Slavery in America: Living in the Shadows
Posted by: "Texoma Coalition"

Slavery in America: Living in the Shadows

Slaves in the U.S.: 'This Happens All Over the Country'
Human Trafficking Hits Close to Home

By PIERRE THOMAS, JACK DATE and THERESA COOK

May 21, 2007 -

Slavery -- it might still happen in third-world countries halfway across the
world, but it doesn't hit close to home. The problem exists solely in the pages
of history books as far as the United States is concerned. Right?

In the 21st century, most probably think that slavery could not exist in this
day and age. But that thought is wrong.

Government estimates say about 15,000 to 18,000 people enter the United States
annually to work in deplorable conditions for little or no pay. These men, women
and children are the victims of global human trafficking -- a lucrative and
thriving underground trade.

Tonight: One survivor's story in part one of Pierre Thomas' series "Slavery in
America: Living in the Shadows," on "World News With Charles Gibson."
ABC's Pierre Thomas spoke with one young woman who survived being a slave in
America.

Evelyn Chumbow's captor told the young girl's family that Chumbow would get a
top-notch education and have a new world of opportunity in the U.S. Instead, the
woman enslaved the then 11-year-old in her home, forcing her to work long hours,
depriving her of the education she was promised and never paying her a dime.

She told her story of survival, triumph over the sadistic woman who held her
captive, and how she is now rebuilding her own life while striving to help
others in an exclusive interview with ABC News.

'There's Nowhere in America That It Doesn't Happen'
"What I would say to the American people is that they have to realize that this
happens all over the country, in the backs of restaurants, in the fields in
Florida, in the timber industry in the north of New York. There's nowhere in
America that it doesn't happen," said Melanie Orhant, Chumbow's former attorney
and the managing attorney for the Break the Chain Campaign, an organization that
helps trafficking survivors.

Assistant Attorney General Wan Kim, head of the Justice Department's Civil
Rights Division, said money drives the human trafficking industry.

"When you ask yourself, how could a human being do this to another human being,
there's no good answer to that. But one of the answers is, boy, they're making a
lot of money or saving a lot of money by doing that," said Kim.

"We've had cases where people have been victimized and forced into domestic
servitude for more then decade. Think about how much you could save, a person
could save, if they didn't have to pay for house cleaning, for cooking for
baby-sitting services for that period of time," he said.

Lured to America
Some slaves are simply kidnapped and slipped across U.S. borders. Others -- too
poor to pay off the transport fee of ruthless smugglers -- work for months to
pay off the debt. Some are lured by work or tourist visas only to be forced to
work for little or no pay.

The slaves are controlled by their captors with the threat of arrest or
deportation, and in many cases, beatings.

Victims of slavery often cannot speak English, and sometimes they cannot read or
write -- issues that magnify their isolation. And with no friends or family
nearby, for all intents and purposes -- they don't exist.

All Across the Country
A recent case involved a girl brought from Egypt to work seven days a week for a
wealthy couple in Irvine, Calif. Federal prosecutors showed a home video at the
couple's trial, showing the girl cleaning up after her masters' family while
everyone else, including children appearing to be about the age of the girl,
enjoyed a birthday party.

Two Milwaukee doctors were sentenced to four years in prison for enslaving a
young Filipino woman for 19 years. She lived hidden in a basement storage room
of the doctors' upscale home and was only allowed upstairs to work as a servant.

"I think most Americans would be saddened and shocked to know about the extent
of this problem," said Kim.

Once freed, the victims of slavery try to piece their lives back together. There
are dozens of support groups around the country to help victims get education,
employment and counseling.

Pierre Thomas' series "Slavery in America: Living in the Shadows" continues
Tuesday on "World News With Charles Gibson" and ABCNEWS.com.

And to learn more out more about slavery in America, check out these
organizations: Break the Chain Campaign , Freedom Network, Freedom Network
Member Organizations.

Copyright © 2007 ABC News Internet Ventures

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