Human Trafficking (2005)

Mira Sorvino: Kate

Photos 

Quotes 

• Kate Morozov : In 1865, President Abraham Lincoln and the U.S. Congress ratified the 13th amendment to the Constitution, which states, 'neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall exist within the United States.' No sensible person believes slavery could happen in the 21st century, much less on our shores. We couldn't be more wrong. Slave traffickers around the world have rediscovered how profitable it is to buy and sell people. Each one of these girls could be your sister. Your best friend, or... as Annie Gray showed us, your daughter. None of these fifty-seven girls would have lasted more than four years in our country. Each one of them would have been worked to death as a sex slave in a brothel, murdered for an infraction of her masters' rules, or contracting hepatitis or AIDS. Human trafficking has emerged as a tragic whiplash of the economic transition that has occurred over the past several years in Eastern Europe. Men like Sergei Karpovich know how to take advantage of this. Now, we stopped him. But there are many more waiting to take his place. But no matter how difficult our battle is, it is vitally important that law enforcement, the Department of Homeland Security, ICE, that we all keep working together as a team to battle these ruthless criminals. At the same time, we need to create a climate of hope for their victims. We need to give these young women the idea that their lives are still worth living, without shame, after all the desperation and hardship they've endured. And perhaps, most importantly, we must face the fact that none of this horror would be possible if our culture didn't create a demand for it. Ladies and gentlemen, the United States is one of the largest markets for sex slavery in the entire world. We need to realize that modern-day slavery is only occurring because we choose to ignore it. Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen.

• Helena : Do you think it's possible, when you have lost your humanity, to ever find it again?

  Kate Morozov : Yes, I do. But it's yours to find. No one can take it away from you. Not one man, not a hundred.

• Customs Agent Bill Meehan : [addressing a news conference on TV]  An ounce of cocaine, wholesale...

  Kate Morozov : [to Mischa, as they watch the news report on TV]  That's my boss.

  Customs Agent Bill Meehan : $1200. But you can only sell it once. A woman, or a child, $50 to $1000, but you can sell them each day, every day, over and over and over again. The markup is immeasurable. Human trafficking, ladies and gentlemen, is the business of the future for crime organization.

• Kate Morozov : I am a team player.

• [Meehan has agreed to give Kate a job at ICE] 

  Kate Morozov : [smiles gratefully]  Thank you, sir. I promise you, you won't regret this.

  Customs Agent Bill Meehan : I got a lot of regrets. Don't promise me that.

• Helena : Just hearing Sergei's voice used to make me nauseous. But then, you know, we were in the same room, talking. And despite all this hell he put me through, you know... I would catch myself almost forgetting who he was.

  Kate Morozov : The devil's not without his charms.

• Customs Agent Bill Meehan : You keep your promises.

  Kate Morozov : Sir?

  Customs Agent Bill Meehan : At that first time at the office, you promised that if I hired you, I wouldn't regret it. Well, I don't regret it.

  Kate Morozov : [smiles]  Thank you, sir.