St. Paul University Dumaguete hosted the 2012 Movement of Anti—Trafficking Advocates Traffic Jam & Youth Forum over the weekend at the Louis Chauvet Hall, in collaboration with the Visayan Forum Foundation, and MTV-EXiT (End Exploitation & Trafficking).
Prior to the youth forum at St. Paul, youth jams were also conducted in various colleges and universities in the Province.
Earlier on Friday evening, a Traffick Jam concert featuring international singer Kyle Patrick of Click Five, and bands like Motion, Standout, Lucid Interval, and Franco was held at the Negros Oriental Freedom Park.
Patrick, an anti-human trafficking advocate and MTV EXIT’s celebrity ambassador, visited St. Paul which has a long—range partnership with the Visayan Forum. “I’m really excited to be in the Philippines to use my music to spread the word about human trafficking, let people know that it is wrong, and that they can help to make a difference to end it. I’ve heard personal stories straight from survivors [of trafficking] and I can’t believe what they have been through. They are the strongest people I have ever met in my life, and I don’t want anyone else to go through that,” Patrick said.
Also at the youth forum was the local group Youth Advocates through Theater Arts (YATTA) to help educate and inspire Filipino students on key messages on human trafficking and how they may further develop campaigns to spread awareness across the country.
The United Nations defines human trafficking as “the recruitment, transportation, and receipt of a person for sexual or economical exploitation by force, fraud, coercion, or deception” to make a profit. It affects 2.5 million people worldwide, more than half of whom are from Asia and the Pacific. Often, the victims are young people who only want a better life for themselves and their families. It is the second-largest illegal trade after drugs, with criminal traffickers earning over US$10 billion every year through the buying and selling of human beings. (PR/SPUD—External Affairs & Louis Barretto)
