Human trafficking documentary uncovers modern day sex trade

caller.com

• By Lakendra Lewis
• Posted March 22, 2012 at 7:50 a.m., updated March 22, 2012 at 11:14 a.m.
• CORPUS CHRISTI — Human trafficking is known as the smuggling of children and adults for slave labor and the sex trade.
  
  By UNICEF statistics, somewhere in the world a child is trafficked every 30 seconds. Yet definitions and statistics often do little to trigger the need to do something until there is a human face put with them.
  Kansas City filmmakers who have captured the faces of human trafficking hope to stir a call to action on Monday with a public screening of their award-winning documentary, "Nefarious: Merchant of Souls," at the Summit Church.
  A question-and-answer period and prayer will follow the documentary, which addresses the worldwide epidemic of human trafficking that according to the United Nations is a $32 billion dollar a year industry.
  "When you know there's something going on out there that's so horribly wrong, you can't just ignore it," said Kassie Carrell, a local stay-at-home mom who organized the screening. "I feel obligated to do something. We can't save the world but we can make a difference for that one."
  Carrell became interested in the abolishment of human trafficking in 2006 while studying at a language school in Costa Rica. She contacted the makers of "Nefarious" and invited them to show the documentary in Corpus Christi after viewing a promotional video for the film.
  "I wanted to help the filmmakers put the word out about human trafficking and educate people about what it is and how they can help," Carrell said.
  The film is the first in a trilogy that exposes the horrors and disturbing trends in the underworld of modern sex slavery.
  The nearly two-hour documentary takes a hard-hitting look at where slaves are sold, where they work and where they are confined, intermingled with interviews from real victims, traffickers and expert analysis from international humanitarian leaders.
  State Rep. Todd Hunter, who is an avid proponent of altering Texas law to stop human trafficking, is slated to attend the screening.
  "Any opportunity for me to attend an event to educate the public about human trafficking will be a priority for me," Hunter said via his publicist. "This is a critical issue to the state of Texas that needs education and attention."
  "Nefarious" was produced by Exodus Cry, a faith-based international anti-trafficking organization out of Kansas City that is committed to abolishing modern day slavery through prayer, awareness, reform and the gospel message of Jesus Christ.
  According to its site the organization also rescues victims of human trafficking and helps rehabilitate and integrate them back into society.
  "We are raising up a global prayer revolution that will confront the powers of injustice that are enslaving our women and children," said one statement on the Exodus Cry website. "We can have all the awareness campaigns, all the activism, but the reality is that if angels and demons do not move nothing will change."
  The "Nefarious" documentary has won numerous accolades, including the Award of Excellence from the Canada Film Awards and grand prize for Best First-Time Documentary at the California Film Awards.