He promises her a secretarial job in the United States and makes travel arrangements. She is met at the airport by thugs and taken to an apartment building with 15 other foreign-born women. The agent claims she owes him $27,000 for getting her to the United States and for rent, protection and food.

Never allowed to leave their rooms, the women are forced into prostitution — with a quota of 18 men per day. Armed men on the premise threaten to harm their families back in Ukraine if they try to run away.

Only the first scenario of modern-day slavery (also called human trafficking) occurred here in Hawai'i. Lueleni Maka, a Waipahu man, was convicted of 34 felony counts of human trafficking and involuntary servitude in 2004. The human misery created by this new trade in human beings involves the recruitment, transport, harboring — and often sale — of people exploited for their labor.

These trafficked individuals are the commodities of a global underground economy that generates billions of dollars.

Human trafficking has created a human rights crisis in our own Pacific region. And given that Hawai'i is a gateway to both Asia and the U.S. Mainland, as well as home to the major economic drivers of the military and tourism, the Islands are structurally positioned as a viable site for human trafficking.

The federal government estimates 14,500 to 17,500 victims are trafficked each year into the country, but there are no statistics on the number of victims in Hawai'i. Immigrants, however, comprise the most vulnerable at-risk populations, although both residents and nonresidents can fall prey to traffickers.

The formation of the Hawai'i Anti-Trafficking Task Force last summer, under a federal grant, established a multidisciplinary agency to address the issue in Hawai'i and to begin tracking data on victims. The task force brings together federal and local law enforcement agencies, service providers, researchers and human rights activists.

Major goals of the task force are to raise community awareness about trafficking, to develop a victim-centered referral and identification process, and to provide training and tools to enable first responders to recognize and assist victims.

Human trafficking is so hidden that we often don't know whom we are fighting. The victims are so scared and fearful of officials that they are often cut off from help. Force, fraud and coercion are the methods used by traffickers to press victims into lives of servitude and abuse.

Gaining the trust of a victim or a potential victim is an important first step in providing assistance. Whether in a restaurant, private home, labor camp or brothel, the myriad forms of modern-day slavery present an elusive target for those of us trying to eradicate it.

One of the task force's approaches is a Look Beneath the Surface campaign. Practitioners in key areas (law enforcement, healthcare, social work) will be trained to recognize victims of human trafficking among the people they encounter every day.

Key questions to ask potential victims are: Can you leave your job or situation if you want? Can you come and go as you please? Have you been threatened if you try to leave? What are your working or living conditions? Where do you sleep or eat? Is there a lock on your door so you cannot get out?

Each of us can say NO to modern-day slavery if we look beneath the surface. New laws provide options for trafficking victims, regardless of immigration status. If someone is being forced to work or held involuntarily, assistance is available here in Hawai'i.

To report cases of slavery, call the toll-free, 24-hour, multilingual complaint hotline (888) 428-7581, for referrals to local agencies.