A Woman. A Prostitute. A Slave. »

“When they first mentioned prostitution, I thought I would go crazy,” Yumi told me. “I was thinking, ‘how can this happen to someone like me who is college-educated?’ ” Her voice trailed off, and she added: “I wanted to die.”

She says that the four men who ran the smuggling operation — all Chinese or South Koreans — took her into their office on 36th Street in Midtown Manhattan. They beat her with their fists (but did not hit her in the face, for that might damage her commercial value), gang-raped her and videotaped her naked in humiliating poses. For extra intimidation, they held a gun to her head.

Please read this op-ed piece. Sometimes we as Americans think slavery ended with the ratification of the 13th Amendment. Sadly, human trafficking has proved it hasn’t. Like Nicholas D. Kristof says, “…the critical step is for the police and prosecutors to focus more on customers (to reduce demand) and, above all, on pimps.”

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