The Story from APM

Enslaved in L.A.

Thursday, September 24 2009

Enslaved in L.A.

Human trafficking is on the rise. The CIA estimates over 50,000 people, most of them young women, are brought into the U.S. every year from Asia and Europe and Central America. They are forced to work as prostitutes, domestics, and laborers.

Mimin left Indonesia when she was 17 years old. She was promised a job as a housekeeper with a wealthy family in Los Angeles. When she arrived, the family confiscated her passport and told her if she left the house she'd be arrested, or raped. For seven years, Mimin cleaned, cooked, and cared for the children and dogs - without pay. One day while fetching the newspaper at the curb, a passerby slipped her the phone number of an anti-trafficking group. Mimin talks with Dick Gordon about how she found the courage to seek her freedom.

One olympic Hopeful

Jennifer Farrell

When coaches invited Jennifer Farrell to try out for the women's U.S. national handball team, she had never even played the sport. But her experience as a college rugby player earned her a spot on the team and a ticket to some of her toughest challenges and greatest triumphs. But the team failed to qualify for the 2008 Olympics.

Jennifer talks with Dick about her love for the game - and her new hope that she may one day compete since Chicago made it into the running to host the 2016 games. Host cities get an automatic entry in all sports.