By Dhember Viera
Staff Writer
Col. Ron D. Petitte, professor of politics and government and head of the Bryan College Center for Leadership Initiatives, has released a book, “Civilization at Risk,” which details the rights of millions of people who are enslaved and are treated poorly, rights that people overlook daily.
Filled with passion to raise awareness of the truth, Petitte has been working on this project for a few years now.
According to Petitte, the first eye opener about human trafficking for Bryan College was in 2001 when Bryan’s India team, led by Dr. Matt Benson, vice president for Spiritual Life, spent one week in Calcutta, India working with newly freed slaves whose freedom was bought by a wealthy Indian Christian who gave them employment.
News of this sparked the interest of four of Petitte’s students who asked to attend a human trafficking conference in Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y. This conference brought these students together with Ms. Christine Dolan, one of America’s most prominent advocates for fighting against human trafficking, as well as Anna Paden, a graduate from Georgetown University. Benson took the lead in sponsoring these four students, and in April 2007, Bryan College hosted the Commoner Forum, a student led event, in order to raise awareness. Over one third of Bryan’s student body attended on a Thursday afternoon before final exam week.
The success of this event led the Center for International Leadership, directed by Petitte, to join forces with Bryan’s Center for International Development, directed by Dennis Miller, and Bryan’s newly established group Students Stopping the Trafficking of People to host a national conference to stop the trafficking of humans.
According to his addendum, Petitte was invited to speak and participate at the Oxford Round Table in 2008 where he prepared a manuscript on awareness of human trafficking to speak about. Later on in July 2008, the International Institute of Christian Studies asked him to speak as did the Midwest Political Science Association in April 2010. This encouraged him to keep renewing and adding onto the original manuscript. In December 2010, Petitte was invited to New Scotland Yard to attend a special conference they initiated to advance the fight against child trafficking. This would finally be the last draft of the manuscript that would be turned into what “Civilization at Risk” is today.
Looking for publishers was one of the harder parts of publishing the book according to Petitte. After searching for the right place to publish his book, Cambridge Scholars Publishing said they were drawn to his passion and worked closely and kindly with him to publish his book.
“It was such a good experience,” Petitte said.
Whether you’re interested in human trafficking or not, this is a fascinating book that will truly bring light to the realities behind human trafficking.
