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STOPPING TRAFFIC: The State
Department honored Sebes for helping girls forced
into prostitution.
Tom Vajda |
the association of Albanian
Girls and Women, founded by Amy Sebes, has an innocuous
name; but it combats a pernicious offense. In Albania,
one of Europe’s poorest countries, the fall of
communism in 1991 meant the end of dictatorship and
isolation, but also led to a rise in organized crime.
The AAGW helps victims of human trafficking, and their
member statement opens with the declaration: “We
are not prostitutes. We deserve respect.”
Three years ago, Sebes followed her husband, Tom Vajda,
’88, to his post as chief of the political and
economic section at the U.S. Embassy in Tirana. Sebes,
a high school teacher, volunteered with the International
Organization for Migration, which runs a shelter for
trafficking victims. Sebes started AAGW to help women
who have escaped their traffickers find a new place
in society.
These young women typically were kidnapped or lured
by the promise of a job, and then raped, beaten and
forced into prostitution in nearby countries such as
Greece and Italy. Few can return to their homes because
of the stigma attached to prostitution—or for
fear of attracting deadly attention from their former
pimps. According to the U.S. State Department’s
June 2003 report on human trafficking, an estimated
5,000 Albanian women, out of the country’s 3 million
people, have become trafficking victims over the past
decade.
The association seeks “to help these girls regain
some of the dignity that has been stripped from them,
and also be a source of empowerment.” Last year
AAGW opened a store to sell handicrafts made by members
and other local charitable organizations. AAGW products
include knitted teddy bears, embroidered pillowcases
and olive oil soaps.
Secretary of State Colin Powell presented Sebes with
the U.S. State Department’s Award for Outstanding
Volunteerism, an honor given each year to one foreign-service
spouse in each of the State Department’s five
bureaus. Sebes and Vajda, who expect their second child
in September, and their 3-year-old daughter, Bette,
returned to the United States in May. Sebes will continue
to support the AAGW as its United States director.
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