International Women of Courage Award winner Cynthia Bendlin.

Washington -- Human trafficking is big business in the triborder area where Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay converge.

The area, known for its porous borders, is a hot spot for diverse criminal activities and has a long-standing reputation for prostitution and sex tourism. Many of those trafficked are impoverished women and children from rural areas who were tricked into involuntary servitude.

Organized crime elements control and carefully protect their million-dollar enterprises. But their power has not dissuaded Cynthia Bendlin of Paraguay from continuing her campaign to end human slavery.

Bendlin works with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to combat human trafficking and promote women’s rights. Despite threats of violence to herself and her family and being forced to relocate for her safety, she continues her work and refuses to be coerced into abandoning her quest for justice.

Bendlin has conducted seminars to educate government and local leaders around the region about human trafficking and how to cooperate to combat it effectively. These seminars, conducted in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay, Foz do Iguasu, Brazil and Porto Iguasu, Argentina, in 2006 and 2007, included a broadcast campaign by local radio and television stations in all three countries to raise awareness of the evils of trafficking.

Bendlin is planning to launch a new project that will focus on increasing multinational, interagency coordination to address the problem and fostering greater awareness of the rights of women and children.

On March 10, Bendlin was presented with the Women of Courage Award by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at the State Department in Washington.

In its second year, the award is the result of Rice’s desire to recognize women around the globe who have shown exceptional courage and leadership in promoting women’s rights and advancement.

The other awardees were women from Fiji, Kosovo, the Palestinian Authority, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia. The recipients were selected from 93 nominees submitted by U.S. embassies worldwide.

Speaking to the press and other interested parties at a public forum held at the State Department March 11, Bendlin said the most important tools in fighting human trafficking are educating the public, enacting enforceable laws to prevent trafficking and creating job opportunities for women and girls desperate for family income.

Bendlin said that winning the Women of Courage award helps women in her country and the world over know that they are not alone in their fight for human rights and serves to enhance public awareness as well as build networks among like-minded people.

“We have to work together; this is a very important way of knowing each other,” she said. “For us it is really very, very important. And we have to be honest – we also need fund raising; we need resources. We know what we have to do. We have the people to do it, but we need resources.”

By Jane Morse
Staff Writer