by Phillip Torsrud
As the world population grows, and political and economic instability increase, a number of problems will need to be addressed. War, famine and pestilence are always on the horizon, and as the world’s resources diminish and freakish weather destroys crops, man’s viciousness will continue to be manifested in a number of ways. One evil practice is that of human trafficking, with the objective of forcing women and children into prostitution.
For those who think they are immune from this horror, as a result of the prosperity of the nation they live in, people in Eastern Block countries felt the same way preceding the fall of communism. Thousands of Eastern European women looking for opportunities abroad were deceived and abused by criminals who took advantage of their trust, hope and desperation. Even in America, during good economic times, there have been cases of human trafficking. With the American economy on the demise, this problem could explode.
One problem is that the American media, especially rappers, portray pimps as some kind of cool characters. Pimpish is a description many fools strive for. There was a movie, Hustle&Flow, that was sympathetic to pimps, and there was even a soundtrack for the film! Are you kidding me? There have been numerous documentaries on human trafficking/prostitution on PBS and the major TV networks. How is this topic still a source of amusement? It seems people are more heavily influenced by fiction than non-fiction, and that was one of my motives for writing Preemptive Strike.
The story takes place in the mid 1990s, in Russia. Paul has been raising his daughter alone, and the two have been running a little grocery store. Svetlana is about to graduate from high school and they are both worried about her future prospects with such a turbulent economy. As I develop the relationship between father and daughter, whom the reader can’t help but sympathize with, I alternate chapters with the story of Yuri.
Yuri finally gets to join the Russian mafia, which he’s been begging his uncle Leo for, when fate intervenes on his behalf. Yuri begins his education in becoming a young mafioso, but is soon bored. He wants action, and this comes to a head when he decides to ask Svetlana to be his girl. She rejects him, unimpressed by his criminal lifestyle, and his frail ego demands vengeance.
Yuri then sets Svetlana up through his associates. She believes she is going to London to find greater opportunity, only to be forced into prostitution by a Hooligan pimp upon arrival. The pimp is a villain that no reader will soon forget, and Svetlana’s suffering at his hands will shatter any illusions that pimping is cool. Part II alternates between Svetlana’s experiences in London, and Yuri’s criminal adventures in Moscow. In writing Part II, I had to be cautious about becoming didactic while addressing the problem of human trafficking.
Part II ends when Svetlana is arrested and agrees to testify against the pimp, Heathcliff. Part III begins with Yuri going to intimidate Paul to make him tell his daughter not to testify. Paul kills Yuri, which leads to a trial, where Svetlana has to testify to save her father. It is during the trial that the prosecutor categorizes Paul’s homicide as a Preemptive Strike, thus the title.
To learn more about the author go to www.crimeandculture.com and check out other blogs. The book Preemptive Strike is available at Amazon.com and Barnes&Noble.com.
As the world population grows, and political and economic instability increase, a number of problems will need to be addressed. War, famine and pestilence are always on the horizon, and as the world’s resources diminish and freakish weather destroys crops, man’s viciousness will continue to be manifested in a number of ways. One evil practice is that of human trafficking, with the objective of forcing women and children into prostitution.
For those who think they are immune from this horror, as a result of the prosperity of the nation they live in, people in Eastern Block countries felt the same way preceding the fall of communism. Thousands of Eastern European women looking for opportunities abroad were deceived and abused by criminals who took advantage of their trust, hope and desperation. Even in America, during good economic times, there have been cases of human trafficking. With the American economy on the demise, this problem could explode.
One problem is that the American media, especially rappers, portray pimps as some kind of cool characters. Pimpish is a description many fools strive for. There was a movie, Hustle&Flow, that was sympathetic to pimps, and there was even a soundtrack for the film! Are you kidding me? There have been numerous documentaries on human trafficking/prostitution on PBS and the major TV networks. How is this topic still a source of amusement? It seems people are more heavily influenced by fiction than non-fiction, and that was one of my motives for writing Preemptive Strike.
The story takes place in the mid 1990s, in Russia. Paul has been raising his daughter alone, and the two have been running a little grocery store. Svetlana is about to graduate from high school and they are both worried about her future prospects with such a turbulent economy. As I develop the relationship between father and daughter, whom the reader can’t help but sympathize with, I alternate chapters with the story of Yuri.
Yuri finally gets to join the Russian mafia, which he’s been begging his uncle Leo for, when fate intervenes on his behalf. Yuri begins his education in becoming a young mafioso, but is soon bored. He wants action, and this comes to a head when he decides to ask Svetlana to be his girl. She rejects him, unimpressed by his criminal lifestyle, and his frail ego demands vengeance.
Yuri then sets Svetlana up through his associates. She believes she is going to London to find greater opportunity, only to be forced into prostitution by a Hooligan pimp upon arrival. The pimp is a villain that no reader will soon forget, and Svetlana’s suffering at his hands will shatter any illusions that pimping is cool. Part II alternates between Svetlana’s experiences in London, and Yuri’s criminal adventures in Moscow. In writing Part II, I had to be cautious about becoming didactic while addressing the problem of human trafficking.
Part II ends when Svetlana is arrested and agrees to testify against the pimp, Heathcliff. Part III begins with Yuri going to intimidate Paul to make him tell his daughter not to testify. Paul kills Yuri, which leads to a trial, where Svetlana has to testify to save her father. It is during the trial that the prosecutor categorizes Paul’s homicide as a Preemptive Strike, thus the title.
To learn more about the author go to www.crimeandculture.com and check out other blogs. The book Preemptive Strike is available at Amazon.com and Barnes&Noble.com.
