When living an authentic sensual life, your senses reveal exquisite
beauty and offer rich pleasures. At the same time, there exists a violent and horror-filled world where
there are those who can only experience fear and pain. Sex slavery and human trafficking is far more common than you might
realize; it is an ugly thread woven into contemporary society that we “numb”
ourselves from recognizing most of the time. Thousands of women and children, girls and boys are “recruited” into
this appalling practice through countless scams that use the appearance of
wealth, travel, luxury gifts, designer clothes, expensive cars, and the elite
nightclub scene. Sometimes, even the promise of cigarettes is enough enticement to lure
some young people into becoming victims in the crime of forced prostitution or
subservience. The most vulnerable are those most at risk. Recently,
a couple of my dear friends hosted an important film event to spotlight the
provocative undercover documentary journalism work of Mimi Chakarova, formerly
of Bulgaria. For more than six
years, Mimi has carried out scrupulous, sometimes treacherous, front lines
reporting and photography capturing all aspects of pervasive sex trafficking
from Eastern Europe. Her work
has won a 2008 Emmy Nomination and a 2008 Webby Award, and has appeared on PBS Frontline/World and CBS 60 Minutes. Millions
of young women in Eastern Europe were outgrowing their adolescents following
the dissolution of the Soviet Union, amid rampant economic misery. Fascinating tales of a better life in the
West seized many young women’s attention and fueled a fertile opportunity for
human traffickers posing as agents and brokers for travel and job placements
abroad. Upon
reaching destinations in Southern
Europe/Mediterranean regions, Russia and the Middle East these young women were
delivered to their “employers”. At
that point, they learned the true nature of their agreements and what “work”
they must do, under conditions of abusive, dangerous situations almost
impossible to escape. As an adolescent herself, Mimi left
Bulgaria with her family while her father worked at a University outside the
country. When Mimi’s family
returned to Bulgaria, she was shocked to find that some of her childhood
friends had fallen prey to international sex slavery. Mimi was determined to act. She pursued journalism and set out to bring this issue to
greater awareness through documentary reporting. As
an undercover journalist, Mimi slowly built trust and developed relationships
with young women from Eastern Europe who were trafficked. Often masquerading as one of them, Mimi
captured horrifying stories from victims.
Mimi describes the abduction process this way: “After arriving in the country
of destination, their passports, documents, money, and personal belongings are
taken away. They become today’s sex slaves, sold and resold like cattle. Those
who manage to escape their traffickers are deported. Back home, they rarely
tell their loved ones the truth. The stigmatization of prostitution is every
family’s deepest shame. “ According to the International Organization for Migration, the number of
people from Eastern Europe trafficked for labor and prostitution since 1989
exceeds 200,000! To learn more about Mimi’s work and to hear and view actual clips from
the extraordinary undercover film work, visit her website: A percent of all proceeds from my book, Authentic Sensual Living, and profits from Amorosa Bella, online
luxury marketplace, are invested as charitable contributions in the following
non-profit organizations that address the dreadfulness of sex slavery. I
have chosen to invest in two existing organizations; one having the
infrastructure to deliver the necessary services and the other organization
that is changing the landscape to derail the root causes, wherever sex slavery
occurs. Alliance
to Stop Slavery and End Trafficking – ASSET http://www.assetcampaign.org/media Children
of the Night http://www.childrenofthenight.org/home.html If your charitable economic guidelines allow you to do so, please join
us at Amorosa Bella in donating additional monies to the organizations listed
above.
About the Author
Charlyn Belluzzo is a doctor trained in global health and economic development, an author, a mother, and owner of Amorosa Bella, online sensual luxury marketplace.
