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Such a deal, said the pushy man.
For just $50, E. Benjamin Skinner could buy himself a Haitian girl, and not just for the night. She would be his, forever.
Skinner passed on the sad-eyed nine-year-old, so the man whisked her off to sell to someone else.
Slavery, despite what most Americans may believe, is a growth industry in much of the world - including the United States. Slaves are bought and sold for sex, labor and private armies. Little girls like the nine-year-old Haitian are sold by the thousands.
Skinner, a journalist and author of the book "A Crime So Monstrous," became the first person in history to observe the sale of human beings on four continents, according to his website. He has dedicated much of his adult life to shining light into the dark and sadistic world of slavery. His message is startling - there are more slaves in the world now than ever before in history.
He gave an electrifying presentation to nearly 1,000 students packed into the Southwestern College gym, and fired robust discussions on campus.
"I was really satisfied with the number of people who showed interest," said Valentina Murguia, president of Can't Stop Won't Stop.
She said most people just 'talk the talk', but Skinner 'walks the walk' and that he has inspired her to make the changes she wants to see in the world.
With the help of clubs like Can't Stop Won't Stop, assistant professor of history Laura Ryan was able to raise enough money and advertise the return of Skinner to SWC.
Skinner said he could have just paid $50 to free the little Haitian girl, but refused on the principle that the culprits would profit and be motivated to continue to sell slaves.
"What I did not do, and what I have not done," said Skinner, "is pay for human life."
This is not to say he did nothing.
There are an estimated 300,000 slaves in Haiti, said Skinner. All but one of the 32 women in one isolated village had given their children away to slave traders rather than let them starve. One of the mothers asked him for help.
"Be a journalist," he recalled thinking. "But this is a mother who asked me for help."
So he helped.
Skinner went into a gang-controlled town in Port-au Prince and freed Camsease without paying. He said he went with his translator, guide and Camsease's mother to take her away.
"For the first time in three years that woman walked out holding her daughter's hand," he said. "She was no longer a slave."
Skinner keeps in contact with Camsease. He continues to track her progress through a local non-governmental organization (NGO) in Haiti and will provide her with tuition and books until she gets into college. Only $87 a month pays for tuition, a hot meal and freedom from slavery.
"Ultimately, this is why the struggle is worth the fight," said Skinner. "It is really a small investment."
Most slavery stories do not have this kind of happy ending. Skinner was once taken to a brothel in Bucharest, Romania. He posed as a potential customer and he was told nothing else, but "this girl is blonde." The fresh red slashes that covered her arms became visible as she was brought from a darkened room. Tears were smearing the heavy makeup applied in an attempt to cover the visual signs of Down Syndrome.
She was offered to him in exchange for a used car.
"I was on the verge of tears, but I just laughed," said Skinner. "You let the emotions get to you afterwards or you'll hurt those you are trying to help."
Skinner went to the police with photos and was willing to testify to get the girl out, but was told that they were Gypsies and had their own laws.
"That is grossly unacceptable," said Skinner. "It falls on all of us to do the work that law enforcement has left out."
Skinner said his goal is to eradicate slavery. It will be a monumental task.
"It could take years," he said, "but I believe it can happen in our generation."
He said the first thing to do is learn what slavery means, because the term is thrown about in ways that take away from the seriousness of the subject. Skinner adopted a narrow definition.
"Slaves," he said, "are forced to work under threat of violence, for no pay beyond subsistence."
Skinner said he admires the book "Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy," but feels it was too academic to reach and influence a mass audience.
"What I wanted to do was to put a human face on the numbers," he said.
To put a face on modern slavery, Skinner set out to find the story of one person and tell their heartbreaking tale. Instead, he found countless women and children caught in slavery. Skinner quoted Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, "The death of one man is a tragedy. The death of millions is a statistic."
In 2003, while on assignment for Newsweek International in Sudan, Skinner met his first victim of slavery, Muong Nyong. Skinner decided to travel the world to meet others like him. As it turns out, he did not even have to leave the U.S.
In January 1865 the U.S. Congress passed the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery, but it remains a big problem in America and the world. The majority of slaves, according to UNICEF, are young girls.
As many as 17,000 slaves are brought to the U.S. each year for sex trafficking, said Skinner.
"While we're here pondering," he said, "two more slaves are brought to the U.S."
Skinner met a young woman named Ti Lestwa (Little Hope) who had been trafficked into the U.S. at the age of nine and forced into domestic bondage. She was kept in a peaceful, gated suburban Miami community in a $351,000 house for three languishing years as a slave maid. Little Hope was whipped regularly by her mistress, and raped by the mistress' son.
Commercial sex slavery may be a small percentage, but that small percentage is still wrong, said Skinner. It is also important to question whether slaves made the shirt or shoes we are wearing, he said. Was that person paid or forced?
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