Secretary of State Colin Powell cites the case of a Lao girl as an example of widespread human trafficking in Southeast Asia, in opening remarks to release the U.S State Department's annual report on world-wide trafficking in persons.
The U.S. Secretary says "Traffickers in Southeast Asia took Khan, an 11-year-old girl living in the hills of Laos, to an embroidery factory in a large city. She and dozens of other children were made to work 14 hours a day for food and clothing, but for no wages. It's called slavery. When Khan protested this, she was beaten. When she protested again, she was stuffed into a closet where the factory owner's son poured industrial chemicals over her and disfigured her."
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