The Daily Campus

Issue date: 12/6/07 Section: Focus

Media Credit: Matt Lin Singer/Songwriter Lomont Heibert cofounded the original Justice For Children International Organization and played at the Student Union last night.

At this very moment, in Storrs, UConn students are preparing for final exams and putting the finishing touches on their essays and projects. Yet in another part of the world, a far different and disturbing reality exists. Girls as young as five years old are being sold or forced into sex slavery. They are the victims of multiple rapes every night and constant physical abuse. They are young girls that have lost their innocence and freedom, both which are often taken for granted.

In an effort to bring awareness to the issue of child sex trafficking and raise money for the abolition of this practice, Love146 organized and sponsored the Child Sex Trafficking Awareness concert last night in the Student Union ballroom. The organization Love 146, formerly known as Justice for Children International, is dedicated to the abolishment of sex trafficking around the world, specifically targeting the countries that are well-known for their low standards on child sex trafficking and high rates of sex workers including Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines and India.

UConn students showed up to offer their support, donate money and listen to the authentic and thought-provoking, emotional lyrics provided by Lamont Hiebert, a singer, songwriter and co-founder of the organization. Mickeve Regis, a 5th-semester human development & family studies major thought that the concert was amazing and insightful. "I think it was very convincing, I think they did a great job at letting people know what's really out there and what people can really do to help, so I would love to get involved."

The concert can best be defined as a journey. It began on a high note, with three uplifting rock and roll ballads. The entire audience was standing, and some could be seen swaying and bobbing their heads to the deafening beats. But after these three songs ended, the journey intensified and carried the audience to an entirely different level. A PowerPoint presentation, set to classical music, displayed the atrocities committed around the world, girls being beaten, constantly sexually abused and denied their chance for freedom, a basic right that most people take for granted. Following the PowerPoint presentation, the journey continued down a darkened road, with songs that were slower, more intense, and emotional. These songs were based on and inspired by true stories of young female slaves that were locked behind the brothel's closed doors. The journey did not end here. Instead, it took a final turn upward, with two songs of hope, survival and freedom from oppression. Lamont's goal was not to leave audiences feeling depressed, but hopeful.

Continued...

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