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Inside Syria; Arrests and Airstrikes in Wake of Turkey Bombing; Trump Accused of Inciting Violence; Stage Jumper Has No Regrets; U.S. and France Pledge Assistance to Ivory Coast; Five U.S. States Vote Tuesday; Trafficked for Tea. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired March 14, 2016 - 10:00:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[10:00:00]

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ROBYN CURNOW, CNN HOST (voice-over): Ahead at the INTERNATIONAL DESK, an exclusive report from behind rebel lines in Syria.

Turkey responds to a deadly bombing.

And Donald Trump is back on the campaign trail after an eventful weekend.

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CURNOW: Hello, everyone, I'm Robyn Curnow. Thanks so much for joining me.

We begin with what could be a small glimmer of hope for the future of Syria. Regime and opposition negotiators have gathered in Switzerland for

the latest round of talks, building upon the cessation of hostilities agreement reached last month.

Russia says it's ready to coordinate its action with the U.S.-led coalition in Syria to push ISIS out of Raqqah. That's according to a report by

Interfax. CNN senior international correspondent Clarissa Ward has seen firsthand the horrors Syrians are enduring.

She and producer Selma Abdelaziz (ph) went undercover into rebel-held parts of Western Syria, where virtually no Western journalists have gone for more

than a year. They worked with Syria-based filmmaker Bilal Abdulkarim (ph) on this exclusive report. But first a warning. There are graphic images.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Moving through rebel-held Northern Syria is difficult and dangerous. As foreign journalists in areas

with a strong jihadist presence, we had to travel undercover to see a war few outsiders have witnessed.

The city of Idlib is the only provincial capital under rebel control. This was its courthouse until it was hit by an airstrike in December. Dozens

were killed.

Forty-year-old lawyer Talal al-Jawi (ph) told us he was inside the building when it was hit. His arm was smashed but he was lucky to survive.

TALAL AL-JAWI (PH), LAWYER (through translator): The Russian planes target anything that works in the interest of the people. The goal is that people

here live a destroyed life, that people never see any good, that they never taste life. This is the tax of living in a liberated area.

WARD (voice-over): An hour later, we saw that tax for ourselves while filming in a town nearby. We heard the scream of fighter jets wheeling

overhead.

Moments later, a hit.

WARD: There was just an airstrike here in the town of Ariha (ph). So we're now driving very quickly. It's not clear yet what was hit but we are

hearing that there are still planes in the sky.

WARD (voice-over): Arriving on the scene, our team found chaos and carnage.

Volunteers shouted for an ambulance as they tried to ferry out the wounded. For many it was too late. A woman lay dead on the ground, a jacket draped

over her, an attempt to preserve her dignity.

Russia has repeatedly claimed it is only hitting terrorist targets. This strike hit a busy fruit market.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): This is just a civilian market. This is not a military area.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): There are no military installations here or anything. It's a market.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Look, it's a market, a fruit market.

Is this what you want, Bashar?

WARD (voice-over): We couldn't stay long. Often jets circle back to hit the same place twice. It's called a double tap.

WARD: We just arrived here at the hospital, where they're bringing the dead and the wounded from those three strikes in Ariha (ph), which hit a

park and a fruit market. We don't know the exact number of casualties there.

But the scene of devastation, blood on the ground, dismembered body parts and the injured and dead that we've seen arriving here indicate that this

was a very bad strike indeed.

WARD (voice-over): Among the injured brought in, a young boy, moaning in pain. He died moments later.

The strikes on Ariha (ph) that day killed 11 people, among them a woman and two children. Rescue workers wasted no time in clearing away the rubble.

In this ugly war, massacres have become routine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: Clarissa Ward joins me now live. She's in New York.

Hi, there, Clarissa. You talk of chaos and carnage. The realities there on the ground so starkly obvious but also a clear indication of the

challenges for a solution.

[10:05:00]

WARD: Well, absolutely. And it just really underscores this disconnect, Robyn, that exists between the people who are sitting in Geneva today, who

are working on trying to broker some kind of a peace solution, and the people who are fighting and dying on the ground.

And during the time we spent inside rebel-held Syria, which was nearly a week, we just didn't get any indication that people were ready to come to

the negotiating table or accept any deal that didn't include the crucial clause that President Bashar al-Assad must step down.

In fact, the people that we spoke to were actively boycotting the cease- fire. They said that they don't feel their needs are being represented. They feel they are sort of unwitting pawns in a chess game between

superpowers -- Robyn.

CURNOW: Indeed. What you're referring to is the possibility of an end game. What does that end game look like and what is clear is that all the

different parties are at very different ideas of how they want this to end up.

WARD: Completely different ideas; for the people in the rebel-held areas, regardless of whether they support Islamist factions or more moderate

factions, the one thing they are united on is the understanding that President Bashar al-Assad must go.

As long as these talks continue without that clause intact on some level, there's simply no way that you're going to see people on the ground

accepting any progress that the talks may appear to make in Geneva.

And another thing that's important for our viewers to remember is just how many people who have left Syria. We're talking about millions of people

have left these areas. So the people who are still remaining are really the die-hards. They are the toughest of the tough. They are the most

committed and they certainly are not planning on backing down at this stage in the game. As they told us over and over again, they have already lost

too much.

CURNOW: And still very much bearing the brunt, as you reported there.

How about this Interfax report that Russia says it's ready to coordinate its actions with the U.S.-led coalition in Syria to push ISIS out of

Raqqah?

What does that mean and how does that play into the conversations that are taking place today in Europe?

WARD: Well, I think these are two very different sets of conversations. And I think this is where a lot of people get confused.

On the one hand, you have the fight against ISIS that the U.S. is leading the coalition in the eastern part of the country and then on the other

hand, you have this fight predominantly between the regime and between these various rebel factions on the ground.

I can't speak to why Russia at this stage has said that they would be willing to work with the U.S. coalition. Clearly it's intended to at least

appear as some type of a gesture of good faith.

But what I can say, based on my experience on the ground in the rebel-held areas is that as long as the Russians are actively participating in or

facilitating these types of attacks on civilian infrastructure, there is simply no chance that any of these efforts can have any real traction or

that people on the ground will make an effort to support turning this momentary pause on the ground into a more lasting cease-fire -- Robyn.

CURNOW: Yes, very good point there. Clarissa Ward, in New York, thanks so much for your reporting.

In Clarissa's next report, you'll want to see this. She will take you down the only rebel-held road leading into Aleppo. It's surrounded by snipers.

But it remains a lifeline to the people who still call the embattled city home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WARD (voice-over): As you arrive in the city, the scale of the destruction is breathtaking, stretching on and on, entire residential neighborhoods

reduced to rubble.

Still, we found pockets of life among the devastation.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Should we leave our country and go to another country?

No, this is our country and will remain in this until we die.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: It's all part of our exclusive coverage "Inside Syria: Behind Rebel Lines," only on CNN. And you can put your questions directly to

Clarissa in the next hour to take part in her live chat. Just head online to facebook.com/cnni. You can ask her whatever you want to about her trip

deep into the heart of Syria.

Again, that's facebook.com/cnni.

Turkey is rounding up suspects and carrying out airstrikes after a car bomb ripped through a crowded square in Ankara. Dozens of people were killed,

more than 120 wounded. Officials says it's just too early to talk about who is behind Sunday's attack but state media say the government crackdown

is targeting separatist Kurds.

This is the second bombing in Ankara in less than a month. Our senior international correspondent Arwa Damon has more from Ankara.

And do we know anything more about the bombers?

I understand one was a woman.

[10:10:00]

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's according to Turkish media reports and they are quoting security sources, saying that

at least one of the attackers was female, born in 1992.

Now Turkish media are also reporting that, according to their security sources at least, the attack was carried out by the Kurdish separatist

group the PKK. The government for its part has come out and said that they do believe that a terrorist organization is behind the attack but they are

not publicly at least saying which one until they say the investigation is complete.

The attack happening down the road behind us; this is one of the main boulevards in the capital, Ankara. There are shops on either side. There

are restaurants, cafes, pedestrian areas. It's exactly the kind of place that you would come to on a Sunday evening, which is exactly when the

attack happened at 6:45 pm on this main stretch, very close to a crowded bus station, seemingly the intent was to cause maximum casualties, going

after a soft target, the civilian population, to also instill the maximum levels of fear amongst others.

Now the Turks are also saying that this vehicle was packed with explosives. There were one or two attackers. We don't really know yet at this stage.

And this also comes against a backdrop of heightened security in Ankara because, as you mentioned there, there was an attack just a month ago and

prior to that, there were the twin suicide bombings that ripped through a rally back in October.

So a lot of people right now, they are angry. They are confused and they're feeling phenomenally vulnerable. Time to come to grips with what

this means to their lives and to their country.

CURNOW: Arwa Damon in Ankara, on another atrocity there, thank you so much for your report.

Well, coming up, security is mounting for Donald Trump after a series of dustups at his rallies. We'll tell you who he is blaming.

And election results in Germany show a country angry about the migrant crisis. We'll tell you why these leaders, these party leaders are

celebrating.

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CURNOW: You're watching CNN. I'm Robyn Curnow.

The U.S. presidential candidates are sprinting towards their next campaign hurdle, a delegate-rich round of voting across five states.

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CURNOW (voice-over): Donald Trump is stumping in three of those places today. You're looking at live pictures of a Trump rally in Hickory, North

Carolina. Obviously he hasn't started talking yet. Those are the live pictures.

Now most local polls show Trump is the favorite among voters in the state.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: And Donald Trump has been deflecting blame for escalating violence at his recent events. The tension reached a head this weekend when

fistfights and chaos erupted at a cancelled Trump rally --

[10:15:00]

CURNOW: -- in Chicago. Critics say Trump's inflammatory rhetoric is responsible.

Jason Carroll is live in Tampa, Florida, where Trump will be later today.

Hi, there, Jason. Obviously there's a lot at stake, a lot of tensions and it's been playing out in many of these rallies.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Playing out and the hope is that it doesn't play out at the town hall expected here later on this afternoon.

The big question facing the Trump campaign, Robyn, as you know, is will all those clashes over the weekend have any sort of impact on the Trump

momentum.

Well, a poll released today seems to suggest that Trump is still on track for big wins tomorrow night.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We had some, I would say, let's be nice, protesters.

CARROLL (voice-over): After a turbulent weekend on the trail, a defiant Donald Trump pointing fingers.

TRUMP: Send them back to Bernie.

Hey, Bernie, get your people in line, Bernie.

CARROLL (voice-over): The billionaire trying to shift the blame to Bernie Sanders.

TRUMP: A lot of them come from Bernie Sanders, whether he wants to say or not. And if he says no, then he's lying.

CARROLL (voice-over): But at Sunday night's CNN town hall, both Democratic candidates turned it around, calling out Trump for his incendiary

statements.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I), VT., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He is saying that if you go out and beat somebody up, that's OK, I'll pay the legal fees. That

is an outrage.

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He is the person who has, for months now, been just not inciting violence but

applauding violence.

CARROLL (voice-over): The GOP front-runner canceling his event in Chicago Friday night after the rally erupted in chaos.

On Saturday in Ohio, this man tried to rush the stage.

The Secret Service quickly tackled the protester as Trump supporters cheered.

On Sunday.

TRUMP: All right, get them out of here.

CARROLL (voice-over): -- more protesters crashed the party.

TRUMP: Get them out now.

CARROLL (voice-over): With over 350 delegates on the line in five states this Tuesday.

TRUMP: Like to punch him in the face, I'll tell you.

CARROLL (voice-over): -- Trump is doubling down, claiming his heated words are not to blame for the violence, like this supporter, sucker punching a

protester last week.

TRUMP: I don't accept responsibility. I do not condone violence in any shape an I will tell you, from what I saw, the young man stuck his finger

up in the air and the man -- the other man sort of just had it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: Well, Robyn, this morning I spoke to the public service coordinator for the Tampa P.D. And he tells me that his officers will only

get involved with something here if there's something that the Secret Service cannot handle. Tampa P.D. will be inside the venue here at the

convention center. They will be outside as well. But once again, that officer telling me, he's hoping the department will not be needed -- Robyn.

CURNOW: Keeping an eye on things there, Jason Carroll, thanks so much.

The man who rushed the stage while Trump was speaking on Saturday says he has no regrets. The Secret Service stopped Thomas Dimassimo after he

jumped a barricade in Ohio. Now the 22-year-old student is charged with disorderly conduct and inducing panic. He talked with our Martin Savidge.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What were you thinking?

THOMAS DIMASSIMO, STAGE JUMPER: I was thinking that Donald Trump is a bully. And he is nothing more than that. He is somebody who is just

saying a lot of bull things. He's making bold claims.

But I can see right through that. And I can see that he's truly just a coward and he's opportunistic and he's willing to destroy this country for

power for himself.

SAVIDGE: All right, well, that's your motivation.

But what were you thinking at that moment?

DIMASSIMO: I was --

SAVIDGE: Why did you do what you did?

DIMASSIMO: I was thinking that I could get up on stage and take his podium away from him and take his mike away from him and send a message to all

people out in the country, who wouldn't consider themselves racist, who wouldn't consider themselves approving of what type of violence Donald

Trump is allowing at his rallies and send them a message that we can be strong, we can find our strength and we can stand up against Donald Trump

and against this new wave he's ushering in of truly just violent white supremist ideas.

SAVIDGE: Were you, if you had made it to that stage, were you going to attack him?

DIMASSIMO: No, not at all. There would have been no point. Donald Trump is 6'3". I'm 5'9" maybe, you know. He's a giant man, surrounded by

thousands of followers, 12 Secret Service and a former Ohio State offensive lineman. That would have accomplished nothing.

SAVIDGE: But can you see how people might have perceived that you were?

DIMASSIMO: Of course. And I wasn't expecting there to be as much Secret Service as there was there that day.

[10:20:00]

DIMASSIMO: From what I had seen, there hadn't been that much or hadn't been that much in a contained area. So I thought my chances of getting up

on stage and getting to the podium would have been better. But again, it was more important for me to show that there are people out there who

aren't afraid of Donald Trump.

He says scary things. He lets his people do scary things. He's threatened Mexico, Islam, you name it. And yet I'm unafraid. And if I can be

unafraid enough to go take his podium away from him, then we all can be afraid enough to not let this man walk into the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: Well, stay with CNN for complete coverage of Tuesday's critical primaries. A lot of those conversations taking place. And of course it's

the winner-take-all delegate prizes that could alter the course of the campaign trail. A lot is at stake. That's all day Tuesday, right here on

CNN.

In Germany, voters in three states dealt a blow to Angela Merkel's party and to her open door policy on migration. Leaders of Germany's

conservative anti-immigration party celebrated Sunday. The Alternative for Germany made gains in the first electoral test since the migrant crisis

began. Merkel says it's a difficult day for her party, the Christian Democrats. And she says an answer for the migrant crisis should not come

from Germany alone.

You're watching the INTERNATIONAL DESK. A worker at one Ivory Coast hotel says we never thought it could happen here but it did. Next, the aftermath

of a terror attack at a popular beach resort and the group now claiming responsibility.

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CURNOW: Welcome back. The U.S. and France say they will help the Ivory Coast government investigate Sunday's terror attacks at a beach resort.

Gunmen stormed three hotels in Grand-Bassam, killing 16 people. Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb claimed responsibility. It launched similar attacks

in neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso over the past year.

Robyn Kriel is following the story from Nairobi and joins me now.

Hi, there, Robyn. This was a devastating attack. However, intelligence officials have been warning this was a possibility.

ROBYN KRIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning to you. To the extent that the Ivory Coast government even (INAUDIBLE) recently, Robyn, that it

would tighten its borders to make sure that extremists such as Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb could not cross over into the very porous border

between Mali and kurdisla (ph) and Burkina Faso, where there have been attacks in the past and launch attacks like this.

We know that Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb want to expand its operational capacity, expand its reach and fear the country's (INAUDIBLE) pro-West and

anti-Islam.

CURNOW: It wants to expand its operational capacity and it seems to be quite successful at doing this.

KRIEL: It definitely seems to be successful in instilling fear. These attacks are sophisticated, Robyn. They do strike fear into the hearts of

the government and they are attacking places that frequented by Westerners in order to get maximum publicity from the international media --

[10:25:00]

KRIEL: -- and the world. So they are attacking the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako, Mali, where they killed a number of foreigners as well as local

Malians. It does a tremendous amount of damage to a country which faces a terror attack when it's broadcast across the media. Then it attacks

Burkina Faso, a place that has never seen an attack of that nature, in Ouagadougou, a place that does not need bad publicity and yet it did have

bad publicity from this attack, where a number of foreigners were killed.

And now Cote d'Ivoire, into the bloody civil war in 2011. Then it saw election violence and really was working hard, the government, under

Alassane Ouattara to bring itself out of this negative light in terms of the international eyes and to be perceived as peaceful.

And this attack really does set them back, particularly when you learn of the brutality of it, when you hear of the stories of people with children

running away from attackers, 15 minutes of sustained gunfire. People in dwayne ising sension in row in beach sat (ph) cafes that were swimming,

that swam out to see to try to get away from them.

And then of course the story of a young boy who was executed next to another boy simply because the attacker thought he was Christian. So it's

terrible stories and really brutality coming from them, instilling maximum fear.

CURNOW: Robyn Kriel, thank you so much.

Still ahead at the INTERNATIONAL DESK, U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump is back on the campaign trail after a turbulent weekend. We'll take

you live to North Carolina, where the Republican front-runner is charging up his supporters and the protesters.

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CURNOW: Welcome to the INTERNATIONAL DESK. I'm Robyn Curnow. Here's a check of the headlines.

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[10:30:00]

CURNOW: Now back to the U.S. presidential election. Republican front- runner Donald Trump is campaigning in North Carolina. The Southern state is one of five that vote Tuesday. CNN's Chris Frates is at the Trump event

in Hickory, North Carolina, and brings us the latest from the campaign trail.

Mr. Trump still hasn't taken to that stage behind you.

What is the mood, particularly after the weekend?

CHRIS FRATES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'll tell you, Robyn, it's a lot more mellow than it was this weekend, not a lot of protesters outside here. We

don't know yet if there are any in the crowd who will likely disrupt it. And security also not as tight.

The usual standard security you see at Trump's events, the Secret Service is here, local law enforcement. And of course Donald Trump, for the last

week or 10 days, has had private security as well, going through the crowds, trying to find those protesters and get them out of the event as

quickly as possible.

But I got to tell you this is a pretty small event from Trump standards. We're at a small university here outside of Charlotte, North Carolina so a

couple hundred people. So this is one of the smaller Trump events I have been to. And it's pretty chill right now, I'll tell you that -- Robyn.

CURNOW: Pretty chilled but the rhetoric has been anything but in the past few days. In fact, for much of Mr. Trump's run for the nomination, he's

been pretty unrepentant about the level of violence in many ways, the mayhem that's being seen at these rallies. He's even supporting a lot of

these protesters who act out.

What are they saying about that there?

FRATES: It was interesting; this weekend we heard him blame Bernie Sanders supporters for interrupting his rallies and trying to blame Bernie Sanders

for it.

But when you listen to Donald Trump at these events, I mean, he almost makes it part of the show. He will yell, "Get them out," or, "Go back to

Mommy" or "Get a job," almost egging on the protesters here. And people love that. It's kind of part of the show and he will say, "Isn't this

better than a usual political rally?"

And he makes it part of the spectacle when he kind of just makes a little fun of these protesters as they come in and out. Now he's been criticized

for that, saying that he is egging those protesters on and he's creating that culture of violence.

We of course saw a 78-year-old man in North Carolina last week hit a black protester, sucker-punch him essentially, on the way out. That man's been

charged. And Marco Rubio came as close as we've seen him this weekend to say that he won't support Donald Trump if he were the nominee.

He didn't quite go that far but starting to insinuate that this divisive rhetoric is a problem for him -- Robyn.

CURNOW: Yes, rally, reality TV show, it can be sort of interchangeable here, a lot of these things get him out, sounds like that stick line,

"You're fired," from "The Apprentice," doesn't it?

It does take on --

(CROSSTALK)

CURNOW: -- "Get him out," yes.

It does take on many critics to say this is political theater but still it's really crunch time, the next 48 hours.

How vulnerable is Mr. Trump?

How much has he got this sewn up?

FRATES: He is vulnerable in one place and that place is Ohio. He's running almost neck-and-neck with the Ohio governor, John Kasich, there.

It was no surprise he had a rally originally planned later tonight in Florida. He cancelled that rally and now is going to be in Ohio because he

wants to take on John Kasich there and win because Ohio and Florida, winner-take-all states. The first states we're seeing this cycle that are

winner-take-all, 99 delegates at stake in Florida, 66 in Ohio. He wants to win both of those.

I'll tell you, Robyn, if he's able to bag both of those states, it's going to be very difficult to stop Donald Trump mathematically from getting that

nomination. It's still possible but it becomes a lot tougher. And the establishment making almost a last stand in Ohio. John Kasich being joined

today with Mitt Romney, of course, the former 2012 Republican nominee, making two campaign stops with him. And he has been very critical of

Donald Trump, giving a speech just a week or so ago, saying that Donald Trump should not be the presidential Republican standard bearer.

He's out there working with John Kasich in Ohio to try to stop Trump there. And John Boehner, the former Speaker of the House, also from Ohio, coming

out in favor of John Kasich this weekend as well. So this really tomorrow, do or die across the board. John Kasich needs to do well in Ohio. He says

he'll get out of the race if he doesn't win there. Marco Rubio, the Florida senator, needs to win in his home state as well but I tell you,

he's trailing by double digits there. And in fact, Trump feeling so comfortable about Florida, Robyn, that he's ditching an event there to

campaign in Ohio instead.

CURNOW: Yes. Thank you so much --

[10:35:00]

CURNOW: -- Chris Frates, keeping an eye on things there and might bring you some comments from Mr. Trump when he takes to that stage if he says

anything interesting.

Chris, thanks so much.

In just over two hours from now, Wolf Blitzer, though, will talk to Donald Trump. Do tune in for that. That's at "WOLF" at 1:00 pm Eastern time.

That's 1:00 am in Hong Kong.

And coming up, trafficked for tea. CNN's Freedom Project looks at the stunning human cost of India's tea trade. Stay with us.

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CURNOW: A new expose from the CNN Freedom Project is focusing on India's tea industry and the dark secrets it harbors. We'll take you to the

northwestern region of Assam, which produces most of the tea in the world. There, Muhammad Lila and a CNN team uncovered a harrowing tale of abuse and

met one young victim, who is bravely struggling to stop it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MUHAMMAD LILA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We're driving through one of the most beautiful places, a place of winding roads and mountains on the

horizon. We're driving through Northeast India right now, right along the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains. This is the Indian state of Assam.

It's one of the major tea producing areas in this country.

If you drank a cup of black tea this week, there's a chance it came from right here, the state of Assam. With hundreds of tea plantations, this

region produces more tea than anywhere in the world.

As the paved roads give way to broken gravel.

LILA: All right, so, we're here.

LILA (voice-over): We walk through this village, a place where goats roam free and sewage lines the side of the road.

LILA: And this is the house that we're going to.

LILA (voice-over): Inside, 18-year-old Manju Gor (ph) still remembers the day the trafficker came knocking at her door.

LILA: Describe to me happened.

How did you first meet this agent?

MANJU GOR (PH), TRAFFICKING VICTIM: (Speaking foreign language).

LILA (voice-over): But she says it was all a lie. The trafficker sent her to Delhi, locking her in a house full of young girls just like her, waiting

to be sold as domestic labor. That's when she says she saw other girls being sexually abused.

LILA: When did you first realize what this trafficker was doing to the girls?

GOR (PH): (Speaking foreign language)

LILA: Were you afraid for your life?

GOR (PH): (Speaking foreign language).

LILA (voice-over): Like everyone else here, Manju's (ph) family are tea pickers among the hundreds of thousands who pick the tea leaves people

drink every day.

Most of the workers here are descendents of bonded laborers, brought in from elsewhere by the British when they ruled the country decades ago.

Often they make less than $2 a day.

Legally the plantation owners are supposed to provide housing, education, subsidized food and medical care to all their workers. But as we

discovered.

LILA: All right, so she just said there's no electricity.

LILA (voice-over): -- often nobody enforces the rules, leaving thousands of people living in extreme poverty.

LILA: So come take a look at this. This is -- she says this is where they actually do a lot of the cooking and this is their stove. They use

firewood to cook their meals.

LILA (voice-over): It's conditions like these that make tea workers ripe for trafficking. Police in India tell CNN there are hundreds of cases like

Manju's (ph) every year. Girls from tea plantations, lured with promises of earning money but forced into hard labor and sex in India's big cities.

When the CNN Freedom Project went to India's minister in charge of the tea industry, she told us she wanted to discuss it with other elected

officials.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If it is so restricted, trafficking, rested only to the tea (INAUDIBLE), if there's anything that I need to rush in to do with

her, I will do it. But I have elected members of parliament who have not drawn my attention to this.

LILA (voice-over): State and officials from the tea industry wouldn't comment to us about the trafficking.

Back in her village, Manju (ph) she says she will continue to speak out.

LILA: People around the world watch CNN's Freedom Project.

For all of the people that are watching right now, what's your message to them?

GOR (PH): (Speaking foreign language).

LILA (voice-over): But this isn't where Manju's (ph) story ends. After the interview, she shows us this photo of her sister, telling us she was

also lured by traffickers and is still trapped. And in a few days she's hoping to be part of a daring police raid to rescue her -- for the CNN

Freedom Project, Muhammad Lila, In the state of Assam, Northeastern India.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: Powerful piece there.

Coming up Tuesday, the CNN Freedom Project continues its focus on the price of tea with the story of one girl's escape from traffickers and her quest

for justice. Here's a sample.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LILA (voice-over): We're racing through the crowded streets of Delhi in search of a human trafficker. As we get to his hideout, a rundown building

in a rough part of town, police are already there.

LILA: We're almost to where the trafficker lives.

LILA (voice-over): As the officers swarm inside, for one brave young girl, this is a story years in the making.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking foreign language).

LILA (voice-over): Join us on a journey as we explore the price of tea.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: You can catch that on CNN tomorrow. That's all from us here at the INTERNATIONAL DESK. Thanks for watching. I'm Robyn Curnow. "WORLD

SPORT" is next.

END