Malarek's "The Natashas" set for international publication (02/08/04)

Malarek's "The Natashas" set for international publication

by Irena Solyts

TORONTO - "The Natashas - The New Global Sex Trade" by Victor Malarek has broken into the international market.

Over the past two weeks, Victor Malarek's agent, Westwood Creative Artists in Toronto, has landed two international publishing deals.

"The Natashas," published by Viking Press, a division of Penguin Books Canada, was in second printing within two weeks of its release in Canada due to the incredible interest in the book.

Arcade Publishing, headquartered in New York City, has purchased the U.S. rights and will be publishing the U.S. edition for distribution this fall. Arcade is renowned as a publisher of quality American and world literature and non-fiction.

Vision Books in London has set the book's United Kingdom publication date for this June. The book, which has received widespread critical acclaim in the Canadian news media, will be distributed by Vision to bookstores in Britain, Ireland, Australia and India. In accepting the book, Charlotte Cole, commissioning editor of Vision Books, said: "We are very proud to be publishing 'The Natashas', which is a disturbing and very important book."

Mr. Malarek, author of four previous books, said he is ecstatic over the news. 'The Natashas' was a very difficult book to write. But this tragic story had to be told. The trafficking of women and girls is a global human rights crisis and, with that foremost in my thoughts, I wrote the book with an international audience in mind. I'm so pleased that it is about to get recognition around the world."

Mr. Malarek also said he is overwhelmed at the positive response by the Ukrainian community - both in Canada and the United States - to "The Natashas." "Several groups and individuals in Canada and the U.S. are moving with urgency to get this issue on the public agenda nationally and worldwide. I'm particularly moved by the work of Help Us Help Children - Anti-Trafficking Initiative, which is a project of the Canadian Children of Chornobyl Fund."

Help Us Help the Children for the past decade has been providing both medical and educational assistance to orphans in Ukraine. In response to the alarming information raised in "The Natashas" on the trafficking of girls directly out of orphanages, Help Us Help the Children has recently expanded its scope of activities to include the promotion of trafficking awareness within orphanages and is seeking out viable job opportunities for orphans leaving the institutions.

Mr. Malarek generously donated proceeds from the Toronto book launch of "The Natashas" to establish a seed fund for the activities of HUHTC-Anti-Trafficking Initiative.

A project proposal to the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) incorporating these goals as well as health promotion in orphanages, is also being developed.

The HUHTC-Anti-Trafficking Initiative is part of a larger national coalition, Stop The Trafficking, which is coordinating activities of Canadian Ukrainian organizations and individuals working together to end this current and growing human rights abuse. The national coalition includes representatives from Help us Help the the Children-Anti-Trafficking Initiative, Ukrainian Canadian Congress Committee for Justice, Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Associaton, Ukrainian Canadian Immigrant Aid Society, Ukrainian Canadian Social Services and World Federation of Ukrainian Women's Organizations. Numerous individuals also form part of the group.

"I'm particularly impressed that both groups have made incredible strides in liaisoning and coordinating events with organizations outside the Ukrainian community," commented Mr. Malarek.

Some of the many contacts initiated by the coalition and Help Us Help the Children ATI, include the RCMP, Victims Assist Program with Metropolitan Toronto Police, Canada Ethno-Cultural Council, the White Ribbon Campaign to end men's violence against women, Canada Business Council in Ukraine, the International Federation of University Women, B.C Liberal Women's Commission and Winrock International, which held anti-trafficking awareness educational sessions at the recent Help Us Help the Children winter camp in Ukraine.

"I know that this is a monumental task and at times can seem daunting but every effort will go a long way to stopping the wholesale rape of our sisters and daughters," Mr. Malarek said.

In addition to scores of television and radio appearances, Mr. Malarek is spreading his important message through numerous speaking engagements, including a special event on March 4 in Ottawa for federal Members of Parliament. He will also be the keynote speaker at a symposium on Trafficking in Women at the University of Ottawa on March 5, after which his talk will be followed by a panel of three scholars from political science, criminology and women's studies. Mr. Malarek will be the keynote speaker at the 11th Annual J.B. Rudnyckyj Distinguished Lecture Series at the University of Manitoba on Sunday, May 30. Mr. Malarek has also accepted an invitation from the Ukrainian Canadian Congress - Alberta Provincial Council, as the keynote speaker at its Building the Future Conference in Edmonton on April 23-24.

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