[NEohioPAL]Karamu Examines Sex Trafficking w/"Body & Sold"

Fri May 11 04:38:06 PDT 2007

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<DIV><STRONG>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE</STRONG></DIV>
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<DIV><STRONG>May 11, 2007</STRONG></DIV>
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<DIV align=center><STRONG>KARAMU HOUSE EXAMINES SEX TRAFFICKING IN THE UNITED STATES WITH OHIO PREMIERE OF <EM>BODY & SOLD</EM></STRONG></DIV>
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<DIV><STRONG>Cleveland (OH) </STRONG>- <STRONG>Karamu House</STRONG> Examines Child Sexual Exploitation Within The United States With <STRONG>Ohio Premiere </STRONG>of <EM><STRONG>Body & Sold</STRONG></EM>.  <STRONG><EM>Body & Sold</EM></STRONG> Debuts On <STRONG>Saturday</STRONG>, <STRONG>May 12, 2007</STRONG> in the <STRONG>Arena Theater</STRONG>.  The show starts at <STRONG>4 PM</STRONG>.</DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman, Times, Serif"><FONT size=3><STRONG>Written </STRONG>by <STRONG>Deborah Lake Fortson</STRONG>, <EM><STRONG>Body & Sold</STRONG></EM> brings awareness to the teen sex traffic trade in the United States with a production based on true accounts of victims who survived to tell their tale.  <STRONG>Heidi Bedrossian directs</STRONG>.</FONT></FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman, Times, Serif" size=3>The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported the average age of a prostitute is 14 years with some being as young as nine.  In addition, the USDHHS reported more than 400,000 prostitutes although other agencies list the total at 800,000.  </FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman, Times, Serif"><FONT size=3><STRONG>Deborah Lake Fortson</STRONG> created and stage <STRONG><EM>Body & Sold</EM></STRONG> in Boston.  The play is based on interviews with former victims in Boston, Hartford and Minneapolis.  Young Americans — six girls and two boys — tell how they left home and were seduced, lured, kidnapped into a life of prostitution; about the trouble in their families which forced them from home; how they became prostituted; the daily violence in “the life,”; how they escaped and their struggle to survive.  </FONT></FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman, Times, Serif" size=3>It is designed to serve as a vehicle to raise awareness of child sexual exploitation in the United States.  "It gives kids a heads-up about what an abusive relationships looks like", Lake Fortson explained to the Boston Globe.  "They (victims) are psychologically terrorized."  <STRONG>Ms. Fortson will attend the May 12 and 13 shows </STRONG>and will be<STRONG> available for discussion with audience members and media after each show</STRONG>.</FONT> </DIV>
<P class=style2><FONT color=#000000><EM>"<STRONG>BODY<SPAN class=style3>&</SPAN><SPAN class=style4>SOLD</SPAN></STRONG></EM></FONT> is a powerful tool to create community dialogue about teen prostitution and child abuse.”<BR><EM>- Olinka Briceño, co-director, VOX Project</EM></P>
<DIV><STRONG><EM>Body & Sold</EM></STRONG> by <STRONG>Deborah Lake Fortson </STRONG>runs <STRONG>May 12 - June 3, 2007</STRONG> at <STRONG>Karamu House </STRONG>in the <STRONG>Arena Theater </STRONG>at<STRONG> 4 PM</STRONG>.  <STRONG>Tickets</STRONG> are <STRONG>$6 for youth </STRONG>and <STRONG>$8 for adults</STRONG>.  <STRONG>Karamu </STRONG>is located at <STRONG>2355 E. 89th. Street</STRONG>.  For more information call <STRONG>216.795.7077 </STRONG>or visit <A><FONT color=#000099>www.karamu.com</FONT></A>.  To learn more about <STRONG><EM>Body & Sold</EM></STRONG> or to fight against child sexual exploitation email <A 
href="http://by108fd.bay108.hotmail.msn.com/cgi-bin/compose?mailto=1&msg=2EBAAE8C-A3CB-485C-AC53-9E9F0AE82256&start=0&len=6059&src=&type=x&to=info@bodyandsold.org&cc=&bcc=&subject=&body=&curmbox=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001&a=cbfd2519b6f26d6e547b50cf09ffeec9a3f194f9f27dae933292c44a793412e9"><FONT color=#000099>info at bodyandsold.org</FONT></A> or visit <A><FONT color=#000099>www.bodyandsold.org</FONT></A>.</DIV>
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<DIV><STRONG>Media Contact:</STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG>Vivian Wilson</STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG>216.795.7070 (x.215)</STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG>Neal Hodges</STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG>216.795.7070 (x.249)</STRONG></DIV>
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