'The Help' 2011? Domestic Worker Abuse Widespread

From Forbes:

By Anushay Hossain

Last week, I finally saw the film version of “The Help,” based on the best-selling novel by Kathryn Stockett about the lives of African-American maids working in white people’s homes in 1960′s Jackson, Mississippi. I hadn’t read the book prior to watching the movie which I really loved.

Although the movie showed the racists and unfair treatment of primarily black women at the hands of their white employers, I am sure there were much worse stories the movie did not go into. In fact, just bringing up the topic of the rampant verbal, physical, and mental abuse people inflict upon their domestic help on my Facebook page touched upon stories from Dhaka to Potomac, Maryland.

Both before and after the movie, as a Bangladeshi I could not help but let my mind wander beyond the racially segregated America of the 1950′s and 60′s to modern day lives of domestic servants back home. Domestic servant abuse, primarily of female maids but of men as well, and really just across the board, including of child labor, is so rampant back home that it is practically considered cultural.

Read the full article

Malaysia: Loopholes in maid hiring

From the Star:

By P. Aruna

The Indonesian Embassy has criticised the Government's move to allow hiring of maids without going through agencies, saying it opened up loopholes for human trafficking.

“Direct recruitment violates our laws and regulations,” said its minister counsellor for information, social and cultural affairs Suryana Sastradiredja.

He warned Malaysian employers that they could be detained by Indonesian authorities.

In July, the Government announced that employers could hire Indonesian maids without going through recruitment agencies as a way to reduce costs for those who would otherwise have to pay hefty agency fees.

The maids are brought into the country through social visit passes by employers or agents, who then get a work permit for them from the Immigration Department.

Read the full article

First US Recipient of State Department's Anti-Trafficking Hero Award to Be Given This Year

From the Coalition of Immokalee Workers:

Great news out of Washington, DC: U.S. State Department to recognize CIW Anti-Slavery Coordinator Laura Germino as 2010 "Anti-Trafficking Hero"!

CIW Modern-Day Slavery Museum headed to DC to serve as backdrop for the ceremony. Germino (above, leading Sec. of Labor Solis on recent tour of museum) to be first US recipient of State Department "Hero" recognition...

As part of the annual TIP report release, the State Department recognizes the efforts of a handful of individuals from around the world who have shown extraordinary commitment and leadership in the fight against slavery, TIP "Heroes" as the State Department calls them.

This year, Laura Germino, the CIW's Anti-Slavery Campaign Coordinator, has been chosen to receive this terrific distinction, and when she does, she will be the first U.S.-based recipient to receive the recognition.

We are extremely proud of Laura, whose untiring work fighting forced labor in Florida -- beginning in the early 1990's -- helped launch today's anti-slavery movement in the U.S. Nearly twenty years later, Laura continues to investigate slavery operations, work in partnership with the Department of Justice to prosecute slavers, and train state and local law enforcement, community service organizations, and FBI personnel in how to identify and combat forced labor across the Southeast.

We are also very proud that the State Department has requested that the CIW's Modern-Day Slavery Museum serve as the backdrop for the 2010 TIP report ceremony. The museum will begin its way up 95 tomorrow with the goal of making it there in one piece for Monday's ceremony in Washington, DC!

The museum, housed in an actual cargo truck outfitted as a replica of the trucks involved in a recent slavery operation (U.S. v. Navarrete, 2008), may or may not make it there for the ceremony, so, just in case it doesn't, we're including here a great video on the museum and its tour earlier this year across the state of Florida. The video is set to, "Captain, Don't You Kill Old Bob," a work song performed by Fred Lee Fox, a 20-year-old turpentine worker, in 1939. The song was recorded by Stetson Kennedy, Florida's foremost folklorist and a renown human rights activist, at a labor camp outside Cross City, Dixie County, Florida.

Enjoy, and check back soon for more details on Monday's ceremony in Washington!

My personal exposure to the work of this organization leaves me with great happiness that this award is being given to Laura Germino. From the direct service they provide to farmworkers and their Anti-Slavery Campaign to their work on the demand side of labor exploitation and trafficking with the Campaign for Fair Food, this is definitely an organization worth following and supporting. You can gain information from their website on the statistics concerning farmworkers. You can read about their efforts in The Slave Next Door. You can explore their Take Action page to find out how you can help. Hopefully this recognition will also lead to greater attention to the slavery, abuse and exploitation that happens in our fields every day.

Please follow the release of this year's report this Monday, June 14th.

Congratulations to Laura Germino and the CIW!

New York's New Domestic Worker Law

Last week, the New York State Senate approved the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights. According to the bill summary, the legislation "Enacts provisions relating to labor standards for domestic workers; includes provisions for a living wage, overtime pay, vacation, sick and personal time, advance notice of termination and severance pay; also prohibits trafficking in domestic workers; requires record keeping and notice; includes domestic workers under provisions of the labor law; includes penalties for violations thereof."

Currently, domestic workers are not covered under the Fair Labor Standards Act and are excluded from the National Labor Relations Act, making them particularly vulnerable to exploitation, including human trafficking. Advocacy groups believe that this could be an important step to redressing these inequalities, particularly if the New York law sets precedence in other states.

As Tyler has reported in relation to Kuwait and Qatar, the US is not alone in excluding domestic workers from basic labor protection. Often domestic labor is performed by immigrant populations, particularly women of color, who have historically been denied other basic rights and protections. This creates a vicious cycle where people who are already vulnerable to exploitation due to denial of other rights, poverty, racism, and gender discrimination, are made even more vulnerable by laws that are inacted because of racism and gender discrimination.

Human trafficking involving forced domestic servitude/domestic slavery has been identified in the US. The anti-trafficking organization Break the Chain Campaign began due to "an expose in the Washington City Paper by IPS Fellow Martha Honey (entitled "Capital Slaves"), which chronicled the lives of women living in virtual slavery while working as domestic servants for officials of the World Bank and other international agencies." In 2006, two Egyptian nationals "to federal charges for enslaving a 10-year-old girl for two years and forcing her to work as a domestic servant for their family of seven at their Irvine residence." A Wisconsin couple were sentenced in 2009 for forcing a woman to work as their domestic slave for 19 years.

In order for the New York Domestic Workers Bill of Rights to become law, New York Governor David Paterson must sign a reconcilled of the bill; according to New York Business, last year Governor Paterson pledged to sign the legislation.

Photo from the New York Independent Media Center.

New Minimum Wage for Kuwait's Expat Workers Paves the Way for Domestic Worker Reforms

Despite the overall inaction seen across the Gulf Region to institute a universal minimum wage for workers outside of the public sector, progressive measures are being taken by Kuwait to implement upgrades to its newly approved labor law.

The Trade Arabia News Source released an article recently that revealed the approval of a minimum wage for expatriate workers of approximately 207 USD per month. Although the salary is relatively small, this is a major milestone across the GCC countries, and especially within Kuwait, a country that has traditionally neglected the establishment of legal safeguards to protect its foreign population from exploitation and coercion by Kuwaiti citizens.

Kuwait's new labor law was approved earlier this year, and until that time, had not been reformed in over forty years. Although a minimum wage is certain to improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of Kuwait's foreign workers, domestic workers are currently excluded from the new labor law. The article also focused on promulgating legislation that would enforce a new minimum wage for Kuwait's estimated 600,000 domestic workers, employed as maids, drivers, gardeners and security guards.

A proposed salary of 45 Kuwaiti Dinars (approximately 154 USD) is one of several reforms that will be included in the draft domestic worker law, along with amendments to enforce working hours, payment of wages and protection from abuse.

Such legislation would vastly improve the lives of domestic workers who are often forced to work 16-hour days. If the current draft law is approved by parliament, working hours for domestic workers would be limited to eight per day, employers would no longer be allowed to withhold passports, and workers would be allowed one day off per week and time-off during national holidays.

Skeptics still question the extent to which the government would be able to enforce the new law given the high sensitivity associated with domestic issues (within private homes) and how they should be regulated by the Ministry of Social Development (responsible for regulating all other foreign workers). For example, the new law would impose fines on employers who fail to pay their domestic workers, but there are no mechanisms in place to enforce or prove that a violation has been committed. Since most sponsors do not allow their domestic workers to contact their embassies or law enforcement agents, most cases go unreported.

Qatar: How The World's Wealthiest Nation Per Capita Relies on Migrant Worker Labor

In an attempt to further expand the scope of my research, I recently attended a few meetings and conferences in the State of Qatar to better assess the human rights and migrant labor issues that this majestic city-state currently faces.

Qatar hosts the most dramatic demographic contradictions between its local population and the migrant worker community that it must outsource in order to accommodate its rapid and unparalleled Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Industry. With only 350,000 Qatari citizens inhabiting a nation that boasts the highest production and export of LNG in the world, Qatar ranks number one for the world's highest GDP per capita income and embodies a rentier welfare-state in its most basic description.

However, the wealth that Qataris enjoy is at the expense of hundreds of thousands of migrant workers that are brought to the country on two-year contracts to work in nearly every sector and industry that the country has consecrated, mostly because the Qataris have no interest in working in positions that are not managerial or administrative. They hold a reputation that is even more negatively slanted than their Kuwaiti counter-parts, attributed largely to the country's massive natural resource wealth that provides a backbone for lavish lifestyles that are serviced and maintained by the hands of poor, outsourced laborers.

However, it is unfair to immediately dismiss the Qataris in their efforts to regulate and protect their migrant worker population. Higher income for Qataris has trickled down the economic ladder and raised income levels for migrant workers to higher salaries than anywhere else in the region. Legitimacy of private sector employment contracts is upheld and regulated by the Ministry of Interior. Unlike other parts of the region, Qatar maintains a strict turn-over of migrant workers to prevent long-term residency and the potential to reap attractive welfare benefits.

As a result, sponsors are less able to withhold wages and force their employees to stay in the country longer than the 2-year period the law allows. Although issues like withheld passports, coercive employment tactics (i.e. false contracts), and rights to change employers continue to remain crucial issues for anti-trafficking and human rights advocates, Qatar has seen rapid advancements under its labor law, with many foreseeable positive developments on the horizon.

Some of these developments have already come to fruition, and include, the abolition of the Camel Jockey industry. Previous to the Qatari Government's intervention in this regionally cultural tradition, underage children or "camel jockeys" were recruited from south Asia to participate in extremely dangers recreational races for entertainment purposes. Many were seriously injured and malnourished to keep them within race-weight standards. Now, the industry has made use of electronic jockeys instead, which has allegedly stopped the flow of the children who were previously trafficked into the country and exploited.

Another major development is the incorporation of anti-trafficking statutes under the current labor law. I will underscore that there is still no anti-trafficking law (although talk of drafting one has been reported); nevertheless, statutes exist that make use of similar language and highlight relative clauses that penalize trafficking of laborers. Qataris have even been tried, convicted, and imprisoned under these statutes-something barely seen in arguably more labor-friendly countries like Bahrain.

Like its neighbors, Qatari labor law maintains a crucial fault with regard to its domestic worker population (including housemaids, drivers, cooks and gardeners) who are not offered any legal protection under the current labor law or benefits that are awarded to private sector employees. Salaries, days-off and contracts are the responsibility of the sponsor and offer considerable room for ambiguity and abuse to exploitative employers. However, in response to growing criticisms from the international communities towards Qatar and other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), new interest has developed in drafting a formal labor law that will better regulate Qatar domestic worker population.

Featured on the front page of one of the country's principle English-speaking newspapers, The Peninsula, an article described the development of a new domestic labor law being drafted by a special panel tasked with finalizing the regulation of rights and duties of domestic workers. The panel will incorporate representatives from several government agencies and will review with other GCC countries. The draft law may finally provide privileges to domestic employees, like end-of-service benefits, annual leave, and free medical care. These and other formal arrangements would have to be included in contracts between sponsors and their employees and would require endorsement by the Labor Department to be considered legally valid. The law might also regulate the functioning of manpower agencies and their role in hiring domestic workers in the country, The Peninsula reported.

And finally, the sponsorship system. Found in all countries except for Bahrain officially, but actually found in all countries of the Gulf unofficially, Qatar's sponsorship system seems to be the most archaic and limited with regard to a worker's access to mobility. As is required in Kuwait, Oman, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia, a sponsor must provide consent for his employer to change to a different sponsor. In Qatar, the process is further complicated with the addition of a second party that must approve a change of employment as well-the Ministry of Interior. Qatar, like Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait has embraced a new economic development model that "ization-izes" the national population and encourages locals to enter the job market. Limiting positions for expatriates is an effective way to open up the job market to locals but discourages the professional development of expatriates.

Qatar presents an intriguing case study for human trafficking and migrant worker issues in the Arabian Gulf. I intend to keep my attention partially focused on the peninsula as it embarks on a proactive course of action to improve its labor laws and the lives of its expatriate workforce. I am sure there will be some follow-up.

Kuwait's New Private Sector Labor Law Still Neglects 1/3 of its Population

Kuwait's new labor law became official on February 21 following its publication in the government-produced Kuwait Gazette Al Kuwait Al Youm, marking a new, significant, and uncomfortably overdue step forward taken by the Kuwaiti Government to protect its private sector workers. Shockingly, no reforms were made to the country’s previous archaic and historic labor law in over 45 years, promoting a racially-discriminate law that tended to only favor Kuwaiti employers/sponsors and neglected the rights of the majority of Kuwait’s workforce outsourced from abroad.

The new law includes updated provisions that address issues of salaries, working hours, public holidays, paid leave, sick leave and suitable end of service payments was approved by the National Assembly in 2009 and approved by His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Amir of Kuwait for endorsement.

Despite these highly anticipated gains, housemaids and domestic drivers are absent from this law’s jurisdiction, and even today, despite encouragement from local enthusiasts and an indication that such a law is forthcoming, there is still no legislation that addresses the rights of these domestic workers in private homes.

Such a law is said to be forthcoming but delayed since its jurisdiction will fall under the Ministry of Interior, given the sensitivity of addressing legal disputes that emerge in the privacy of the homes of Kuwaiti citizens. Many are hopeful that this law will be presented in Parliament within the next six months, hopefully ending the perpetual cycles of abuse and illegal withholding of wages and documentation that leave an estimated 800,000 housemaids vulnerable to coercion. I will underscore that there are 800,000 maids working in Kuwait within a total population that is just under three million.

Many remain skeptical as to how these new provisions will profoundly impact or improve conditions in the private sector and question whether the new law will actually be implemented. According to an anonymous journalist interviewed by the Kuwait Times, employers can still easily devise schemes to puncture loopholes in the new law and avoid paying indemnities or other forms of remuneration payable to workers. For example, an employer can transfer workers to a different division within their company or simply fire them and find new workers to avoid paying salaries. For detailed information on the new labor law’s provisions, click here to be taken to the Arab Times Online.

Kuwait still struggles to responsibly accommodate its expatriate population, which currently amounts to over 65% of the country’s total population. A renewed focus on its previously dormant labor law demonstrates the Kuwaiti Government’s interest in reform; however, 45 years of neglect indicate that continued reform will be an arduous process that will require expanded legislation to better address vulnerable contracted and domestic workers that are excluded from current jurisdiction, a legal mechanism to confront perpetrators of human trafficking, and the abolishment of Kuwait’s sponsorship system.

Recent news sources have revealed that new legislation to protect Kuwait's domestic workers is now in the works. Kuwait's Minister of Social Development, Mohammad al-Afassi revealed that a new law would be issued as early as this coming May. A new interest in passing legislation that addresses Kuwait's domestic labor force, affecting housemaids, drivers and landscapers follows international pressures, NGO lobbying, and heightened criticism over the grievances that were not addressed in the new private sector labor law.

The Kuwait Times profiled several interviews with domestic housemaids, asking them what they believed would be the most important clauses the new labor law should include. One worker insisted that matters dealing with domestic workers should be addressed by civilian authorities, and not the "scary and unfriendly" uniformed representatives of the Ministry of Interior. Two other housemaids highlighted the need for one day off during the workweek. They stated that they had been working for their current employers for 5 years and were only allowed one day off a year under their current contracts!

The vulnerability of domestic workers and the lack of freedoms they are awarded under the current laws has been exposed recently with heightened statistics on suicide rates in the country. There is currently no option for employees to switch employers without consent, and low or sometimes non-existent salaries in exchange for their work make it impossible for most to repay the debts they owe for their work visas.

One Kuwaiti official has suggested reducing the number of domestic workers who are allowed to enter Kuwait and shortening the current validity periods of worker visas to shift current demographic ratios and potentially prevent human trafficking.

Slow Movement: Protection of Migrants' Rights in 2009 - Part I

Slow Movement: Protection of Migrants' Rights in 2009 - Part I

International migration is rapidly increasing, but in many places, including United States, a migrant is still considered an alien or an outsider, if not an enemy. Millions of people are living in countries that are not their own. Sometimes the decision to migrate is voluntary, but in many cases, it is forced, i.e. human trafficking is also rapidly increasing. Many migrant workers are forced to leave their homes to search for better opportunities; some flee from war, some flee from social injustice, and some from poverty. Their goal is simple: survival. Too many migrants are misled about the living and working conditions and are forced to leave their homes and their rights to become a slave in foreign land.

Human Rights Watch published a report based on the research they conducted in 2009 on migrant rights. The report highlights the lack of protection of migrant workers.

"Migrants drowning at sea after being turned away from shore. Children detained with adults and at risk of physical and sexual abuse. Workers cheated out of wages and confined to their workplace. Authorities extorting bribes. Governments denying health care benefits to those who might most need it."

Millions of people are employed as domestic workers. Most of these are women.

[Part 1 of the Report] Women Migrant Domestic Workers :

Millions of people from Asia and African migrate to Middle East. "Labor recruiters in their home countries often deceive these migrants about their employment contracts or charge excessive fees." According to Human Rights Watch, in most places in the Middle East (with the exception of Jordan), standard labor protection policies (such as minimum wage, limits to hours of work, rest days, and workers' compensation) do no apply to domestic workers. Hence, many domestic workers are forced to work 15 - 18 hours a day, seven days a week.

• Saudi Arabia :
  
• "With at least 1.5 million migrant domestic workers, Saudi Arabia hosts the largest number in the Middle East".
• Labor rights violations and abuse occurs based on spurious allegations of adultery, theft, or witchcraft.
• Migrant workers also require an 'exit visa' from the employer before he/she can leave the country. This results in many cases of forced labor.
  
• In July 2009, Saudi Arabia’s Shura Council passed a law "that requires employers to provide domestic workers at least nine hours of rest each day and suitable accommodation". However, there are still vague provisions because of which sufficient protection cannot be provided to migrant workers.
  

• Kuwait :
• "Over 600,000 migrant domestic workers currently work in Kuwait, making it the second largest host country for domestic workers in the Persian Gulf region after Saudi Arabia".
• Under Kuwaiti law, a domestic worker is not allowed to leave without the sponsor's permission, even in case of abuse. The employer controls whether the worker can change his job and can file a case against the domestic worker if he tries to leave.
  

• Lebanon :
  
• "There are an estimated 200,000 domestic workers, primarily from Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Ethiopia in Lebanon".
• "Human Rights Watch research found that at least 45 migrant domestic workers died in Lebanon in 2008, a majority of whom committed suicide or died while trying to escape in a hazardous way".
• "In January 2009, the Ministry of Labor finally introduced a standard employment contract that clarifies certain terms and conditions of employment for domestic workers, such as the maximum number of daily working hours, the need for a 24-hour rest period each week, and paid sick leave". However, there are no clear enforcement mechanisms.
  

• Jordan :
• In September 2009, a regulation issued by Ministry of Labor included migrant workers under the protection of Jordan’s labor laws.
  
• "Domestic workers now have limits to daily working hours, and a weekly day of rest". However, this regulation still allows employers to control when a worker can leave and a worker cannot leave without the employer's permission, even after working hours.

Next part: Migrant Construction Workers.

Human Trafficking: 2009 In Review

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Diplomats

In late November, the State Department issued new guidelines and regulations for diplomats who bring domestic servants into the US. The Washington Examiner reported that the State Department announced in a closed meeting that, "Diplomats below the rank of minister no longer will be able to bring domestic servants into the United States without being able to show they can afford to pay them a prevailing wage."

I have written about domestic slavery and diplomatic immunity before on this site. In the past, diplomats who keep domestic slaves have gone unpunished when cases are found. More often, such cases are never detected, since it is extremely difficult for law enforcement to monitor the conditions of domestic workers, particularly in the diplomatic community.

These new guidelines are an important step to increasing oversight and ensuring that abuse of domestic workers is detected. According to the Washington Examiner, "The new guidelines, which also require diplomats to pay their servants using checks or direct deposit so payments can be traced, have already been issued to consular offices, a State Department source said. The guidelines will also require embassy chiefs to personally approve the servants their employees wish to bring with them."

Increased guidance and regulations are an important step towards addressing domestic slavery in the diplomatic community. At the same time, such efforts must be viewed as a first step, not an end point. These guidelines need to be backed by strong penalties for violations, along with increased efforts to educate domestic workers about their rights, enhanced efforts to detect and rescue domestic slaves, and additional resources for survivors of domestic slavery.

The Exceptions to the Rule

The US has enacted both federal and state legislation to combat trafficking, and the US also has ostensibly made a financial commitment to ending slavery in the US and around the world. At the same time, however, a number of "exceptions to the rules" in US policies and practices create situations where slavery and exploitation can flourish. Intricate and contradictory visa policies and industries that are exempt from certain labor laws can help slavery go undetected.

According to the National Labor Relations Board, "Congress enacted the National Labor Relations Act ("NLRA") in 1935 to protect the rights of employees and employers, to encourage collective bargaining, and to curtail certain private sector labor and management practices, which can harm the general welfare of workers, businesses and the U.S. economy." This act was key to bringing fair labor conditions to workers, and is an important source of protection for workers today. However, as Kevin Bales and Ron Soodalter point out in their recent book The Slave Next Door, farmworkers and domestics are excluded from its protections (263).

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers states that "Unlike laborers in other industries, agricultural laborers are not covered by the NLRA so the growers who employ them are under no obligation to dialogue with worker representatives. And workers have no recourse to the National Labor Relations Board if they are fired or discriminated against for raising issues with their employers." This exception for farmworkers results in a situation where workers have little recourse and trafficking can more easily occur.

I have written before about a particular egregious exception to the rule, when diplomatic immunity shields diplomats from the consequences of keeping a domestic slave. Bales and Soodalter argue, however, that other polices relating to domestic workers make these people particularly vulnerable, whether they are employed by a diplomat or not. First, as noted earlier, like farmworkers, domestic workers are exempt from the National Labor Relations Act.

Second, depending on the type of visa they hold, domestic workers face very different situations. Bales and Soodalter point out that J-1 visa holders, who largely are young, educated, middle-class European women, have a greater system of protections in place, from a mandatory orientation, formal networks with other workers in her area, mandatory sessions with her employers and a counselor each month, background checks on employers, and strict regulations about hours, pay, and working conditions (36). Holders of A-3 or G-5 visas. who are more likely to come from impoverished backgrounds, have no such protections.

Moreover, workers who hold A-3 or G-5 visas are "permit[ed]. . . to work only for that one employer [who sponsored the visa]," according to the Break the Chain Campaign. The Break the Chain Campaign, which works on behalf of domestic workers' rights in the DC area, goes on to note that "A domestic servant who leaves the employ of her official sponsor is considered “out of status” by the Immigration and Naturalization Service and is subject to deportation." Thus, though under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act threat of deportation is considered a form of coercion, for many domestic workers this threat is very real, making them especially vulnerable to exploitation and slavery.

I find such exceptions uniquely frustrating. On the one hand, expanding the National Labor Relations Act to cover domestic workers and farmworkers, and changing visa policies to protect all guest workers is possible. The frame works are in place, all we need is the political will. On the other hand, I know that any efforts in this area will likely face extreme opposition.

Riz Khan interview with Kevin Bales, Ron Soodalter and Ambassador Luis CdeBaca

"It's all about people trying to find better lives. Almost everyone who ends up enslaved in the U.S. comes here because they are hoping to make a better life for themselves and their children. They are really doing what you or I would do if we were in their shoes and in a tough, insecure situation of poverty in the developing world."

- Kevin Bales

Part I:


Part II:

Domestic Sex Trafficking in the U.S.

From OrlandoSentinel.com:

A 15-year-old Orange County girl who ran away from home after an argument with her mother in 2007 was kidnapped and held captive in an underground world of drugs and forced prostitution.

Now, more than two years after the teen's harrowing, three-week ordeal, an Orange County husband and wife are charged in a child trafficking case, one that highlights a growing state problem, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said.

Aleisea N. Smith, 22, and Timothy L. Smith, 39, are accused of kidnapping the teen at gunpoint and demanding she turn tricks for them. They remain at the Orange County Jail without bail.

The case came to light this week after Aleisea Smith's Aug. 7 arrest on numerous charges, including sex trafficking, forcing/coercing another person into prostitution and kidnapping.

Oakland police learned Smith's identity and discovered an outstanding warrant while investigating her for an unrelated incident. She was in court Thursday to face new charges of child neglect and providing false information to police in that other case.

Timothy L. Smith already was in jail in an unrelated child-support case when he was charged in the 2007 case, records show. He faces nine counts, including sex trafficking, kidnapping and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Investigators worked for several months with the State Attorney's Office to press charges against the Smiths, the Orange County Sheriff's Office said.

The teen's allegations against the couple illustrate a "huge problem" confronting teens in Florida, FDLE special-agent supervisor Lee Condon said.

"We're seeing it more and more," he said. "What a horrible life for a child to end up that way."

Earlier this year, the federal government documented more than 1,200 allegations of human trafficking that occurred between January 2007 and September.

Nearly 85 percent of the incidents involved sex trafficking, the Department of Justice said. Nearly one-third of the 1,229 alleged incidents involved sex trafficking of children.

U.S. citizens accounted for about 65 percent of sex-trafficking victims.

Police reports show the teen, whom the Orlando Sentinel is not identifying, was missing for 21 days, a tortuous period during which she was beaten, raped and forced to work as a prostitute.

On April 8, 2007, the girl ran away from home after an argument with her mother. The girl quickly agreed come back, reports show.

But as she walked near the Silver Oaks Apartments at Silver Star Road and Powers Drive, a man forced her into a van at gunpoint, reports show.

The man later was identified as Timothy Smith. Eventually, he picked up his wife, Aleisea Smith, at a strip club on Orange Blossom Trail.

Aleisea Smith put a towel over the girl's head and told her, "If you move, you are dead," according to an arrest affidavit. The teen later was told "she belonged to them now and would be making a lot of money."

Hours later, while the teen and Aleisea Smith waited at a hotel, Timothy Smith was arrested on a probation violation.

For the remaining 20 days, the teen told investigators, Aleisea Smith forced her to have sex with more than a dozen men at a trailer park and at a home in Minneola in exchange for money and rent, according to the affidavit.

Aleisea Smith often beat the teen, reports show. The girl's mother finally located her after receiving a call from Jatosha Battle, a woman with whom Smith and the teen were staying. The mother showed up at the house and called authorities. Ernie Allen, president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, said the scenario of the alleged kidnapping is relatively rare.

"It's certainly not unheard of," he said. But, "It is far more likely that the kid would be tricked or seduced or lured into a situation like this."

Full Article
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Just like the citizens in Thailand or a country in Eastern Europe, the U.S. citizens are not immune to becoming human trafficking victims. Too many teenagers in the United States run away from their own abusive homes and find themselves entrapped by the false affection and promises of the pimps. Pimps usually play roles of the victims' boyfriends or caregivers to the victims who are desperate for love and attention.

Once the pimps earn the loyalty and trust of the victims, they forcefully or deceitfully place the victims into the prostitution. According to the research of Shared Hope International, these girls are not allowed to come home to the pimps until the daily quota is met. [i] Otherwise, they will inevitably face the consequences of verbal or even physical abuse by the pimps. [ii]

Indeed, sex trafficking of teenagers in the U.S. may sound so foreign to some of you. But, the statics shows that the domestic minor trafficking in the U.S. urges our serious attention. In fact, the U.S. Department of Justice reported in 2007 that 63% of the victims of human trafficking within the United States are U.S. citizens. [iii] If you would like to find out more about this issue, please visit Share Hope International.

New Texas Law Establishes State Task Force and Victim Assistance for Domestic Victims of Trafficking

From Governor Perry's Office:

AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry today ceremonially signed House Bill (HB) 4009, which establishes a human trafficking taskforce in the Attorney General's Office that will develop policies and procedures for the prevention and prosecution of human trafficking crimes.

"The taskforce created by this bill will focus state efforts on ending this criminal activity that primarily targets women and children," Gov. Perry said. "Human trafficking is a serious problem, and this legislation sends a message to those who would profit from exploiting others in this fashion – Texas won't stand for it."

HB 4009 directs the task force to report on the numbers of trafficking victims and convictions, how victims are transported into the state and routes taken, and the factors that create a demand for the services that victims are forced to provide. The taskforce is to present its reports to the Legislature and governor every even numbered year. The report will also include recommendations on training law enforcement to recognize and handle human trafficking, efforts to combat human trafficking, and ways to increase public awareness and bring offenders to justice.

"Texas has always been, and continues to be, a leader in the modern day abolitionist movement, and this legislation is the first of its kind in the United States," Rep. Randy Weber said. "Most people think human trafficking happens elsewhere in places like Thailand and Cambodia, but the reality is that it is happening in our own backyard. In fact, the vast majority of the victims identified within Texas are actually our own citizens."

The taskforce will work with U.S. attorneys, border patrol agents, and the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards to develop and conduct training for law enforcement personnel, judges and their staff, examine law enforcement agency training protocol, and develop recommendations for strengthening state and local efforts to prevent human trafficking.

According to the U.S. State Department, nearly one in five victims of human trafficking in the U.S. travels through Texas, with Houston and El Paso listed among the most intense trafficking jurisdictions in the country. Between 14,500 and 17,500 people are trafficked into the U.S. each year, 80 percent of them women and 50 percent of them children. Victims of human trafficking are recruited, harbored and transported for labor or services through the use of force, fraud or coercion, and are subjected to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, slavery or forced commercial sex acts.

We will undoubtedly be seeing more of these types of state legislation being signed over the next couple of years. Upon reading the bill itself, the highlight is probably Subchapter J-1, which is a provision for assistance to domestic victims of human trafficking (US citizens and permanent legal residents), which is currently not covered by federal legislation. The Task Force itself seems to apply to all victims, however the subchapter provides a grant program and specific resources for domestic victim services. It also includes a provision for the study of how to fund victim assistance programs, including the possibility of the use of assets seized from traffickers. The bill also includes the possibility of a study of alternatives to the juvenile justice system for children who engage in acts of prostitution.

Wisconsin Couple Re-sentenced in Trafficking Case

From the DOJ:

Wisconsin Couple Sentenced for Forcing a Woman to Work as Their Domestic Servant for 19 Years

Jefferson Calimlim Sr. and his wife, Elnora Calimlim, both medical doctors in Milwaukee, Wis., were each sentenced today to 72 months in prison for forcing a woman to work as their domestic servant and illegally harboring her for 19 years in their Brookfield, Wis., residence.

The defendants, initially sentenced on Nov. 16, 2006, to four-year prison terms each, were re-sentenced today, after the Court of Appeals identified legal errors in the initial sentencing and remanded to the trial court for re-sentencing.

On May 26, 2006, Jefferson Calimlim Sr. and Elnora Calimlim were convicted by a Milwaukee federal jury for using threats of serious harm and physical restraint against a Filipina to obtain her services, in violation of federal law. Jefferson Calimlim Jr. was convicted of harboring an illegal alien.

According to evidence presented at trial, Jefferson Calimlim Sr. and his wife recruited and brought the victim from the Philippines to the U.S. in 1985 when she was 19 years old. In September 2004, federal law enforcement officers responding to a tip removed the victim, then age 38, from the Calimlim’s residence through the execution of a federal search warrant. The victim testified that for 19 years she was hidden in the Calimlim’s home, forbidden from going outside and told that she would be arrested, imprisoned and deported if she was discovered.

"Our Constitution promises freedom to all," said Loretta King, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "The defendants denied the victim the basic right to her freedom. The Department of Justice is committed to prosecuting those who prey on vulnerable members of our society and hold them in modern-day slavery."

"Human Trafficking is a form of modern day slavery and is simply not acceptable. No person should ever be forced to live in fear, virtual isolation and servitude," said Acting U.S. Attorney Michelle L. Jacobs for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. "The prosecution of human trafficking offenses is a top priority of the Justice Department, and our office is committed to aggressively pursuing these cases."

In Fiscal Year 2008, the Department brought a record number of human trafficking cases, including both the highest number of both sex trafficking and labor trafficking cases ever brought in a single year.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Johnson and Trial Attorney Susan French of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit. The case was jointly investigated by the Milwaukee Office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the FBI.

We use this case a lot when we conduct trainings in Western New York, specifically because the jury was able to convict two people for trafficking and maintaining control of one woman for 19 years. It shows that juries are able to understand the element of this crime that is often most difficult to prove: force, fraud or coercion. Essentially, what was the intent of the trafficker and the mindset of the victim? In this case, to prove that the traffickers were able to keep control for 19 years means this was an exceptionally well-organized case and important to the counter-trafficking movement in general both on a court and law enforcement level, and on the level of average citizens who took part in the jury.

On the down side, this woman was held and forced to serve this couple for 19 years and her traffickers are now only serving 6 years each. Despite the positive fact that this couple was actually convicted for trafficking (as in the infrequent situation that traffickers are actually convicted of the exact crime as opposed to other related charges), the traffickers lose their freedom for not even half of the time they deprived the survivor of her freedom. This speaks to the way US law treats labor trafficking cases. Time to reconsider?

Play Reading: The Girls from Afar

Artistic Director, Rehana Mirza
Producing Director, Rohi Mirza Pandya
Presents

THE GIRLS FROM AFAR by Libby Emmons February 17 @ 6.30pm Teatro Circulo, 65 E. 4th Street, #11, New York, NY 10003

(New York, NY February 11, 2009) Desipina & Company (Desipina) is known for its ground-breaking work in bringing together diverse stories to one stage. Past Desipina productions have been hailed as “a grand celebration of storytelling, immigrant experiences, and cross-cultural pollination. What we have to learn from one another is just boundless; Desipina & Co. are doing a worthy thing tearing down some of the boundaries that exist between us and letting us laugh and cry together in the dark.” (NYTheatre.com).

In light of the economic meltdown and despite drastic arts funding cuts, Desipina is presenting a series of free readings of plays that speak to social issues and challenge perceptions. THE GIRLS FROM AFAR by Libby Emmons (MFA Playwriting, Columbia University), tells the story of two girls who have come from afar to work as domestics in a wealthy home; but what seems at first to be a great opportunity becomes a lifestyle of brutality.

The second workshop presentation, SITA/SATI, by Snehal Desai, (MFA Theater, Yale University), tells the story of newly widowed Sita Desi, an immigrant from India, who joins a company of actors to challenge and skewer the stereotypical views of South Asians. However, along the way, the ritual of Sati (self-immolization) which at first is being presented as a lark, takes a dark turn as the crowd gets caught up in the frenzy of ritual and tradition and start calling on Sita to enter the fire and become an actual Sati.

There will be Talk Backs with Cast & Crew after Readings.

Desipina & Company is a 501(c) 3, not for profit fusion arts company that focuses on film and theater to promote the sharing and spreading of artistic, cultural, and political dialogues within and between communities. Desipina, as a term, is slang for describing a person of South Asian (desi) and Filipina (pina) descent, like the two founding sisters of Desipina, Rehana Mirza and Rohi Mirza Pandya. Together since 2000, these sisters and their supporters have brought a new, powerful voice to South Asian and Asian men, women, and children.

Tickets are FREE

For reservations, please email rsvp@desipina.org or for additional information, please visit us at www.desipina.org