Josh Holloway, the resident bad boy Sawyer on ABC TV's "Lost," is lending a bit of star power to the fight against human trafficking in Hawai'i.

Holloway appears in a 30-second public service announcement created for television by the Hawai'i Coalition Against Human Trafficking, which hopes to use the spot, a hot line and a new Web site to raise public awareness.

"Nobody knows the problem even exists in Hawai'i," said Dr. Nicole Littenberg, founder of the Pacific Survivor Center and producer of the public service announcement.

"The victims are really hidden," she said. "They are not coming out and saying they are victims. Their families back home have been threatened, so they are afraid to come out. They're told, 'If you tell someone, we will kill your mother.' "

Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery currently found all over the world. The scope of the problem here has been difficult to define since the center's medical team began working out of the Kalihi-Palama Health Center six months ago, Littenberg said. It currently treats about 20 victims, with three to five new patients showing up each month.

The victims are living in plain view, Littenberg said.

"It's not just forced prostitution, which is what many people think it is," she said. "It is forced labor and that can be domestic work, construction, landscaping or sweatshop work."

The idea behind the video is to get the public to pay closer attention to what's going on around them, Littenberg said.

"It could be right in your backyard, literally," she said.

The PSA is slick and stark, with Holloway offering a veiled similarity to the source of his stardom, "Lost," but never specifically mentioning the story about castaways trapped on an island.

"Imagine being stranded in a strange place surrounded by danger and hostility, unable to escape or speak the language," Holloway says, in the PSA. "It might sound like fiction, but for 27 million victims of human trafficking worldwide, it's a reality. Innocent people enticed by the promise of a new life then enslaved into forced labor or the sex trade.

"It happens right here in Hawai'i. The only way to stop it, is to report it."

The spot lists a hot line — 292-5535 — and a Web site, www .freedomrestoredhawaii.com, which will be online May 5.

All those involved in making the video donated their time. Production costs were covered by a $5,000 grant from Honolulu Medical Group Research and Education Foundation.

But the production crew has no money for media exposure and will need sponsors or free air time in order to broadcast the PSA.

Brett Wagner, a Honolulu-based writer and director of TV commercials, created the PSA. He was intrigued by the topic, which he knew nothing about until he was approached by Littenberg. Wagner, who wrote and directed the acclaimed short feature "Chief," thought he could use his talent to help.

"It is not a topic that is top of mind for people," he said. "It never crossed my mind that it was happening here."

The combination of special effects, dramatic photographs of victims and Holloway's drawl gave the PSA what Wagner wanted in his script.

"I think the tone is one of quiet menace," he said, "resolving into hope."