Hyphen magazine - Asian American arts, culture, and politics

A co-presenter of the event, The Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking brought members of its Survivor Advisory Caucus to tell their personal stories. Ima Matul, a role model for her bravery and fortitude, spoke of how she was repeatedly beaten by her captor. She was paid a mere $50 a month. She was cut off from her family. Her identification and travel documents were seized. Medical treatment was withheld even after her captor split her forehead open. And yet even the housekeeper next door was in the dark about Ima’s plight.

She was enslaved in a house on a street in a country in a time where no one would even consider something like that happening. Our beliefs contributed to the horrors that Ima lived through.

Ima found the courage and strength to write a letter to that housekeeper. And today, she tells her story to lawmakers, to survivors, and to those who believed that this only happens in the dark corners of third world countries.

Eyes shed more than one tear during the evening.  More importantly, they were opened.

In the play, the characters are forced to live in a dark basement and in the shadows of those who refuse to see what’s right in front of their eyes. It would be easy for Ima and the other survivors to let the rest of us secure ourselves within the confines of ignorance. But they chose courageously to speak out.

Likewise artistic director Tim Dang and EWP are stepping in different directions than previously done. The event could be seen as a clarion call to those who have discounted EWP’s efforts. In a previous article I intimated at a groundswell of innovative arts in the API community. With this presentation, the 45-year-old EWP takes its place
in that upsurge.

Coinciding with January as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention month, the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST) launches the “From Slavery to Freedom” campaign.  More than 20 events are planned in the Greater Los Angeles area including film screenings, town hall meetings, donation drives, and survivor testimonies at the Museum of Tolerance.  A telethon will be broadcast Tuesday, January 26th on Univision.  For more information and complete calendar information, go to www.castla.org.