Somalis in Twin Cities Shaken by Sex-Trafficking Charges

From The New York Times on 23 November:

By Erik Eckholm

When the girl now identified as Jane Doe 2 came under their control in 2006 at age 12, the Somali Outlaws and the Somali Mafia gangs set a firm rule: Their members could have sex with her for nothing; others had to pay with money or drugs.

Repeatedly over the next three years, in apartments, motel rooms and shopping center bathrooms in Minnesota and Tennessee, the girl performed sexual acts for gang members and paying customers in succession, according to a federal indictment that charged 29 Somalis and Somali-Americans with drawing young girls into prostitution over the last decade, using abuse and threats to keep them in line, and other crimes. The suspects, now aged 19 to 38, sported nicknames like Hollywood, Cash Money and Forehead, prosecutors said.

The allegations of organized trafficking, unsealed this month, were a deep shock for tens of thousands of Somalis in the Minneapolis area, who fled civil war and famine to build new lives in the United States and now wonder how some of their youths could have strayed so far. Last week, in quiet murmurings over tea and in an emergency public meeting, parents and elders expressed bewilderment and sometimes outrage- anger with the authorities for not acting sooner to stop the criminals, and with themselves for not saving their youth.

For the rest of the article visit The New York Times.

Action Steps from the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation

Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation (CAASE) recently presented at a national human trafficking conference on effective ways for citizens to Demand Change! This post will highlight steps for you to demand change on international sex trafficking and the commercially sexually exploited children (CSEC). Each action results in a reaction, each reaction hopefully leads to a discussion on ways to end human trafficking. Add your voice to the Demand for Change.

1) Keep Informed: Read up on international sex trafficking on websites such as www.notforsale.org; www.love146.org, www.polarisproject.org, Read blogs on the issues. Knowledge is power. Equip yourself with the power to end human trafficking.

2) Raise awareness. Visit the “Restore and Rescue” campaign for resources to share with your community. (http://www.acf.hhs.gov/trafficking).

3) Fundraise for a trusted organization fighting human trafficking. Events could include a benefit concert, movie night, or a 5k marathon to engage the local community. Potential movies include Playground, Very Young Girls, Lilya 4-Ever, or Born into Brothels.

4) Volunteer! Take time to volunteer at a local organization aimed at the abolition of human trafficking. Or donate money to an anti-trafficking organization.

5) Advocate! Be the voice of the estimated 600,000-800,000 individuals trafficked internationally each year.

a) Lobby for international airlines to train their employees on identifying human trafficking victims. A free manual is provided at www.innocentatrisk.org.

b) Ask your representative to support the Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Deterrence and Victims Support Act. (HR5575).

6) Add the Human Trafficking Hotline number to your phone. Take out your phone right now and add 1-888-3737-888. Phone to “report a tip; to connect with anti-trafficking services in your area; or to request training and technical assistance, general information, or specific anti-trafficking resources” (Polaris Project)

The steps outlined are just a foray into the ways YOU can make a difference and make your voice heard!

Posted on behalf of Laura Convery.

Human Rights and Sex Trafficking: A Film Forum (Cambridge, MA)

December 2 – 5
Brattle Theatre
Cambridge, MA

Red Light Trailer:

The Boston Initiative to Advance Human Rights (BITAHR) board members Kate Nace Day and executive director Alicia Foley Winn have launched Human Rights and Sex Trafficking: A Film Forum to explore the use of film as an effective way to raise awareness and trigger action in combating commercial sexual exploitation of girls and women.

The forum will consider the role of film in advancing women’s human rights and the many governmental and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) efforts to combat sex trafficking. Preliminary research indicates that this forum will be the first of its kind, merging filmmakers and academics in order to understand the phenomenon on all levels, from theory to practical solutions and law.

Sex trafficking involves a particularly perverse dimension: the use of the victim in perpetrating a fiction necessary to avoid police detection and legal sanctions. The victim becomes a coerced accomplice because she is proffered to the general public, johns, and law enforcement as a prostitute. Film and documentary offer an otherwise unavailable view into the process of trafficking, the accompanying torture, and the mindset of the victim.

Recognizing the need for greater public and academic awareness of sex trafficking, this forum will investigate the power of film in effectuating a movement to combat commercial sexual exploitation and modern-day slavery.

Learn more

Welcome HTP's Newest Contributor: Annie Durkin

Slavery in 2010 Been there; done that, got the T-shirt; but then…

As someone who spent four years of her undergrad education studying history, I put a lot of faith in the fact that we learn from the errors of our past. We make progress and we move forward - well, at least one would hope.

What have we learned from slavery throughout the years? That we can change the technique, nomenclature, or hide behind technology and pretend that it no longer exists? But there it is…like a bad penny. Always finding a way into our lives.

There are more people enslaved today than at any other time in history. Domestic labor and sex trafficking thrives right under our noses. This exists in the restaurants we eat, the housekeepers we employ, the laborers who build our homes. This is not progress. How can it possibly be that, at this very moment, throughout the world, there are six-year-old girls being sold as sex slaves? How can it be that people don’t know this is an issue that permeates our world?

As Americans, the list of problems we have to face is daunting. Yet we still have so much to be grateful for. We have important issues to stand up and fight for---national security, health care, the economy and the list goes on and on. What I am asking you is this. When will we put human beings first? When will we all be brave enough to stand up to the cowards who take part in the enslavement of men, women and children?

When will our sense of decency and human compassion override our willingness to make a good deal on cheap labor be a reason to turn our backs on human suffering? The reality is that if it seems like a deal “too good to be true,” then somebody else – not you - is paying the difference. You should be aware that human slavery and the exploitation of people seeking a better life, is a prime source of the “good deal” you seek.

It’s not my place to judge or scold others, but I also have no plans to turn a blind eye; we’ve been there and done that. Let’s try something new. The truth is, we can still play a role in fixing something that is terribly wrong and the first step is to acknowledge that there is still a problem. After that, you can listen to people who are paying attention.

Thoughts for Thanksgiving: 50 Years Since Harvest of Shame

The day after Thanksgiving in 1960, the documentary Harvest of Shame, a report by Edward Murrow about the situation facing agricultural workers, was aired. 50 years later, agricultural workers in the U.S. still struggle with many of the problems exposed by this film: poverty wages, sub-standard housing, untreated injuries, children being kept out of school, lack of labor regulations and/or enforcement, long, sometimes dangerous journeys to find work, among many others. I kept thinking as I watched the documentary, how many of the quotes in this film could we simply transpire to a modern documentary on agricultural labor?

"We used to own our slaves, now we just rent them."

"But a migrant was just a person who worked on a farm to me."

The response of the employer, who claimed that farmworkers are the happiest race of people in the world. "They just love this."

"They have no voice in the legislative halls. They certainly have no voice in Congress. And their employers do have a voice. Their employers are highly organized, and make their wants and terms and conditions known to our legislators."

We still cling to a romantic view of farm life - the one of commercials of glistening fruit and fields waving back and forth with the wind. The happy farmer- gloved and smeared with dirt. While there is much pride in the act of growing food and nourishing people, the reality is that the problems exposed in this film today are compounded by the industrial agricultural system that has exploded since 1960.

Farms are larger and must answer to the demands of consumers of supermarkets and fast food chains and the system relies on cheap labor. People are no longer connected to the food they eat. Think about the Thanksgiving meal you enjoyed today - do you know the origin of your ingredients or under what conditions the food was brought to your table? It is very likely migrant or immigrant farm labor helped make that Thanksgiving meal happen.

Harvest of Shame is, unfortunately, not far from today's reality in the fields. The demographics of farmworkers might be different, but slavery, abuse and poverty are still common. And just as there are many relevant quotes to be pulled from Harvest of Shame, there are also relevant questions that we should still be asking ourselves:

"Is it possible that we think too much in terms of charity, in terms of Thanksgiving Day baskets, in terms of Christmas baskets, and not in terms enough of eliminating poverty?"

"Must the 2 to 3 million migrants who help feed their fellow Americans work, travel and live under conditions that wrong the dignity of man?"

Historic Breakthrough in Florida's Tomato Fields

Last week, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers announced that they and "the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange (FTGE) have reached an agreement that will extend the CIW's Fair Food principles – including a strict code of conduct, a cooperative complaint resolution system, a participatory health and safety program, and a worker-to-worker education process – to over 90% of the Florida tomato industry."

In a CIW Press release, Lucas Benitze said “This is a watershed moment in the history of Florida agriculture. With this agreement, the Florida tomato industry – workers and growers alike – is coming together in partnership to turn the page on the conflict and stagnation of the past and instead forge a new and stronger industry.”

An article in the Atlantic points out "One penny a pound might not seem like a very big raise, but when you pick a ton of tomatoes a day, as a Florida farm worker can, one penny represents a raise from $50 to $70, the difference between poverty and a livable (though still paltry) wage. And it doesn't seem radical to suggest that growers should abide by a reasonable code of conduct that includes a mechanism to address complaints, a health and safety program, and training sessions."

According to the CIW website, "The CIW is a community-based organization of mainly Latino, Mayan Indian and Haitian immigrants working in low-wage jobs throughout the state of Florida." The CIW began campaiging for workers' rights in 1993, taking on fast food giants like Taco Bell, McDonalds, and Burger King along the way. They also have an Anti-Slavery Campaign, which they describe as "a worker-based approach to eliminating modern-day slavery in the agricultural industry. The CIW helps fight this crime by uncovering, investigating, and assisting in the federal prosecution of slavery rings preying on hundreds of farmworkers."

Of last week's victory, Benitze said: “Make no mistake, there is still much to be done. This is the beginning, not the end, of a very long journey. But with this agreement, the pieces are now in place for us to get to work on making the Florida tomato industry a model of social accountability for the 21st century.”

Why Child Labor and Trafficking Matter in Pakistan

From the Daily Times
VIEW: Child labour: a threat to the future —Mashal Sahir

If poverty justifies child labour, then it should also justify burglary, prostitution, kidnapping, smuggling and all other crimes. Child labour is a much more serious crime compared to others, because unlike other crimes that affect individuals, child labour affects an entire generation

Child labour is work that is unacceptable because the children involved are either too young or because, even though they have attained the minimum age to take up employment, the work that they do is unsuitable for a person below the age of 18. Child labour is a violation of fundamental human rights and has been shown to hinder children’s development. According to the last available statistics, Pakistan has a total population of 158 million, which includes a total of 40 million children, out of which 3.8 million are the victims of child labour. Many children are victims of the worst forms of child labour, such as bonded labour and slavery, and are easily exploited and abused on account of their vulnerability. It was found that of the total population of child labourers, seven percent suffered from illness or injuries frequently and 28 percent occasionally.

Child labour is not an isolated phenomenon. It is the outcome of a multitude of socio-economic factors and poverty is among its most prominent aspects. In Pakistan, around 30 percent of the people are living below the poverty line. Due to the unfair distribution of income, unemployment and inflation, poor parents are forced to send their children to work for economic reasons. In many cases, poverty has also led to the bonded labour of children. There are specific cases of children being pledged or bonded in return for loans to their parent(s) or guardian, notably in the carpet industry and in agriculture. The way children are absorbed and obliged to work varies but, as a matter of routine, the children of bonded families start working as soon as they reach school age, if not before. According to these parents, their actions are completely justified on account of their poverty. However, if poverty justifies child labour, then it should also justify burglary, prostitution, kidnapping, smuggling and all other crimes. Child labour is a much more serious crime compared to others, because unlike other crimes that affect individuals, child labour affects an entire generation. . .

Natural calamities and crises also play a huge role in giving rise to child labour. The recent floods that hit Pakistan can be seen as a major threat to the future of thousands of children. Once the families that have been displaced by the floods return to their homes, they will encourage their children to go to work and help restore the family. Media reports have indicated that children from the flood-hit regions are being promised lucrative jobs, taken away from their families and then being used for sex work. An increase in child labour was noted after the previous natural calamity — the 2005 earthquake. There are fears that this pattern could be repeated.

The gap between the law and its implementation is a serious problem in Pakistan. According to the Child Labour Law in Pakistan, a child cannot be employed before the age of 15, under any circumstances. Moreover, bonded labour, or ‘debt bondage’ is a practice condemned by the UN as being similar to slavery and consequently a violation of Article 4 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is considered by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to constitute forced labour and to be a violation of the ILO’s Convention no 29 on forced labour. However, the government has not put its laws into practice to stop child labour and these laws are universally ignored in Pakistan where children aged four to fourteen keep the country’s factories operating, often working in brutal and squalid conditions. . .

The future of Pakistan depends on whether the government chooses to use this recent crisis as a further excuse for spending cuts in key social areas, or whether it seizes the opportunity and mobilises the necessary political will to prioritise the elimination of child labour as a wise investment in future development.

Read the full article here.


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This is a really interesting opinion piece which identifies the reasons why child labor and child trafficking matters in Pakistan (and really everywhere). Child labor in Pakistan largely exists due to poverty but the author also notes the connections between child labor and over-population, quality of education, natural disasters, and problems with law enforcement. In order to fight child labor and trafficking the author suggests the government needs to ensure there is access to quality education, and that there are social protections for poor families.

Perhaps most importantly the author recognizes the connection between healthy, well educated children and the success of a country. When children are unable to attend quality schools they are also unable to learn the skills that would be necessary for improving their family's lives and possibly bringing their family out of poverty. This puts future generations of children at risk for forced and abuse labor.

Ultimately the issue of child labor and trafficking is an issue not only of child psychological and social development, but also of the future economic development and stability of the communities where they live. By turning a blind eye to child labor now, we put future generations at risk for exploitation. At the same time though, without the proper social protections for the poor, many families simply cannot afford to loose the income their children make, however small. This is the conundrum that Pakistan and many developing countries and communities face.