Provenance Center Announces Exhibition Addressing Child Trafficking, 10/15

Provenance Center announces the opening reception, on Saturday, October 15, 2011 at 7:00 p.m., of an exhibition addressing the critical issue of child trafficking in the world today. This exhibit seeks to call attention to all who believe that our future rests upon protecting the physical, emotional and spiritual well-being of our children.

Human trafficking involves the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons by means of threat, use of force or other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud, deception or abuse of power. The primary purpose of such actions is for exploitation, most commonly in the various forms of prostitution, servitude or the removal and sale of bodily organs. Trafficking in humans is the world's third largest criminal enterprise, after drugs and arms, with the market for child trafficking alone estimated to generate over 12 billion dollars and impact nearly 1.4 million child victims annually. The purpose of this thematic exhibition is to present an overview of the child trafficking phenomenon, specifically as a continuation of human slavery and oppression into the 21st century. Our goal is to promote an awareness and better understanding of a global problem that also has a significant national and local impact. Nearly three million children run away each year in the United States, thirty percent of whom go on to become victims of child trafficking.

Child Trafficking: 21st Century Slaves will be on view from October 15 through November 27, 2011. A special viewing, presentation and reception is scheduled for Saturday, October 15 from 7:00 to 9:00 pm. At 8:00 p.m., there will be a presentation by Raymond Bechard, the author of The Berlin Turnpike ~ A true story of human trafficking in America as told through the testimony of a landmark federal trial which took place at the heart of one of the country's wealthiest states, Connecticut, over the course of eight days in 2007, providing a rare and detailed account of commercial sexual exploitation.

Provenance Center's mission is to serve as a forum for cultural awareness and understanding through the exploration and examination of contemporary issues of social justice and human rights. Provenance Center is located at 165 State Street, New London, Connecticut. For information, please call 860-405-5887 or info@provenancecenter.com. Hours are Wednesdays 2:00 - 6:30 pm, Thursdays and Fridays 1:00 - 5:00 pm, or by appointment.

This exhibition and its programming is a collaboration with "Free2Create" as part of the NOT FOR SALE Campaign Connecticut, a campaign that combines technology, intellectual capital, abolitionist groups and a growing network of individuals joined together to end slavery in our lifetime. If you wish to have further information, visit www.notforsalecampaign.org or contact Karen Herbert, Regional Co-Director, Not for Sale - Connecticut Chapter, 860-836-6955, karen@notforsalecampaign.org.

For more information about the exhibition, please contact Nadesha Mijoba at 860.535.2774 or via email at nmijoba@provenancecenter.com.

 

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