As students at NYU, we perfect our resumes, prepare for interviews, and expect big-time jobs out of college - Wall St, the UN, Vogue Magazine, the Mayo Clinic. We know that with a college degree, our job opportunities are much greater; however, have any of us thought that our degree might lead us to the field of prostitution?
Nick Kristof, journalist and social entrepreneur at the New York Times, recounts the story of Yumi Li, a college graduate from China. With dreams of moving abroad after working as an accountant in China, she agreed to a smuggling operation that would bring her to New York City. She was told she would work as an accountant making $5,000, but instead she was ordered to work as a prostitute in a brothel on 36th st. in mid-town Manhattan, and a short 20-minute walk from NYU.
Yumi worked as a prostitute for 3 years until she went to the police. She then found safety at Restore NYC, an incredible organization that works to help trafficking victims.
Modern day slavery is typically displayed as young girls trapped, of Asian descent, and all of who are helpless, nameless, and incapable. But how does Yumi fit this image? How does a college-educated adult become a sex-slave? With over 20 million victims of modern day slavery, the market is not simply dominated by one ethnicity or one age; the marketplace thrives of women across the world (yes, especially in the US- and more specifically, in our beloved NYC). Yumi’s story shows that slavery does not exclude people just like us- college students studying for a better, more successful future.
This is a quick summary of the article. Find it in full here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/28/opinion/28kristof.html?ref=humantrafficking
