Representative of Human Rights Organization To Discuss Modern-Day Slavery in UTD Talk

RICHARDSON, Texas (April 6, 2005) – A representative of the human rights group Free the Slaves, Inc., will discuss modern-day slavery and human trafficking that he says occurs in the United States as well as in other parts of the world in a speech at The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) at 11 a.m. Monday, April 25.

The talk by Jacob Patton, director of outreach and technology for the Washington, D.C.-based organization, will be held in the Texas Instruments Auditorium in the Engineering South Building, Room 2.102. The event, which will be free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Amnesty International Student Group at UTD.

Patton will be joined by a representative of a local organization, Mosaic Family Services, who will discuss alleged human trafficking in the Dallas- Fort Worth area. Based in Dallas, the non-profit organization provides medical, counseling and other services to indigent families living in the Metroplex.

According to Free the Slaves, tens of millions of people—many of them children – are in bondage today in countries throughout the world, particularly in South Asian nations. The organization estimates that between 150,000 and 200,000 people in the U.S. may be forced to labor in deplorable conditions for little or no pay in sweat shops, homes and restaurants, on farms, or as prostitutes. Many of those, the organization says, are in states with large immigrant communities, including Texas.

Patton will discuss the extent of slavery today and what can be done to stop it. Patton, who holds a degree in international studies from the University of Mississippi, has been instrumental in utilizing the Internet to raise public awareness that slavery still exists in the world and build support for efforts to end it.

For more information about the event, please call Jerri Lipple at 972-883-2981 or 214-435-9576.

About UTD

The University of Texas at Dallas, located at the convergence of Richardson, Plano and Dallas in the heart of the complex of major multinational technology corporations known as the Telecom Corridor®, enrolls more than 14,000 students. The school’s freshman class traditionally stands at the forefront of Texas state universities in terms of average SAT scores. The university offers a broad assortment of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs. For additional information about UTD, please visit the university’s web site at www.utdallas.edu.