Coffee Hour: Ecuador- Center of the World, Center of Human Trafficking
Saturday, April 3, 2010 10:00am - 11:45am At the Resource Center of the Americas
Title: “Ecuador: Center of the World, Center of Human Trafficking”
Speaker: Loida Carriel Espinoza, Journalist and Deputy Director of Paz y Esperanza – Ecuador.
Presented in Spanish
Description: According to a 2007 USAID report, “Ecuador is a location, source, transit and destination country for persons trafficked for sexual exploitation, forced labor and begging.” The majority of those trafficked are children. The number of people vulnerable to being trafficked has increased in Ecuador due to its economic crisis and the social dislocation of people from rural to urban areas. Indeed, since the 1990’s almost 12% of the total population has emigrated to Europe and the United States; and, Minnesota is home to one of the largest Ecuadorian populations in the U.S., estimated at 10,000-15,000.
Ms. Carriel will discuss the social problem of human trafficking in Ecuador and the work being done by Paz y Esperanza, an international faith-based human rights organization, and others to combat human trafficking in Ecuador.
About Paz y Esperanza Paz y Esperanza is known as a leader in the field of human rights in Latin America, and was a leader in establishing the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It seeks access to justice for the most excluded sectors of society through the promotion of their rights, the defense of abused women and children, citizenship education, sexual education in churches, legal reform and monitoring of the legal system. In 2009, Paz y Esperanza opened its Guayaquil, Ecuador office to provide services to victims of domestic violence and human trafficking.
The Minnesota-based non-profit, Peace and Hope Partnership International, collaborates with Paz y Esperanza to provide legal, aftercare and other services to people victimized by injustice in Peru and Ecuador. For more information contact: Colleen Beebe, Peace and Hope Partnership International, (612) 728-9118 colleenbeebe@comcast.net or visit www.peaceandhopeinternational.org.
