Donaldina Cameron

Have you heard of this woman? She lived in San Francisco between the 1890' s and the 1980's. She rescued Chinese child slaves and prostitutes. She ran a home for girls and helped to give them skills, education, husbands, or return to China. She would break into the Tong dens to rescue these girls. Someone would tip her off, then she would assemble the cops and break in on this most dangerous, opium and prostitution scenes and rescue the child. She left Oscar Schindler in the dust. Girls from this time were not recognized as human by the United States Government. They were kidnapped, raped by sailors on the trip over to the states, then sold into prostitution once they arrived. The contracts were actually set ups for indentured servitude. One day sick extended the contract by a year etc. She had to repay all costs to her purchace, medical expenses etc. Once they were enslaved, their circumstances varied from pampered Chinese concubine to under-ground chattel, confined to chicken coop sized quarters, chained to a bed behind bars. The Girls were unable to prevent the sexual diseases wrought upon their bodies by their "visitors". When a girl became too ill to work, in many instances a cup of poison was placed in her room, the door locked and she was left to make the "choice". No expenses were put out to provide her with food or water. Several days later, no blood on his hands, the owners would open her room, and remove her corpse. Donaldina spent her life campaigning for the rights of these poor women. Donaldina Cameron's only crime was to be a Christian. Today, that seems to negate her heroic deeds today. As we read about the Underground Railroad, the great deeds of Malcom X, Martin Luther King, and Barbara Boxer, the most amazing heroes are invisible. Their faith makes their stories fall on deaf ears.