From Idealist

Program Assistant/Case Aide U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants

U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI), a nongovernmental, not-for-profit national organization dedicated to addressing the needs and rights of refugees and immigrants, seeks a Program Assistant/Case Aide for its Raleigh, North Carolina field office. This field office operates as a refugee resettlement program and employment program for refugees, asylees and victims of trafficking, and community education programs.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: USCRI’s North Carolina field office has an immediate job vacancy for one part time Bilingual Case Aide. Essential job duties include providing translation, interpretation and case management and employment services to clients. Prepare and maintain case files, records and correspondence.

REQUIREMENTS: Excellent interpersonal skills, bilingual English and Spanish, the candidate must have valid Driver’s License, clean driving record and personal transportation. Prior experience with social services provision, employment services or refugee resettlement is preferred and the candidate must have dedication to the human rights of refugees, immigrants, asylum seekers and displaced people. J

OB SITE LOCATION: Work will be performed at the Triangle region of North Carolina and Eastern NC 3801 Lake Boone Trail Suite 200 Raleigh, North Carolina

How to Apply: US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants is an equal opportunity employer. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply.

Please submit via email a resume that includes salary history with a cover letter describing your interest and qualifications to:
Human Resources U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants
2231 Crystal Drive, Suite 350 Arlington, VA 22202
humanresources@uscridc.org(for email submission, please include the position and your name in the subject line)

5-year-old Shaniya Nicole Davis Found Dead, Mother Accused of Sex Trafficking

On Saturday, November 14th, North Carolina police charged Antoinette Nicole Davis with human trafficking of her 5-year-old daughter for commercial sex. According to CBS News, " North Carolina police now say that the mother of 5-year-old Shaniya Nicole Davis, who has been missing since Tuesday, forced her child into sexual servitude and prostitution. . . Fayetteville police charged Antoinette Nicole Davis on Saturday with charges including human trafficking, child abuse involving prostitution, filing a false police report and resisting, delaying or obstructing an officer. "

Read the Full Article here.

On Monday, November 16th, the girl's body was found. Charges have been filed against Antoinette Nicole Davis and Mario Andrette McNeill, who was charged with first-degree kidnapping. According to the Associated Press, "[police] said surveillance footage from a Sanford hotel showed him carrying Shaniya. Authorities said McNeill admitted taking the girl, though his attorney said he will plead not guilty."

Read the Full Article here.

According to CBS, "Lockhart [Shaniya Davis' father] and his sister, who live out of state, cared for the girl until last month, when she went to live with her mother. Davis had worked to get her life together and had been working for at least six months and gotten a place of her own, Lockhart said. . . 'She's a precious, little angel, full of joy," Lockhart said. "A little reserved when you first meet her, but once she gets to know you, she just runs around, plays and won't leave you alone.'"

Read the Full Article here.

WNCT, a North Carolina CBS affiliate, points out that, "As tragic and troubling as the Shaniya Davis case is, it’s perhaps just as troubling to know that it’s not an isolated incident. Investigators say human trafficking is the fastest growing criminal enterprise in the world."

Read the Full Article here.

Child Labor in Blueberry Fields

Earlier this week, ABC broke a story worked on by a group of Carnegie Fellows about child labor in blueberry fields in Michigan; in addition, the fellows investigated child labor in agriculture in New Jersey and North Carolina. According to the story, "A five-year-old girl, named Suli, was seen lugging two heavy buckets of blueberries picked by her parents and brothers, aged seven and eight. An 11-year-old boy in the Adkin fields told the Carnegie fellows he had been picking blueberries since the age of eight."

In addition to violating child labor lays, these young children are exposed to harmful labor conditions, particularly given the wide-spread use of pesticides and chemicals. According to the ABC story, "The nurse with a migrant health clinic program, Josie Ellis, told the fellows she is concerned for the health of the young children given the widespread use of pesticides in the fields." Health consequences includes respiratory problems, rashes, and neurological problems.

Like slavery, people may be aware that child labor is still a problem, but most do not think of it occurring in the United States. The ABC story quotes Zama Coursen-Neff of Human Rights Watch as saying: "Americans think of child labor as a problem elsewhere, but in fact we have that problem in our own backyard." Human Rights Watch is also conducting an investigation into child labor in the U.S.

Major US companies, including Kroger and Wal-Mart, used to purchase blueberries from Adkins, the grower whose fields have been worked by children, according to the Carnegie Fellows investigation. "Walmart and the Kroger supermarket chain have severed ties with one of the country's major blueberry growers after an ABC News investigation found children, including one as young as five-years-old, working in its fields."

In an interview with Democracy Now, Brian Ross, the chief investigative correspondent at ABC News, stated "we discovered a pervasive pattern, really across the country, of a situation that has continued for decades and has gone unenforced. There are laws against children this young working in agricultural fields. But for the most part, until very recently, those laws were largely ignored by federal authorities at the Department of Labor."

This raises questions about the responsibility of both the US Government and corporations such as Wal-Mart, given that these violations of child labor laws are occurring systematically and have been for years. Though Hilda Solis, Secretary of Labor, released a statement in September stating that "Child labor and forced labor are inexcusable abuses of human rights," such abuses continue to occur in the U.S. The ABC story reports that "While advocates for children welcomed the enforcement efforts, many say the fines levied by the Department of Labor, are so slight they're little more than a slap on the wrist."

Ending child labor will take a commitment to enforcing child labor laws, as well as a commitment to economic and social justice for low-income families and migrant workers, since these practices will continue as long as families cannot survive economically under current labor practices.

Picture taken from ABC News Investigates

NGO: Traid Ladder of Hope

I recently received an e-mail from a member of an organization called, "Traid Ladder of Hope." She was seeking for support to establish shelters for human trafficking victims in North Carolina. Granted, human trafficking in the United States is nothing new. But I have never imagined North Carolina as a state of high human trafficking rate.

I was fortunate enough to be able to interview Sandra Johnson ( founder) and Danielle Mitchelle (executive director) of the organization, " Triad Ladder of Hope-- an anti-human trafficking organization located in North Carolina. The two representatives of Triad Ladder of Hope answered a few questions regarding the organization and its anti-human trafficking effort:

YK: Tell me a little bit about your organization:

Sandra: I worked for a year under a federal grant. Seeing the need for more faith based organizations to get involved in the human trafficking issue, Triad Ladder of Hope Ministry was born. The human trafficking issue is a social issue which should be addressed by our churches.

YK: What is the current situation of human trafficking in NC?

Danielle: Pretty much the same as the current HT situation everywhere…it's bad. It's hard to know all the numbers and statistics because it is so underground. We work with survivors of Human Trafficking in the Triad and through hearing their stories, we know this issue is much bigger than anyone can comprehend. However, when people ask me for statistics in NC my answer is always the same: What number are you looking for? What number will make you care? What number is enough? Because as far as I am concerned, 1 case of Human Trafficking in NC is TOO MANY!

YK: Your organization has an interesting name. Does it have any meaning behind it?

Sandra: “Triad” represents the area in which we live and minister. “Ladder” is a visual picture of our motto … “Rebuilding lives One Step at a time”.

Danielle: We didn't want to just raise awareness about the issue of HT. We want to help victims get rescued and become survivors. We want to be the ladder that gives them the steps to have renewed hope in their lives. There are also 4 rungs on our ladder b/c we have 4 “steps” to help us focus on eradicating slavery in our communities and bring hope to victims.

EDUCATION is the key to eradicating modern-day slavery in our communities. Triad Ladder of Hope utilizes volunteers to organize campaigns against slavery and raise awareness in our communities. We offer training and education on why trafficking happens, how it takes place, identifying predators, identifying and interacting with potential victims. We offer training and education to churches, law-enforcement, service providers, schools, and anyone else who will listen.

RESCUE: We work closely with law enforcement and the community to help identify potential victims or trafficking situations and to rescue victims from their situation.

RESTORATION: After rescue, victims have many needs such as shelter, food, clothing, legal help, protection, and counseling. We work to meet those needs and walk the victim through the process. We are currently working toward opening a shelter where trained staff will continue to help victims through the restoration process.

RE-ENTRY: Once a victim has been rescued and worked through the trauma of exploitation they need to re-enter society. We walk with them through the process of employment training, becoming self supporting and independent.

YK: What are some specific examples of your anti-human trafficking effort?

Sandra: In raising awareness, we recently found out how much sex trafficking was happening in the local high schools through gang recruitment in NC. So we decided to start raising awareness with students. We gave away free t-shirts to middle and high school students that say “Slavery Still Exists…” and on the back it says “in North Carolina”. With the shirts we hand out cards with sex trafficking and gang involvement facts. We encourage them to wear the shirt and tell their friends what they have learned. Our website is also listed on the shirt for students to find out more information. (You can check out the t-shirts on our website and even buy one. For every shirt you buy, it gives us the ability to give away 2 free shirts to students).

Last July, we also trained over 170 law enforcement officers and service providers on how to recognize victims of Human Trafficking and what to do if they come in contact with someone they think is a victim. We do presentations on HT in undocumented immigrant communities in hopes of getting tips on trafficking situations. Sometimes, we even have victims contact us after hearing one of our presentations.

As a faith-based organization, we recently implemented a program called 1 in 100. It is a program that we ask 100 churches in the triad to join us in the fight against slavery. We believe that slavery is a COMMUNITY problem so the community should step up to fight it. We want 100 churches to say, “No, we will not tolerate slavery in our own backyard!”These are just a couple examples but feel free to check out our website and sign up for our newsletter to hear more.

YK: Does your organization work with other community organizations, service providers, or law enforcement or government?

Sandra: We are a part of the Health and Human Services Rescue and Restore Campaign; on the NC Human Trafficking Task Force; and Christian Women’s Job Corps organization. We work with all agencies of law-enforcement, World Relief and other non-profit organizations to help victims re-enter society. Danielle: Of course! We all have a part to play and one of the things I love about anti-trafficking efforts in the Triad is that we are working together! See above about our Rapid Response Team. Also, when working with our clients (HT survivors) we work hand in hand with FBI, local law, Legal Aid and many NGOs to ensure that our clients are being taken care of. YK: Do you utilize volunteers and, if so, how do you recruit volunteers and who are they?

Danielle: We depend heavily on volunteers. Every time we do an awareness event we encourage people to come to our weekly volunteer meeting and get involved. We do Awareness events about twice a week. Our volunteers help out in a lot of ways but mostly with awareness events, training and outreach.

YK: What about your organization’s unique efforts do you think makes it a particularly effective in the means of raising awareness of trafficking?

Sandra: Triad Ladder of Hope exists for our community. Community means that we help each other. There are people who find themselves in our community, desperate but too afraid or unable to ask for help. It may be the night watchman that notices, or someone living in the next apartment. We all need to be aware in order to eradicate slavery in our community. We offer training to local churches and other organizations to educate each of us who live here. We work closely with the local law enforcement agencies and first responders both with training and victim assistance.

Danielle: I had to decide a while back that I will not be able to eradicate slavery in the world during my lifetime, probably not even in the USA. However, I do believe that if we all work together then in 5-10 years we CAN start to see slavery eradicated in the Triad. We really focus on people fighting slavery in their own community. After all, how can we fight slavery in other countries if we allow it to happen in our own city?

YK: How do you see your organization evolve in the future?

Sandra: Our dream is to become so successful in the Triad that other parts of the state will get involved in their communities and fight along with us. We want to change lives by creating laws and awareness to allow these victims to become contributing members of our communities.

YK: How can people support your organization and its initiatives?

Danielle: Volunteer. Sign up for the Victim Partnership Program where 100% of your donation goes directly to a service for a victim. The more partnerships we have, the more victims we can help. Encourage your church to be 1 in 100 if your church is in the Triad of NC.

For more information, visit http://www.triadladderofhope.org.

Police Shut Down Spa, Arrest Owner On Sex Charges

From WSOCTV.com:

MONROE, North Carolina- A Monroe massage parlor has been shut down after a three-month undercover investigation. Police said they arrested the owner and two employees on sex charges.

The owner of the Island Day Spa, on Highway 74, Son Jarkowski, was charged with human trafficking and maintaining a place of prostitution. Employee Min Ye was charged with solicitation. Another employee, Dan Kim, was charged with two counts of indecent exposure.All the crimes shocked Mark Binks, whose family shopped at the grocery store in the same shopping center as the spa.

“It’s hard to believe something like this would be going on in this area,” Binks said. “It’s too rural, you know, nothing happens here."Monroe police said the arrests were the result of an undercover investigation that began back in April. Sgt. T.J. Goforth said that’s when officers received a tip that the spa was a front for prostitution.

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North Carolina: Man Gets 14 Years for Human Trafficking

From the Charlotte Observer:

One of two illegal immigrants charged with smuggling a teenage girl into South Carolina and forcing her into prostitution was sentenced Friday to more than 14 years in prison.

Jesus Perez-Laguna was also ordered to pay $52,500 in restitution during a federal court hearing in Columbia, the U.S. Justice Department said. U.S. District Judge Joseph F. Anderson Jr. also ordered that he be deported after his release and never be allowed to re-enter the United States.

Perez-Laguna and a co-defendant, Ciro Bustos-Rosales, 36, pleaded guilty in September, admitting that they transported the 14-year-old girl across the U.S.-Mexico border and into South Carolina, via North Carolina, to force her into prostitution.

In April, Bustos-Rosales was sentenced to nearly six years in prison and ordered to pay restitution. Authorities are still searching for a third defendant, Guadalupe Reyes-Rivera.

In June 2006, the defendants arranged for the girl to be smuggled into the country under the pretense of getting restaurant work. She was taken to Charlotte, N.C., several locations in South Carolina and eventually Columbia, where she was forced "to perform acts of prostitution and turn over the proceeds," according to a sworn statement from Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agent Craig Hannah.

Prosecutors said Perez-Laguna and Bustos-Rosales marketed their business by passing out business cards and hired drivers to transport women to meet with clients, according to court documents. Federal agents have said a 19-year-old girl and 31-year-old woman also were involved in the prostitution ring.

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