Briefly: Global slave trade is local, Batstone says

One of the nation's most horrendous crimes rarely gets noticed, but David Batstone hopes to change that. He has taken a leave of absence from teaching duties at the University of San Francisco to launch a nationwide tour drawing attention to the global slave trade.

Think that's not a problem here in wholesome Minnesota? Think again, says Batstone, who is speaking at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Solomon's Porch, a church in south Minneapolis.

"There was just a [police] raid in Minneapolis involving human trafficking," he said in reference to a July 7 raid in which police arrested four women and one man at a brothel.

Batstone understands that this is "the invisible crime," and he admits that he was dumbfounded when he first discovered that it was happening right in front of him.

"It was at one of my favorite restaurants," he said. The owner of the restaurant was forcing illegal aliens to work by threatening to report them to immigration officials. My shock turned into a consuming passion that took me around the world to learn more about how slavery flourishes in the shadows," Batstone said.

He eventually launched the Not For Sale campaign designed to help victims of trafficking, a program that encourages involvement by the religious community.

Edited

"You save one child, one person from slavery and the feeling of accomplishment is really something," he said. "It's the satisfaction and gratification of seeing one person go free."

Edited

JEFF STRICKLER