A woman who left the Philippines in 2010 for what she believed would be a teaching job in the United States will share her experience of instead finding herself a victim of human trafficking.
Ethel Paat, currently of Spokane, will speak at the Beacon United Methodist Church in Seattle on Thursday, May 29, at 6:30 p.m. She, along with Gabriela Seattle member Precious Butiu, recently participated in a New York summit on human trafficking, organized by the Asiamerica Ministries of the Episcopal Church and the National Alliance for Filipino Concerns. Paat and Butiu will provide an update on the work being done to hold criminal traffickers and governments responsible.
The New York summit focused on Asia America, highlighting the experiences of survivors from countries in the Asia-Pacific region who had been trafficked to U.S. cities. Worldwide, 21 million people, including 11.4 million women and girls, are victims of trafficking, according to the Episcopal News Service (ENS). The United States is a major destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of labor and sexual exploitation, said ENS. (end)
Beacon United Methodist Church is located at 7301 Beacon Avenue South in Seattle. For more information, e-mail Carmie Estandian at carmie.be@gmail.com.
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