A ground-breaking documentary produced by a Mossman-born woman has set a precedent in helping to break the world sex slave trade.

Stella Zammataro, sister of local plumbers Anthony and Roy Zammataro, co-produced the documentary Trafficked – The Reckoning, part two of an expose into the global sex trade which aired on SBS on Tuesday, September 20.

It revisited the story of Thai girl, Ning, who in 1995, at age 13, was trafficked from her village near the north-east town of Khon Kaen and allegedly sold to an Australian-based Hong Kong man to work in a Sydney brothel.

Ning was held in the Surrey Hills brothel for 10 days, servicing up to 10 clients a day, before escaping.

The documentary claims there are 27 million slaves in the world 100 years after slavery was abolished, and one million children (averaging 12 years of age) sold into the global sex trade per year.

As a result of part one of the documentary – Trafficked - Ning became the first slave in history win victim of crime compensation in 2007 and was awarded $50,000 compensation.

However, despite three Thai traffickers being sent to jail, the Sydney brothel operator, “Hong Kong Willie”, had still not been charged by the Australian police on criminal charges, so Ning continued her plight with the help of former Australian Federal Police officer, Chris Payne, which was portrayed in Trafficked – The Reckoning.

Ms Zammataro said she had been working closely on the issue of sex trafficking since 1995, and part one of the series was the first Australian film, of any genre, to confront sex slavery in Australia.

“Film Australia, SBS, and Luigi Acquisto (director) and I, can be very proud of Trafficked,” Ms Zammataro told The Newsport from her base in Dili, East Timor.
 
“As a direct result of its screening, it led to the first case in history, anywhere in the world, of a slave receiving victim of crime compensation.

“It is also the highest rating Storyline Australia documentary for SBS, which proved to the many skeptics we’d encountered in Australian broadcasting that slavery does rate, certainly in the minds and hearts of the Australian people, and certainly when it happens on home turf.

“However, once we found Ning and helped her win victim of crime compensation, we still felt that the story was not completed.

“This sequel, then, was inspired by a sense of outrage that the man who operated the Sydney brothel and prostituted a 13-year-old Thai girl had never been identified or charged.”

While the latest brothel that Hong Kong Willie was involved in closed in just days after the September 20 screening of part two of the series, Ms Zammataro says the issues were still at hand.

“The New South Wales police have been sent the information we uncovered in the film and our investigation, and have appointed an officer to consider the matter,” Ms Zammataro said.

“If the situation was reversed and an Australian child was trafficked to Bangkok into the white slave trade, Australians would be furious, but with a Thai child, authorities are indifferent.”

Ms Zammataro said the other option was for Ning to bring a civil action against the operator for statutory rape and this action was currently being prepared by a Melbourne senior counsel and a Sydney solicitor.

Ms Zammataro and FairTrade Films are currently working with Dili Film Works on Timor Leste’s first feature film A Guerra Da Beatriz, an adaptation of two previous film adaptations of the 16th century French story, The Return of Martin Guerre and Sommersby, transposing the story to Portuguese East Timor.

The acclaimed Australian producer of Balibo, John Maynard, has joined Dili Film Works to co- produce the film, which started pre-production in August.

And while Dili is Ms Zammataro’s current home, she said her busy work schedule had not allowed her to come back to Mossman as frequently as she liked, her last visit being in February.

“I do love coming back though,” she said. “I miss the scenery, the people and the great winter weather.”

You can visit the facebook page to follow Ning’s plight.

Home page image by 3aacademy.wikispaces.com.

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