A woman named Ima Matul just made history by being the first Indonesian to be a featured speaker at the US Democratic National Convention
Ima addressed the convention as both a prominent leader in the fight to end modern day slavery and as a survivor of human trafficking herself.
She first came to America from Malang, East Java, as a teenager in 1997 with the promise of a nanny and housekeeping job that would pay US$150 per month. Instead, she found herself trapped in domestic slavery, forced to endure terrible abuse and 18-hour work days for which she was never paid.
Ima found the strength not only to escape her situation but also to become an advocate for people trapped in similar situations. She now works as an organizer the group that helped save her, the Los Angeles-based Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST), and has been recognised by President Barack Obama as a leader in the fight against human trafficking.
Of course, as she was speaking at the Democratic National Convention, Ima’s speech not only spoke to her own battle with human trafficking, but that of US Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, whom she strongly endorsed as both a candidate and as a leader in the fight against slavery.
“Before there were laws to identify and protect victims, even before I escaped my trafficker, Hillary Clinton was fighting to end modern slavery,” she said in her speech before receiving a loud round of applause from the audience.
