Slavery: Modern Stories Recall Tragic Theme of
Man’s Inhumanity to Man 1

Lili Bernard’s “Ceiba de Cuba” performance is a wrenching description of the brutality inflicted on her Afro-Amerindian Cuban ancestors during the Cuban revolution. Her appearance last night at the library was part of the Glendale’s Armenian Genocide commemorative events focusing on Man’s Inhumanity to Man.

The topic was Modern Day Slavery, with Bernard the last of four presenters. The first two, USC researcher Jeanine Yutani and Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking representative Taja McKinney Zisler, presented modern bride buying, human trafficking, and forced labor trends from China to Los Angeles in matter-of-fact language that couldn’t hide the scope and horror of this “fastest growing enterprise” in the world.

Performer Norma Ventura then read from “The Road of Lost Innocence,” Somaly Mom’s account of how she was sold as a child to Cambodian brothel owners, imprisoned, and abused.

Lili Bernard’s concluding performance, especially the grandmother’s monologue on witnessing her family’s slaughter, brought to mind survivors’ accounts of the Armenian genocide.

These were gripping presentations, and the stories resonated with descendants of Armenian Genocide survivors. Thanks to the committee for highlighting this topic and helping raise awareness of a current global problem.