The first step in making a difference is making
some noise, and Fair Trade Claremont and Traffick Free Pomona don’t plan on
keeping quiet.
Fair Trade Claremont and Traffick Free Pomona are
joining forces once again on Tuesday, April 9 to host a free screening of Not
My Life, a documentary focused on the global reach of today’s continued
slave trade. Filling up the seats of the Laemmle Theatre is the initial step in
their battle towards a slave-free world.
“Raising awareness is the first step to eradicating
human trafficking,” said Tamiko Chacon, pastor of social justice at Pomona
First Baptist, one of the event sponsors. The more awareness that exists, the
more our eyes are open to what trafficking looks like and how we can get
involved.”
Not My Life seeks to give a face to the
widespread issue of human trafficking. In the film narrated by award-winning
actress Glenn Close, filmmaker Robert Bilheimer travels to 5 different
continents in his effort to depict the realities of children stuck in forced
labor, domestic servitude, begging, sex tourism, sexual exploitation and child
soldiering. The resulting documentary is understandably hard to watch, Mr.
Bilheimer acknowledges.
“It is impossible to spend four years among the
victims and survivors of these crimes—virtually all of them children—and emerge
with anything other than a sense of sheer and utter horror,” the director wrote
in a statement. “Perhaps these and other emotions are ones that the
viewers of Not My Life will experience as well, and the ripple effect
will begin. This of course is the great potential of the medium of film. It is
a profoundly democratic, and enormously accessible way for us to communicate
with one another, and better understand the world in which we live.”
While a tough subject to digest, Ms. Chacon found
the film’s broad depiction of defining human trafficking particularly poignant.
In one part of the documentary, the filmmaker introduces the audience to a
young girl who has been sold into sex slavery in the United States.
“Victims [of human trafficking] could be right next
door,” Ms. Chacon recognized. “There have been victims forced into slavery,
into domestic service, literally in upper middle class neighborhoods. Learning
how to spot the signs is another important key.”
Helping victims of human trafficking has become a
passion project for the social justice ministry of the local first Baptist
church in recent years. Last January the group held an initial documentary
screening of a human trafficking documentary at Claremont First Baptist. They
were surprised to see a full house, nearly 200 people, in attendance. They hope
to repeat their success with a new, amped up venue.
“When you think of the center of Claremont, you
think the Village,” Ms. Choco said, adding that the Laemmle has a history of
supporting nonprofits and documentary filmmaking. “We thought if we did this in
a theater, hopefully we would reach more members of the community, and that was
our goal, to help raise more awareness.”
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the movie, about 80
minutes long, will begin at 7 p.m. Seats are free, but space is limited.
The Claremont Laemmle Theater is located at 450 W.
Second St. within the Village West Plaza. Entrance to the documentary screening
is free, but a limited number of seats are available on a first-come,
first-serve basis. Find out more about the film at www.notmylife.org.
For more on the sponsoring organizations, visit www.traffickfreepomona.org
or www.facebook.com/fairtradeclaremont.
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