Cultural Events
Discussing the Movie “Human Trafficking” (07/31/2007)
The Embassy hosted 41 government officials, NGO practitioners and students for a viewing of the film “Human Trafficking” on July 31. After opening remarks by Chargé d’Affaires ad interim Brad Hanson, the audience watched the film in English with Russian subtitles. Post obtained the film from the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (G/TIP), which provided it free of charge in order to promote Post’s efforts to raise awareness about this issue of modern-day slavery.
After the film, the CAO led a discussion of the themes that it had highlighted. Many of the younger participants commented that this film introduced them to new perspectives on the problem of trafficking and that they hope that their family and friends will also have opportunities to learn more about it. One student said that she now understands that those that fall prey to traffickers are victims, rather than willing participants.
The practitioners, who work everyday to combat trafficking in Uzbekistan, said that although they are very familiar with the issue and its consequences, they too learned from watching the film. They appreciated that it depicted law enforcement successfully fighting the problem of trafficking, catching and prosecuting the perpetrators, and the victims returning to their families and their lives. These practitioners also said that this film could be a better outreach tool than any of the materials that they currently use, and all 15-20 NGO and international organization representatives expressed interest in borrowing the film or obtaining licensed copies to show to larger audiences around the county. Additionally, many of the student participants requested that post hold more such educational events to provide them with opportunities to view and discuss films on serious topics.