transcends
borders, boundaries, boxes and any limitations.
Simply put - another way to change the world.
A note...
Where do I begin? I discovered the issue of human trafficking while I was living in Australia. Being Eastern European I wanted to research my heritage. That search led me to discover the mass amount of victims, mostly young and female, being trafficked across borders for sex slavery. I soon got involved with an anti-trafficking organization (the A21 Campaign). When I moved back to Asheville, I met people who are also passionate about this issue. That is how I connected with the Hope House.
Human trafficking is happening now, in my lifetime, on my watch. The stories I hear and actual victims I meet compel me to action. Knowing about it just doesnt seem enough.. I believe anyone who has experienced injustice of any kind can relate.
So here I am, just a local woman in my twenties. My day job is in the hospitality business and in my free time Im an artist of sorts.
Tears of color originated from a thought. I was so arrested by this issue and I knew if I were one of these girls I would want someone to help me. So I began to think about what I could do and how I could help.
The name originated from a song I wrote about humanity expressing sadness through their art. Together with producer/composer Sergio and local artist Mariya we brought the theme song to life.
So this is my way of bringing the local community together to begin this revolution. I am asking you to join me in this. Its our responsibility as a people with a voice to use it, with a hand to raise it, and with a heart to act upon it - why couldnt we?
Elena
WHO WE ARE
Tears Of Color is an organization run by a group of locals who have heard about the issue and want to help bring awareness and raise money as a way of abolishing injustice. This includes people who have interned with both organizations and have seen first hand the deep injustice and need.
Elena Anatolyevna F
Founder / Director
828.545.6259
elena_tearsofcolor.com
HOW DOES IT EFFECT ME?
Human trafficking is not a movie or something that happens abroad to people in poor countries. There are currently 300,000 people that are enslaved in the US today. This could be someone on your street.
WHAT IS THE EVENT?
A concert featuring high-quality Media, local artists and musicians, dance and a presentation. There will also be a silent auction of local artwork to raise funds. To raise awareness of this issue of human trafficking and to raise funds for anti-trafficking organizations and shelters.
We are inviting you to take a step into doing something to change someones life forever.
WHAT ARE THE FUNDS FOR?
LOCAL: The Hope House Project
www.hopehousenc.com
GLOBAL: The A21 Campaign
www.thea21campaign.com
LOCAL ARTIST WHO DONATED TO
TEARS OF COLOR 2010
Jonas Gerard
Vadim Bora
Olga Dorenko
Bernie Smolnik
Meriah Mozingo
Craggie Brewing
Elena Fesiuk
Russ Tumash
Alla Pivovarevich
Lina Ostapovich
Kathrine Haviland-Pabst
Andie Mcdowell's autographed photo
Eric
Jennnifer
Tina Pivo
THANK YOU!!
THE FACTS:
• 27 Million slaves around the world
• This is the fastest growing crime in the world
• North Carolina is a primary destination state
• Third most profitable criminal activity next to drugs and arms trafficking
• The current rate of trafficking children is ten times higher than the Atlantic slave trade.
• $9.5 Billion per year from human trafficking
• 80% of trafficking is for sexual exploitation
• Women who have been trafficked experience a tenfold risk of contracting HIV
• Half of all trafficking victims are under 18 years of age.
• Average age 12-14
• 750,000 people have been trafficked into the US over the last decade
• 2 million children a year are exploited for the commercial sex trade.
• Total market value is 32 billion dollars
• Trafficking victims tend to be the poorest and most vulnerable people coming from poor countries.
• 7 year old girls are not uncommon nor the youngest.
• 80% of girls and women in prostitution in India enter against their will.
HOTLINE FOR EMERGENCIES ONLY:
888-3737-888
Human trafficking is the modern version of slavery. It is when a person is being exploited for their services. This includes domestic, child and sex slavery, though sex slavery is ranking at the highest. Most often girls are trafficked across borders, lured into the sex trade by a false job opportunity and upon their arrival, passports and documents are taken from them. These women are held against their will and forced to service up to 40 men a day.
North Carolina is a prime location for
human trafficking!
Legal experts say one of the reasons that NC is a prime location for human trafficking is because of all the major highways that crisscross the state and the big role agriculture plays in the state.
People often wonder why girls such as these dont just leave or escape. It is not easy. These girls are terrorized, abused and manipulated. They often have no where to go and dont speak the language. The traffickers often threaten them with violence against their loved ones.
In the U.S. teenagers and runaways are the targets.
Human trafficking is a very established network of criminals and their goal is to spread the girls
around so they arent found or discovered.
This is the fastest growing crime in the world.
There are currently over 27 million people enslaved today and 80% of them are female.
The victims are young as 4 years old and on average 14.
This is not something that is only occurring abroad - it is in our backyard!
There are currently 300,000 people enslaved in the United States. There have been cases reported of human trafficking in every State, including Washington D.C.
- These are not just statistics.
- These are human lives. This could be your daughter, sister, wife or loved one.
SPREAD THE WORD
Talk about the issue of Human Trafficking. Post info on your website, facebook & twitter.
If you want flyers, email us and we would love to get you a stack.
DONATE
This being a non-profit benefit concert does not immune this event from costs. We are still needing donations and sponsors. If you or your business are interested in donating or getting more detailed info on how the funds are distributed, email us on the contact page.
Every dollar is valued and appreciated. Thank you.
BUY TICKETS!
If possible, get your tickets early and buy one for your family and friends.
You can even sell tickets! This is a great way to raise your hand in support.
Tickets are ONLY $15 per person
CALLING ALL ARTISTS TO SUBMIT YOUR ART
This is a way to donate your gifts and talents to help another.
1. CREATE Art includes but not limited to; Sculptures, photography, paintings, pottery, video, metal creations, poetry e.t.c. Themes are; "justice, human trafficking, injustice, humanity".
2. SUBMIT You can drop off your art at Galina's Hair Studio Tue-Sat 11am-4pm
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS
MAY 1, 2010
Workshops will be available soon.
Check back for times, dates and locations.
To donate by check (make out to TEARS OF COLOR) mail to:
ATT: Tears Of Color
PO BOX 2213
Asheville, NC 28802
You can also use the form below. THANKS
General: contact_tearsofcolor.com
GOVERNMENT The Hope House Project The A21 Campaign
www.state.govwww.hopehousenc.comwww.thea21campaign.com
SUGGESTED FILMS:
Taken (2008)
A film about girls who are trafficked with the purpose of being forced into prostitution. 93 min
* Human Trafficking (2005)
This two-part mini-series starring Mira Sorvino and Donald Sutherland depicts the sex trafficking trade in Eastern Europe. 180 min
BOOKS
The Johns: Sex for Sale and the Men Who Buy It, by Victor Malarek
The Natashas: Inside the Global Sex Trade, by Victor Malarek
The Road of Lost Innocence, by Somaly Mam
Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery, by Siddharth Kara
Slaves No More, by Rita Giaretta
Sold, by Patricia McCormick
ADDITIONAL FILMS
(A-Z)
Anamika: Documentary (2005): Exposing the issues of child commercial sexual exploitation in India, this documentary delves into the very real product of the sex trade, including both physical and mental destruction. 26 min
Angel's Ladies (2000): A documentary about the inner workings of a Nevada brothel. 80 min
Anonymously Yours (2002): Four women's stories are woven together in this documentary about Burma's sex trafficking trade. 90 min
Bangkok Girl (2005): 19-year-old Pla tells of her experience managing to avoid prostitution while working in a bar in Thailand since the age of 13, and how with time she will inevitably be forced into the trade. 42 min
Born into Brothels (2004): Taking on a very different vantage point than most films on the subject, this documentary focuses not on prostitutes in India, but on their children. 85 min
Bought and Sold (1999): Produced and directed by WITNESS director Gillian Caldwell, this documentary investigates the illegal traffic of women in the former Soviet Union, as well as the groups that are helping them. 42 min
Bucharest Express (2003): Enticed falsely by offers of job opportunities as dancers and models, women are trafficked from the Balkans to become sex slaves in Turkey. 15 min
Cargo: Innocence Lost (2008): This documentary includes interviews from the nation's leading authorities on trafficking and from victims of modern day slavery themselves. 75 min
Carissa (2008): A documentary about a woman who was abandoned as a child. She became a prostitute at 12 and eventually was able to turn her life around. 23 min
Children For Sale (2005): Dateline NBC exposes sex tourism and child sex trafficking in Cambodia.
The Children We Sacrifice (2003): Grace Poores documentary delves into the many aspects of incest, ranging from cultural attitudes to effective treatments for survivors, and focuses on social and cultural resistance in South Asia. 61 min
The Day My God Died (2003): The Day My God Died tells the story of the countless girls sold into the sex trade in Bombay and the brave souls working to defend them. 55 min
* Demand (2007): This documentary exposes the men who buy commercial sex, the vulnerable women and children sold as commodities, and the facilitators of the sale within the marketplace of exploitation. 45 min
Diary of a Sex Addict (2001): A middle-aged chef in a luxurious restaurant reveals to his shrink his double personality: He is an impeccable family man who loves his wife and son and at the same time a sexually hungry person who seeks pleasure at any time with any woman. 93 min
Dreamworlds 3 (1995): This film analyzes the stories behind contemporary music videos and discusses how they affect the public's view of femininity, masculinity, sexuality, and race. 54 min
The Dutch Showcase: This documentary is about the legalized prostitution in Holland and shows that prostitution is slavery whether it is legal or not.
Dying to Leave (2004): This two-part documentary explores the issue of human trafficking and tells the story of a girl trafficked to Australia then sold into prostitution for three years. 104 min
The Dark Business of Human Trafficking (2004): This Wide Angle documentary explores the worldwide boom in illicit migration and human trafficking, recording the stories of those who pull up their roots and risk all and putting a human face on an issue too often reduced to statistics. It examines the circumstances that drive these migrants from their homes, highlights the difficulties involved in their epic journeys, and reveals what awaits them in their new world. 57 min
Fields of Mudan (2004): A young girl is forced into sex slavery in this moving short film. She befriends another girl in the brothel and dreams of freedom with her mother in America. 23 min
Ghosts (2006): A documentary that follows the story of victims of the 2004 Morecambe Bay cockling disaster, in which smuggled immigrants are forced into hard labor. 100 min
Girls from Chaka Street (1997): This short documentary tells the tragic story of Eva, a prostitute in Latvia, and many other underage girls like her. 15 min
Girl Trafficking (1994): Trafficked from the rural areas of Nepal into India for commercial sexual exploitation, this documentary-drama outlines the very real ordeal of many young girls, as well as the social ostracization they face with their resulting HIV/AIDS infection. 45 min
Highway to Hell (2000): Exploring the sex trafficking trade between Nepal and India, this documentary also takes on the unique perspectives of male clients in addition to those of the trafficked girls and their families. 38 min
* Holly (2007): An American stolen artifacts dealer comes across a 12-year-old Vietnamese girl sold by her family into prostitution. The film focuses on the attempt to bring the girl to safety. It brings to light the effort to raise awareness about child trafficking and the K11 Project. 114 min
* Human Trafficking (2005): This two-part mini-series starring Mira Sorvino and Donald Sutherland depicts the sex trafficking trade in Eastern Europe. 180 min
I am Elena: A short graphic clip that depicts the horrors of human trafficking.
* Lilya 4-Ever (2002): At 16 in the former Soviet Union, Lilya is left by her mother, penniless, turning to prostitution and the horrifying life it entails. 109 min
Lives for Sale (2007): A one-hour investigative documentary exposes the painful, rarely seen human side of illegal immigration, including the growing black market trade in human beings. 58 min
MTV Exit: End Exploitation and Trafficking (2004): Includes Inhuman Traffic, a documentary about women being sexual exploited in Europe, and Parallel Lives, a series of short films about human trafficking.
The Price of Pleasure (2008): A documentary about the pornography industry. Includes the perspectives of scholars, performers, and producers. 55 min
The Price of Sugar (2007): A documentary following a Dominican Priest as he exposes the abuse of Haitian slave laborers on a sugar plantation in the Dominican Republic. Ignoring warnings not to go on the sugar plantations, where the majority of his parishioners are, Father Hartley finds himself in utter dismay over the conditions of the workers. He fights to educate the parishioners on their rights and fight for justice. 90 min
Promised Land (2004): A film shown at the 2004 Venice International Film Festival about human trafficking from Eastern Europe to Israel. 88 min
Prostitution: Beyond the Myths (2007): This film depicts three women who have lived the life of prostitution, escaped the lifestyle, and are now living successful lives. The prospectives of various other people such as counselors, judges, and police officers are offered as well. 28 min
Sacrifice: The Story of Child Prostitution in Burma (1998): This documentary explores the economic, social, and cultural forces behind the sex trafficking of girls for debt bondage from Burma to Thailand. 50 min
The Selling of Innocence (2005): A young girl agrees to take photos for a modeling company that turns out to be a pornography company. The film follows her as she tries to shut the company down and get her images removed from the company's Web site. 88 min
The Shanghai Hotel (2006): Twenty-two-year-old Yin Yin came to the US under the impression that she would be trained for a computer job. After a harrowing journey on a crowded and disease-infested cargo ship, she arrives at the Shanghai Hotel, a rundown brothel in New York City, where she is forced into slave labor and sexual exploitation. 110 min
* Sex Slaves (PBS Frontline) (2006): How five women from the struggling countries of Eastern Europe were tricked into sexual slavery, beaten by traffickers and pimps, forced to work to turn a profit--and finally escaped. Plus, a convicted Ukrainian sex trafficker talks about the multibillion dollar sex trade business, and why he sold an acquaintance for $1,000. 60 min
So Great a Violence: Prostitution, Trafficking & the Global Sex Industry (2000): This inspirational film calls on those with a voice to use their power to create political demand for the ending of sexual exploitation. 29 min
The Spot (2006): Based on the novel by Grigorii Riazhskii, this film is about the lives of three Russian prostitutes. 92 min
Stolen Lives (1999): This film looks at the child prostitution through the eyes of the children who are being exploited. Those who are working to help children escape the sex trade are also profiled. 46 min
Stop the Traffick (2001): Set in Cambodia, Emily Marlows documentary explores the aftereffects of the Khmer Rouges brutal rule and how it has impacted the vulnerability of children in the region to the sex trade. 27 min
The Sugar Babies (2007): A documentary that highlights the plight of Haitian victims of human trafficking in the Dominican Republic. 95 min
Svetlana's Journey (2008): Based on a true story, this documentary/drama describes the experience of a young Bulgarian girl sold by her adopted parents for only 10,000 euros to another family for sexual exploitation. 40 min
Taken (2008): A film about girls who are trafficked with the purpose of being forced into prostitution. 93 min
Tijuana Makes Me Happy (2007): A young boy named Indio, who is growing up in Mexico, asks his father for a rooster for his fifteenth birthday. Since he cannot afford a rooster, Indio's father buys him a night with a prostitute. Indio falls in love with the prostitute and does whatever he can in order to win her love. 79 min
* Trade (2007): A girl from Mexico City is abducted into modern-day slavery; her brother goes on a quest to rescue her. 119 min
Trading Women (2003): Trading Women documents the sex trafficking trade in China, Thailand, and Burma, depicted as a local and international problem. Narrated by Angelina Jolie. 77 min
Trafficked (2005): Luigi Acquistos documentary explores the sex trafficking trade in Southeast Asia and Australia through former Australian Federal Police Officer Chris Payne. 60 min
Trafficking Cinderella (1999): Since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, there has been a marked increase in sex trafficking from the former Soviet Union to Western Europe and North America, as explored in this film. 48 min
Turning a Corner (2006): A documentary that tells the stories of those affected by the sex trade in Chicago; their efforts to raise awareness for necessary policy reforms are revealed. 60 min
* Very Young Girls (2007): This film follows 13- and 14-year-old girls in New York and the mistreatment and abuse that they endure as young prostitutes. Rachel Lloyd, a survivor herself, runs GEMS, a recovery center that is also discussed in the film. 84 min
The Virgin Harvest (2006): After decades of civil war, Cambodia's proud ancient culture has been shattered and the family base has been broken. In this gap, a flourishing child trafficking industry has evolved. Undercover equipment reveals the warped reality in which children are sold and smuggled across borders in order to entertain pedophiles from around the world. The girls tell their intimate and chilling stories with the sensitive help of two women who have risked their lives in order to fight the sex trade. 112 min
The Virgin Trade: Sex Lies and Trafficking (2006): A documentary that focuses on Thailand's red light districts and international sex tourism. 54 min
Your name is Justine (Masz na imie Justine) (2006): A young woman from Poland travels around Europe with her boyfriend. When they arrive in Germany, he sells her into prostitution. The film follows the woman's attempt to free herself. 97 min
*The content of some books and films are graphic. Viewer discretion strongly advised.
Mozingo Photography
Human Trafficking in the NEWS
2010
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