Born into poverty in southern India, Rani Hong was 7 years old when she was sold into slavery. “They did not see me as a seven-year-old child. They saw me as a piece of property to be able to exploit,” said Hong from her Olympia home. Hong’s childhood ended with a broken promise. After her family fell on hard times, they asked a prominent woman from their village to help take care of her. Months later, that woman sold her to child trafficking recruiters in another state. “It got to the point that I literally just cried and cried and cried. And all I knew is that I was not with my mother,” said Hong. She recounts how she didn’t understand the dialect spoken in the region she was taken. She couldn’t ask for help. Hong said her trafficker used child slaves in his cement factory, as maids, and even prostitutes. She was given drugs, kept in a cage and beaten daily. “I became very almost dead in emotion. I wouldn't cry, I wouldn't talk, I just really shut down. I couldn't really walk properly. You know, because when I was held captive my legs atrophied,” said Hong. Rani’s declining health prompted her trafficker to sell her into an illegal international adoption. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise. She was brought to Washington state and adopted into a loving home. Her adoptive mother had no idea what she’d been through. Hong was 8 years old. READ THE FULL STORY: https://www.king5.com/article/news/community/facing-race/survivor-lawmaker-human-trafficking-legislation/281-80eb87c0-1a1f-49ed-936f-79a678ad6538