This article from Rotary International fits in with the Human Trafficking workshop that the club recently conducted.
Rotary members aim to root out the global scourge of human trafficking
By Frank Bures
When Dave McCleary first heard about human trafficking, it seemed like something that happened far away, probably overseas. But not in the United States. And certainly not in his hometown.
Then one day he invited a speaker who knew otherwise to talk to his Rotary club in Roswell, Georgia. Her name was Melissa. She was originally from Roswell and had gone to the same high school McCleary’s girls had attended. Melissa dropped out at 16 and was offered a modeling job by a man who turned out to be a sex trafficker. For two years, she was trapped and trafficked in downtown Atlanta before police and a local organization helped her escape.
After the meeting, another Rotarian approached Melissa and gave her a big hug. McCleary asked him how he knew the young woman. He said she used to babysit his kids when she was 12, and he had wondered what had happened to her.
"For me, that was when it became real," says McCleary, who is now chair of the Rotary Action Group Against Slavery. "Now it wasn't someone else's problem. And I remember thinking at the time: Rotary — we're in 200 countries, with 34,000 clubs and 1.2 million Rotarians, and we tackle the tough issues. Why not slavery?"
Of the many global issues, human trafficking (or modern slavery, as it is sometimes called) is one of the toughest to combat. It's estimated that more than 40 million people are trafficked across the world. "It's probably the largest human rights travesty existing today," says Karen Walkowski, founder of the Rotary Club of District 5950 Ending Human Trafficking. "Bigger than all the refugees, all the displaced people. It's one of the three largest illegal industries, bringing in about $150 billion in revenue every year."
"I tell people to think of New York City or London or any major city in the world," says Sujo John, founder of the nonprofit YouCanFreeUs, which has partnered with Rotary clubs. "Now think of six or seven times the population of those cities that are now in slavery. These are people who have been kidnapped or cheated or told that if you come to the city, or go to another country, there's a better opportunity waiting for you."
Of the many global issues, human trafficking is one of the toughest to combat. It’s estimated that more than 40 million people are trafficked across the world.
Sex trafficking is one kind of modern slavery, but there are others that fall under "labor trafficking," where people find themselves trapped in jobs in forestry, farming, restaurants, carnivals, and traveling sales crews of young people peddling magazine subscriptions, and they are not allowed to leave.
"People ask me where slavery is going on in America," John says, "and I say drive through any city in America late in the night. If you see a neon sign that says 'Massage,' chances are that is where slavery is happening. There might be foreign women kept there against their will and forced to provide sexual services."
Mark Little, a member of the Rotary Club of Norwich St. Edmund, England, didn't know any of this until his wife persuaded him to watch a BBC documentary about the subject. "I thought, 'Slavery in the United States? Surely not. Slavery in the United Kingdom? Never. Millions of slaves in India?'
"That really shook me to the core," says Little. "Within four months, I was out in India to visit two of the child slavery rehabilitation centers which were featured in that documentary film. I listened to the testimony of some of the survivors I met on that first visit, who were in the process of rebuilding their lives. I thought, 'My God, what's going on in the world? We've got to do something about it!'"
Little founded the Rotary Action Group Against Slavery, whose newsletter reaches some 3,800 people and which has about 675 members in 49 countries.
\Meanwhile, in the U.S., at least three new cause-based clubs have been formed to fight human trafficking. In addition to Walkowski's club, there is the Rotary Club of Community Action Against Human Trafficking, which was started in Kansas, and the Rotary Club of the Pacific Northwest Ending Sex Trafficking, based in Seattle.
The latter was founded by Virginia McKenzie after a speaker from a local anti-trafficking organization told her former club, the Rotary Club of Seattle, about a fake advertisement that posted a 15-year-old for sale for sex. Within two hours it received 250 calls, mostly from downtown Seattle businesses. "There was an audible gasp,"
McKenzie says. "For myself, it was like I was struck by lightning. Instantly I felt cold anger, red hot fear, and deep sadness, all at once."
For several years, McKenzie worked on her club's peacebuilding committee doing trafficking-related projects. Among other things, they trained 1,000 health care professionals to see signs that someone is being trafficked (such as marking tattoos, hypervigilant escorts, not knowing what city they are in or what day it is) and how to respond in a trauma-informed, HIPAA-compliant way. But she wanted to do more, so she started the new club, which was chartered last year with 25 members — most of them new Rotarians, along with several who had left Rotary.
"This is a very trending topic," she says. "It's like the whole world is waking up to this. I'm so proud of Rotary for taking this on, and I'm so optimistic about the role that Rotarians can play to make an impact."
"That's the kind of impact that Rotary can have," says McCleary, adding that he wants Rotary to do even more. "We believe that this is a movement, not just a series of projects."
This story originally appeared in the July 2022 issue of Rotary magazine.
Our Club was honored to have District Governor Makiko Nakasone on hand to induct our 3 newest members at our meeting on January 24th. We welcomed Karen Schnee, sponsored by Assistant Governor Shelley Stark; Star Tomlinson sponsored by President-Elect Sandy Rosenholz; and Robin Kellogg also sponsored by PE Sandy Rosenholz. Pictured at left are President Michelle Rodriguez, President Elect Sandy Rosenholz, Assistant Governor Shelley Stark, Karen Schnee, Star Tomlinson, Robin Kellogg and District Governor Makiko Nakasone.
Pictured at left: Mona Spector, Jay Saltzman and Christine Pinto.
Emcee Dennis Zine.
Homeland Security Representative.
Members of our club attended and participated.
January was Human Trafficking Awareness month. Our club, in partnership with the Rotary Club of Calabasas and the Rotary Club of Greater Van Nuys, held a workshop to raise awareness of human trafficking and the dangers of social media and the internet, social media and the internet, where 85% of the young girls who are trafficked are first approached. The event emcee was former city councilman and Honorary Woodland Hills Mayor Dennis Zine, and speakers included members of LAPD, the Department of Children and Family Services and the Department of Homeland Security as well a former victim of trafficking who told her own story of how she got trafficked. This was our club's first event of its kind and the first for our district since 2017 and we hope to make it an annual event.
Our speaker for the January 24th meeting was Reverend Ross Porter, Jr., the founder of Stillpoint Family Resources, an organization that provides enrichment programs and resources for families with special needs members. Dr. Porter talked about the valuable lessons he has learned from his own son, John Michael, and shared the future plans of Stillpoint Family Resources. Click on the photo above to hear some of Dr. Porter's remarks.
At our first meeting of the new year, held on January 10th, we inducted our newest member Andy Duchin. Pictured above are President Michelle Rodriguez, Andy Duchin and President Elect Sandy Rosenholz. We also sang Happy Birthday to Michelle Goldwater. Our program featured members Jim Domine and Dan Pukstas in a lively discussion about who actually wrote Shakespeare's plays.
"Haluu" from Sisimiut, Greenland! With a population of fewer than 6,000, Sisimiut stands as Greenland's second-largest city. Chartered in 1980, Nuuk is Greenland's only Rotary club and has about 50 members.
Rotary International President-elect Stephanie Urchick announced that the 2024-25 presidential theme is The Magic of Rotary and called on members to recognize and amplify the organization’s power to save lives.
“Don’t misunderstand me – we are not going to end polio or bring peace to the world by waving a wand and saying some funny words,” Urchick told incoming district governors at the Rotary International Assembly on 8 January. “It’s up to you. You create the magic with every project completed, every dollar donated, and every new member.”
Urchick, a member of the Rotary Club of McMurray, Pennsylvania, USA, said she saw the magic of Rotary on display when she was helping install water filters in the Dominican Republic. Two boys were watching as dirty water entered the filter, then ran out clean at the other end. Click on Read More for the rest of the story.
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NOTE MEETING DETAILS: We will meet on the 2nd & 4th Wednesdays of each month live, in-person at BJ's RESTAURANT & BREWHOUSE for a lunch meeting; it will also be on ZOOM. Meetings on the 1st & 3rd Wednesdays of each month will be on ZOOM only.
February 2024
"For me, that was when it became real," says McCleary, who is now chair of the Rotary Action Group Against Slavery. "Now it wasn't someone else's problem. And I remember thinking at the time: Rotary — we're in 200 countries, with 34,000 clubs and 1.2 million Rotarians, and we tackle the tough issues. Why not slavery?"
Sex trafficking is one kind of modern slavery, but there are others that fall under "labor trafficking," where people find themselves trapped in jobs in forestry, farming, restaurants, carnivals, and traveling sales crews of young people peddling magazine subscriptions, and they are not allowed to leave.
"That really shook me to the core," says Little. "Within four months, I was out in India to visit two of the child slavery rehabilitation centers which were featured in that documentary film. I listened to the testimony of some of the survivors I met on that first visit, who were in the process of rebuilding their lives. I thought, 'My God, what's going on in the world? We've got to do something about it!'"
McKenzie says. "For myself, it was like I was struck by lightning. Instantly I felt cold anger, red hot fear, and deep sadness, all at once."
Rotary International President-elect Stephanie Urchick announced that the 2024-25 presidential theme is The Magic of Rotary and called on members to recognize and amplify the organization’s power to save lives.
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