allAfrica.com: Rwanda to Send Home Bangladeshi Human Trafficking Victims

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31 December 2010

Rwandan and Bangladeshi authorities are working to deport 64 Bangladeshi men, victims of human trafficking, home to Bangladesh. Their suspected trafficker was arrested in Kigali earlier this week, police said Friday.

Bangladeshi Abdul Sattar Miah was arrested on Monday night in a hotel in the Rwandan capital, police spokesperson Eric Kayiranga told the AFP news agency. He had the passports of his presumed victims.

"Our immigration services are working with their counterparts in Bangladesh so that the victims can be sent back home," Kayiranga said.

The 64 men, aged between 20- and 50-years-old, arrived in Rwanda in October, having paid their own tickets to Kigali.

Miah initially claimed they were his relatives, and he wanted to set up a tourism company. They were housed in two houses he rented, which the police raided after a tip.

Kayiranga said the men paid Miah between 1,100 and 1,300 euros in exchange for the promise of "well-paying jobs".

Police are investigating the theory that they were being sent to Mozambique to work on farms set up there by white Zimbabwean farmers.

Miah was arrested in Mozambique in 2006 for smuggling in a group of Bangladeshis via Madagascar, according to Kayiranga.

Source:allafrica.com

allAfrica.com: Rwanda to Send Home Bangladeshi Human Trafficking Victims

Related articles

• 2010's Human Trafficking Heroes (humantrafficking.change.org)

South Bend Tribune: Advocates call for tougher steps against human trafficking

December 31. 2010 6:59AM

By YANG ZHANG
Capital News Service

LANSING — Three years ago, a group of college women was recruited to come from Ukraine to Detroit with promises of jobs as professional dancers, but were reportedly forced instead to work in strip clubs and as prostitutes.

They are among an estimated 17,500 foreign nationals who are brought to the country annually for exploitation. The number of U.S. citizens trafficked in the country is even higher, according to Polaris Project, a Washington-based organization that works to prevent human trafficking.

Victim advocates, state officials and legislators are trying to raise awareness about the issue in Michigan.
"It is a problem all over the world and our state is not immune to it," said Jane White, a criminal justice professor at Michigan State University and the founder of the Michigan Human Trafficking Task Force.

White said Michigan, as a border and agricultural state, is especially vulnerable to human trafficking.

"We have six different ways of entering into the country," she said. "And we have a high demand for agricultural workers."

Michigan passed a package of laws this year to crack down on such crimes, but Rep. Mary Valentine, D-Norton Shore, said stronger measures are needed.

Anne Pawli, Valentine's legislative assistant, said, "We want to raise awareness of human trafficking in Michigan and educate legislators about the need for strong legislation."

Statistics show 80 percent of victims are female and 50 percent are minors.

Most are forced to work as cheap laborers or in the sex trade, White said.

A recent report by the Michigan Women's Foundation shows an increasing trend in the number of young girls who are sexually exploited.

Bridgette Carr, human trafficking clinic director at the University of Michigan, said victims are in the state's big cities and small towns, in hotels, restaurants and hair salons.

But she said the chance of rescuing them is "extremely low" because most people aren't aware of the issue and can't identify victims.

The Ukrainian women were rescued. At least one went home and one has a public relations job in Detroit. Nine defendants in the case were sentenced to the federal prison.

The Department of Human Services and local groups offer shelter, food, clothing, counseling and medical treatment for young victims. The department has served about 80 children in the past three years.

The Hope Project, a faith-based nonprofit group in Muskegon, Mich., also helps rehabilitate juvenile victims. It's building a rehabilitation center with a school, facilities for activities and walking and bike trails.

Women at Risk International, a Grand Rapids-based nonprofit organization, connects rescued women and children with those who can provide shelter, therapy, child care, education and other services.

Jennifer Roberts, the organization's executive assistant, said it also tries to identify and rescue victims.

"In Grand Rapids we have helped Homeland Security in the last year uncover one brother with underage girls and several trafficking leads," she said.

Source:southbendtribune.com
http://www.southbendtribune.com/article/20101231/News01/12310361/-1/googleNews

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• 2010's Top 10 Victories in the Fight Against Human Trafficking (humantrafficking.change.org)

Woman engaged in trafficking held in Ghaziabad | New Delhi News.Net

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New Delhi News.Net
Friday 31st December, 2010 (IANS)

The Ghaziabad Police have arrested a woman engaged in human trafficking and rescued two of three Assamese girls sold here, police said Friday.

However, two other traffickers are absconding.

The police said they had received a telephone-message from the Assam Police a week ago about three Assamese girls having been sold here. The anti-human trafficking cell traced the woman but has been able to find only two of the three trafficked girls.

During interrogation, the woman confessed to having bought a girl. She revealed her identity as Parul, a resident of Shastri Nagar in Ghaziabad.

On her tip-off, the police found the girl at a roadside dhaba. She further revealed that another girl was sold in BB Nagar town of Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh. The police rescued the second girl also.

The Assam police informed that the three girls from Fakiraganj town of Dhubri district of Assam were abducted and sold in Ghaziabad. The girls were identified as Momrin Khatoon (25), Abida Khatoon (22) and Mazida Khatoon (16).

'Mazida was rescued from one Jai Singh's house in BB Nagar and Momrin was found from a dhaba in Shastri Nagar locality of Ghaziabad where Parul had placed her on a job to clean utensils.'

'Jai Singh fled from the house while Parul was arrested. The two girls have been lodged in Nari Niketan in Meerut and a hunt is on to recover the third girl,' SSP Raghvir Lal said in a press conference.

'The Assam Police is expected to reach Ghaziabad within two days,' added the SSP.

Source: New Delhi News.Net

Woman engaged in trafficking held in Ghaziabad | New Delhi News.Net

2010's Human Trafficking Heroes | End Human Trafficking | Change.org

by Amanda Kloer December 31, 2010 06:00 AM (PT)

2010 was a year full of victories in the fight against human trafficking, and several people and organizations helped to make those victories possible. While the heroes in the fight against human trafficking are many and often unsung, five entities stood out in 2010 for their passion, courage, and the incredible strides they've made to stop modern-day slavery. Here are Change.org's 2010 Human Trafficking Heroes.

2010 Human Trafficking Heroes

Coalition Immokalee Workers (CIW): The CIW is kicking slavery and exploitation out of the Florida tomato industry, one company at a time. In 2010, Anti-Slavery Campaign Coordinator Laura Germino was named the first ever Trafficking in Persons Report Hero from the U.S. for her role in freeing over 1,000 farmworkers from slavery. CIW also signed a historic agreement with the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange, which covers over 90% of the industry. Thanks to the groundbreaking work of the CIW and their partner, the Student Farmworker Alliance, the tomato industry will be fairer in 2011.

The Body Shop: The Body Shop is redefining what it means for a company to be involved in a social issue. Not only are they donating the proceeds from their Soft Hands, Kind Heart lotion to anti-trafficking organizations, but they're also running an online campaign to improve treatment of child trafficking victims and laws against trafficking in the U.K. In 2010, The Body Shop truly went above and beyond mere corporate donations to fight human trafficking on the ground, and continues to encourage their customers to do the same.

Théophile Kouamouo, Stéphane Guédé, and Saint Claver Oula: These three Ivorian journalists exposed significant abuses, including child labor, in the cocoa industry in their country, but were jailed after reporting the truth. However, they did not waiver from revealing the often cruel reality of cocoa harvesting in Cote d'Ivoire. The resolve of these brave reporters has inspired other journalists in the country to advocate for freedom of the press and transparency in cocoa harvesting. Thousands of Change.org members supported their release, which was secured in 2010.

The Emma Willard School: The student activists from Slavery No More at the Emma Willard School in Troy, NY launched a successful campaign this year to make their school the first official Fair Trade high school in the United States. Students and faculty, understanding the critical role Fair Trade plays in reducing forced, child, and slave labor around the world, worked tirelessly to ensure Fair Trade was integrated into the fabric of their school. In doing so, they have provided inspiration for campuses across the country to go Fair Trade.

The Washington Post: The WaPo joined many other prestigious newspapers in the country when they chose to stop advertising for massage parlors and escort services in 2010. Their decision has not only denied pimps and traffickers and easy and affordable place to sell their victims, they have also inspired activists from across the country to take on similar ads in their local newspapers. And they have helped set a new standard for newspapers across the country to reject advertising that supports human trafficking.

Applause and thanks to the many people, both on this list and not, who helped make 2010 a great year in the fight against human trafficking. Please continue to support Change.org's 2010 Human Trafficking Heroes and the victories and ongoing battles they represent in 2011.

Photo credit: duckbrown

Amanda Kloer is a Change.org Editor and has been a full-time abolitionist in several capacities for seven years. Follow her on Twitter @endhumantraffic

2010's Human Trafficking Heroes | End Human Trafficking | Change.org

China issues surrender deadline for human traffickers

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English.news.cn 2010-12-30 21:46:12

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BEIJING, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- China's law enforcement agencies have set a deadline for suspects involved in the abduction and trafficking of women and children, as they must surrender within the first three months of 2011 or face severe punishment.

China's Ministry of Public Security said Thursday that it would issue a joint notice with the Ministry of Justice, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate Saturday, ordering human trafficking suspects to surrender by the end of March 2011.

The suspects under the surrender order are those who have committed abductions and trafficking of women and children, the buyers of abducted women and children, and those who prevent the rescue of abducted women and children, according to the notice.

These three groups of suspects will face severe punishments if they do not turn themselves in by the deadline or try to transfer or hide the abducted women and children, said the notice.

On the other hand, those who surrender within the deadline may receive lighter or mitigated punishment and, for those with minor offenses, even exemption from punishment.

Despite police crackdowns, human trafficking of women and children has persisted in the country, where males outnumber females and the concept of preferring boys to girls has long taken hold.

Chinese police have been tough on these crimes. In a crackdown begun in April, Chinese police freed 10,621 women and 5,896 children who had been abducted and sold for profits as of September 2010.

In the campaign, police nationwide apprehended 2,398 human trafficking gangs and documented 13,500 such cases.

Editor: Liu

Source: xinhuanet.com
China issues surrender deadline for human traffickers

Trafficking Racket Smashed

2010-10-14

Thai police free 13 girls smuggled from Laos and forced into prostitution.

RFA. Victims of human trafficking were freed from karaoke bars in Thailand's Lop Buri and Prachinburi provinces.

BANGKOK—Highlighting the rising human trafficking problem in Southeast Asia, police in Thailand rescued 13 girls from Laos who were forced into prostitution and arrested four suspects involved in a syndicate smuggling underage girls.

Another victim, also from Laos, was believed to have been tortured to death, police said. The girl’s body was removed from a hospital morgue and cremated in an attempt by the mastermind of the ring to destroy evidence.

“This crime in punishable by death … It is a very serious crime,” Thai police officer Suraseth Hakphan said, commenting on the incident this week.

Most of the girls were working at a karaoke bar in Thailand’s Lop Buri province, police said.

Five women who were believed to have smuggled the victims from Laos and pushed them into prostitution managed to escape the police dragnet.

Police are looking for the five, all from Laos, as well as several others involved in the smuggling racket.

“Authorities in Laos are taking a serious view of this problem as it involves our nationals,” said an official of the embassy of Laos in Bangkok.

One of the rescued girls was freed from another karaoke bar in Prachinburi province, after police pried open the padlock of a crammed room she was living in.

Lao trafficking to Thailand

Human trafficking from Laos is a serious problem.

Most of the girls trafficked from the tiny Southeast Asian state end up in Thailand.

According to an official of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to Laos, some 35 percent of Lao nationals trafficked to Thailand end up in prostitution, a report in the Lao state-run Vientiane Times said last year.

Another 32 percent end up in forced labor, 17 percent work in factories, and 4 percent work on fishing boats, the report said.

About 200,000 to 450,000 people are trafficked annually in the Greater Mekong sub-region, which includes southern China, Laos, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, the countries joined by the Mekong River, the official said.

A U.S. State Department global report on human trafficking this year said many Laotians, particularly women, pay broker fees to obtain jobs in Thailand, normally ranging from U.S. $70 to U.S. $200, but are subsequently subjected to conditions of sexual servitude and forced labor once they arrive in the neighboring country.

Lao men are subjected to conditions of forced labor in the Thai fishing and construction industry, while a small number of Lao women and girls reportedly were also trafficked to China to become brides for Chinese men, the report said.

Laos is also increasingly a transit country for Vietnamese, Chinese, and Burmese women who are subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor in Thailand, according to the report.

Reported by Bounchanh Mouangkham for RFA’s Lao service. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai.

Copyright © 1998-2010 Radio Free Asia. All rights reserved.

Source: Radio Free Asia

Trafficking Racket Smashed

Battle Against Human Trafficking | Editorials | Editorial

The United States remains committed to a world in which every person is able to live free from tyranny, exploitation, and enslavement.

10-23-2010

Photo: U.S. Department Of State

Girl sits in a windowless garage where she was kept for two years. Purchased at the age of 10, she worked as much as 20 hours per day as domestic help.

"We must act together with a fierce urgency to find new and innovative solutions to tackle this age-old crime." -- Luis CdeBaca

The United States remains committed to a world in which every person is able to live free from tyranny, exploitation, and enslavement. But there is still a long way to go said Luis CdeBaca, U.S. Ambassador-at-Large tasked with monitoring and combating human trafficking.

"We continue to see people bought and sold in prostitution, held in involuntary servitude in factories, farms, fishing vessels, and homes, and captured to serve as child soliders," said Ambassador CdeBaca. "This crime persists," he said, "because it is a fluid phenomenon that responds to market demand and operates in zones of impunity that are created by vulnerabilities in laws, natural disasters, and economic instability."

Human trafficking occurs both within countries and across international borders. It is not limited to one gender, faith or geographic area, but it impacts individuals and societies across the globe. Men comprise a significant number of trafficking victims. At the same time, there has been a trend toward the feminization of modern slavery. Today, women make up the majority of those trapped in commercial sex as well as in forced labor situations.

In spite of the many challenges that remain, there have been positive developments in the fight against human trafficking, particularly since the promulgation of the United Nations Palermo Protocol of 2000. One-hundred and forty-one countries have become parties to the Palermo Protocol and 116 countries have enacted legislation prohibiting all forms of trafficking.

Positive developments in Europe include a significant uptick in trafficking victim identification in Albania thanks to proactive implementation of their National Referral Mechanism. And Bosnia and Herzegovina has evolved from a country with widespread sex slavery and abuse problems during the Balkan wars of the 1990s to a country with improved penalties for convicted traffickers and victim protection partnerships with non-governmental organizations.

To keep this trend going, human trafficking must continue to be an agenda item for the U.S. and its allies. Penalties for traffickers must be increased and legal protections for domestic workers must be put in place. "Mindful of each trafficked man, woman and child around the world," said Ambassador CdeBaca, "we must act together with a fierce urgency to find new and innovative solutions to tackle this age-old crime."

Source: VOAnews.com

Battle Against Human Trafficking | Editorials | Editorial

South Texans Move To Africa To Stop Human Trafficking | Corpus Christi, TX | KZTV10.com |

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Posted: Dec 28, 2010 7:09 PM by Spencer Lubitz
Updated: Dec 29, 2010 6:51 AM

CORPUS CHRISTI - Tears filled the Corpus Christi Airport Tuesday evening, as family and friends gathered at the airport to bid farewell to a group of local residents moving to South Africa to combat human trafficking.


"I just can't believe it's finally here," said Sonya Martinez, the group leader.

Excitement exuded from those about to take the 10,000 mile journey to Lesotho.

"We're so anxious and excited just to get on the plane," said Charles Martinez. "Just to be in Lesotho, I can't get my mind off of that. It's exciting."

The group will be housing and caring for the countless victims of the human trafficking industry, a multi-billion dollar business that revolves around buying and selling people as slaves.

"I am a little excited to go to Africa and help the people where help is needed," said Maya Martinez, who, at age 13, will join her parents and become the youngest person to make the move.

Sonya, who has visited the area in the past, said the children are in dire need of assistance.

"They're just very oppressed, and they're very unfortunate, and they're in need. They're in danger," said Sonya.

The society's oppressive nature isn't enough to deter Sonya's husband Charles from counting down the days.

"I will kiss the ground when I get there, and take a very long nap," he said. "I've been so excited; I haven't been able to sleep very well."

This group is just the first wave. Next year, they will be joined by a second group of South Texans who will follow them in making the journey to Southern Africa.

Their work will already be cut out for them once they arrive, but they say South Africa is only the first stop, and it's due to end right back here at home.

"Corpus represents freedom to me," Sonya said. "I'm just looking forward to going to many different places, but starting with South Africa to help make that dream a reality in other places as well."

In two years, the group will return to establish a similar care center in South Texas.

"I am from South Texas, I was born and raised in South Texas," Sonya said, on the importance of returning to build a local facility.

They say they hope to come back with the knowledge to make changes in our own community.

"Hopefully make a difference," Charles said. "That's all we want to do, is make a difference."

With their suitcase filled with wishes and dreams, they were gone.
 Source: kztv10.com
South Texans Move To Africa To Stop Human Trafficking | Corpus Christi, TX | KZTV10.com |

YouTube - Abolitionist - Aaron Cohen - Human Trafficking in The United States and Around The World

Human trafficking is a problem, not just in southeastern Asia or Cambodia, but also right here in the good ole' United States of America. The US is both a destination and a source location for human trafficking victims. Join Aaron Cohen as he investigates the global problem of human trafficking and modern day slavery. See the mass reunion of slaves in Sudan and children returned to their families in Haiti.

YouTube - Abolitionist - Aaron Cohen - Human Trafficking in The United States and Around The World

Journal Online | BI special counters shut down

by Lee Ann P. Ducusin

Wednesday, 29 December 2010 18:55

THE Bureau of Immigration yesterday ordered the removal of all immigration special assistance counters in international airports to prevent human traffickers from using them in their illegal activities. Immigration acting chief Ronaldo Ledesma issued the memorandum “in view of recurring incidents of escorting or facilitating of passengers” through these special counters. “Human trafficking syndicates, in cahoots with some incorrigible immigration personnel, continue to search for ways to enable them to send trafficking victims out of the country and into perilous destinations abroad, especially our aspiring overseas Filipino workers,” he said. Ledesma said closing down the special assistance counters is just one of the many steps the BI is taking to stop human trafficking. He said the immigration bureau will however continue to provide an exclusive counter for APEC Business Travel Card holders and holders of diplomatic or official passports pursuant to international commitment or practice. “This shall be stationed at the most visible area, preferably the centermost counter,” so that monitors could easily spot unauthorized use of the exclusive counter,” the BI chief said. Source: journal.com.ph

Journal Online | BI special counters shut down

SOAP Project Aims to Rescue Kids Caught in Sex Trafficking | NBC Dallas-Fort Worth

By KIM FISCHER

Updated 6:45 PM CST, Tue, Dec 28, 2010

Getty Images

Law enforcement and various nonprofit groups are banding together to fight the trafficking of children during the Super Bowl.

TraffickFree will carry out its S.O.A.P. project during the Super Bowl. Volunteers will distribute thousands of bars of soap with the National Human Trafficking Hotline number to area motels and educate motel owners and managers on human trafficking.

Nine children responded when the idea was used during the last Super Bowl.

Local and state law enforcement met at Cowboys Stadium on Tuesday to learn how to spot children stuck in the sex trade and remove them.

According to the FBI, 100,000 children are trafficked in the United States.

Officials said that while making arrests is important, their first objective will be to rescue victims from the sex trade.

"It's unlike prostitution where you have willing participants, and we want to identify victims, and if we can identify them, it's a great deal for society in a whole," said Dexter Jones, of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, research shows that most victims of commercial sexual exploitation tend to be runaways or "thrown away" youth who live on the streets. Others are abducted or recruited into prostitution through their parents.

About 55 percent of girls living on the streets become involved in commercial sex activity, according to the Department of Justice. Of those, about 20 percent are trafficked nationally by organized crime networks.

Girls first become victims of prostitution at the average age of 12 to 14, according to the Department of Justice. Boys and transgender youth become victims of prostitution at the average age of 11 to 13.

NBC DFW's Lita Beck contributed to this report.

First Published: Dec 28, 2010 5:20 PM CST

Source: nbcdfw.com

SOAP Project Aims to Rescue Kids Caught in Sex Trafficking | NBC Dallas-Fort Worth

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TABC Gets Proactive for Super Bowl 45

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Published : Tuesday, 28 Dec 2010, 6:53 PM CST

• 

  Matt Grubs
  FOX 4 News

ARLINGTON, Texas - With a little more than a month to go before Super Bowl 45 in Arlington, local law enforcement agencies and business owners are preparing for the thousands of fans who will descend on North Texas.

The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission held a training session at Cowboys Stadium on Tuesday covering the prevention, deterrence and detection of alcohol violations.

“Any time we can be proactive and get on the front end of something it’s a whole lot better than being reactive and trying to clean up on the back end. And so we’re trying to be real proactive here both with our law enforcement community as well as our retailers,” said TABC’s Charlie Cloud.

But the TABC is focused on more than just booze.

Human trafficking is high on the agency's radar. While many people think of the sex trade when human trafficking is mentioned, the bulk of the crime is labor-related. Unsuspecting people, often foreigners, come to the United States legally on a work visa or similar arrangement. Once stateside, they are forced into what amounts to indentured servitude. (See video above)

"It's modern day slavery," said advocate Bill Bernstein.

He's one of a handful of those immersed in trying to stem the rising tide of human trafficking. At Dallas' Mosaic Family Services, Bernstein and others have counseled more than 150 victims.

"Often, they don't see themselves as victims because they made the decision to enter into this arrangement," Bernstein notes.

But few realize that they have rights that protect them against forced work.

Spotting human trafficking is notoriously difficult. Relatively few of the people being forced into abusive work conditions are completely isolated. They walk among North Texans at grocery stores and in shopping malls. Psychologically, though, they are hostage. Along with law enforcement agencies local, state, and federal, Bernstein is part of a statewide task force hoping to crack down on human trafficking - especially at high profile events such as the Super Bowl.

The TABC session is one of several scheduled leading up to the big game on Feb. 6 and continues Wednesday.

Source: myfoxdfw.com
TABC Gets Proactive for Super Bowl 45

Life after human trafficking

Written by OTTILIA ANNA MAUNGANIDZE

Thursday, 16 December 2010 12:37

At Pretoria-based Tshwane Home of Hope, the jubilant young faces of the girls who live there hide the truth of the horrors they have encountered. (Pictured: South Africa is the main destination for trafficking victims in the southern Africa region, with women and children coming from neighbouring countries including Zimbabwe) On the premises is a trauma centre – aptly dubbed by one of the residents as “the hope sanctuary” – here the girls meet with a resident social worker and psychologist to share their stories, stories that will never leave the four walls of the room. The Home receives new girls often – most are walk-ins, while the police bring others in from the street corners on which they would have been working. The youngest girl is seven and the oldest is 21; they hail from South Africa, as well as places further afield like Zimbabwe, Burundi, and Democratic Republic of the Congo. Their reasons for coming to the centre are as diverse as their backgrounds. However, they all have one thing in common – they want to be safe. While not all these girls have been trafficked or once worked in the sex industry, they are all at the Home because they have run away from violence. Protection Tendai Joe, director of the centre and also a former street child, works tirelessly to ensure the girls receive adequate protection, go to school and live a life they deserve. Human trafficking and modern-day slavery continues to gnaw at the moral fabric of our society. Globally, according to research conducted by the United States State Department, more than one million people are trafficked annually. How many of those are in Southern Africa is not known. Human trafficking by its very nature is a form of gender-based violence, not least because the majority of those trafficked are female, but also because physical and sexual violence are its bedfellows. While there are many forms of human trafficking, the most common is sex trafficking of women and children. Though some of the women trafficked willingly participate in sex work to escape poverty, a 2005 International Organisation for Migration (IOM) study found that most are led into sex work because they are lied to, told they will be able to pursue an education, get married or get the job that will help them out of poverty. In the sub-region, South Africa is the main destination for trafficking victims, with women and children coming from neighbouring countries and conflict zones further afield. Poverty and desperation coupled with a culture of patriarchy means that women are doubly vulnerable not only to trafficking, but to the violence that comes with it. Xenophobia Most disconcerting are the findings of a 2008/9 Wits University Law Clinic study on access to gender-based violence services in South Africa by migrant women. It found that two thirds of South African organisations that provide services to gender-based violence survivors offer their services exclusively to South African citizens. Therefore the plight of immigrants is compounded by the institutionalised xenophobia they face. Yet, reports abound of rapes and other forms of gender-based violence, especially at the country’s borders. The South African 1 in 9 campaign advocates for women to speak out if they are raped, this is based on the fact that only 1 out of every 9 South African women who has been raped reports the crime. When it comes to victims of trafficking, it is difficult to collect data because of the underground nature of sex trafficking and the fear on the part of most sex workers that if they speak out they will be arrested, deported or abused or raped by police. Organisations like the Sex Worker Education and Advisory Taskforce (SWEAT), which advocate for the decriminalisation of sex work, contend that until sex work is decriminalised it is unlikely that efforts to counter human trafficking will yield results. The victimisation of sex workers stems primarily from the fact that their profession is not afforded any protection. “Moral” arguments against sex work notwithstanding, if human trafficking is to be curbed, the inherent contradictions that exist between attempting to counter human trafficking and the continued criminalisation of sex work need to be resolved. Meeting In February this year, sex workers from ten African countries assembled in Hillbrow, Johannesburg to share their experiences and discuss their needs. This was the first ever meeting of this kind on the African continent. At the conference a Ugandan sex worker voiced her concern over the way in which sex workers are treated “like dogs” by the police. Many indicated that the abuse did not only come from police, but also from health service providers, clients and the pimps they work for. The irony of the criminalisation of sex work in Africa is that it is the woman who offers the service who is stigmatised and abused, while those who pay for her illegal services go scot-free. It is one of society’s entrenched patriarchal paradoxes. According to Cape Town based NGO Anex-CDW, which works closely with the IOM in its human trafficking project, most of the cases are reported by third parties and often the victims deny the allegation or refuse to talk about it. The wall of silence is almost impenetrable. While the girls of Tshwane Home of Hope did not share the horrors of their lives, their presence at the Home speaks of an untold story of violence and fear. The Home is one of several sanctuaries for girls scattered across South Africa. In an ideal world homes such as this would not have to exist, everyone would be free from fear and want; everyone would be safe. The reality is we are not. Ottilia Anna Maunganidze is a consultant for the International Crime in Africa Programme at the Institute for Security Studies. This article is part of a special series on the 16 Days of Activism for the Gender Links Opinion and Commentary Service. Source: thezimbabwean.co.uk

Life after human trafficking

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Project aims to bring awareness to human trafficking | thenews-messenger.com | The News-Messenger

BY LESLIE BIXLER • Staff writer • December 28, 2010

FREMONT -- A group of seniors at the Tech Center are bringing more awareness to the problem of human trafficking by doing their senior project on the topic.

Taylor Henline, Tiffany Meade and Abbey Guggisberg started their project in the fall and will be competing in SkillsUSA at the local level early next year.

SkillsUSA has many different branches students can compete in, and the branch they're competing in is community service. Each branch has different levels. In the community service branch, the students will start at the local level and compete with other projects from the Tech center. If they win locally, they go onto state in Columbus.

"We found a facility in Toledo called Second Chance that deals with girls and women who have been victimized by sex trafficking and sexual exploitation,"Guggisberg said.

They have decided to help out by having items donated to them such as food for the pantry; clothing for women and girls; office supplies including pens, paper and staples; and personal hygiene items including lip balm, and small and medium sized new under garments, towels and blankets.

Meade said a group member had watched a program on TV about human trafficking, and they thought they could bring more awareness to the topic.

The girls are in the criminal justice program.

"We found out Toledo is No. 4 in the country for trafficking," Meade said, noting the most shocking thing is that family members often sell their own children, and that it's not just girls who don't care about themselves that get caught up in it.

Meade said she has been making bracelets with the letters NFS on them, which stands for Not For Sale.

"Human trafficking isn't just a girl thing," she said, noting they're giving them out to boys and girls.

They also made T-shirts with NFS and the saying, "Stop human trafficking."

Donated items will be accepted at the Tech Center until the third week of January.

Earlier this month, the state Senate voted 32-0 to make human trafficking a stand-alone, second-degree felony, punishable by up to eight years in prison. The bill then went on to the House of Representatives.

According to Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray's website, the bill became a law that makes human trafficking a second degree felony. Senate Bill 235 was signed into law Thursday by Gov. Ted Strickland.

In addition to making human trafficking a second degree felony, the law aligns Ohio's human trafficking laws with those of the federal government (Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act, 2000) and 44 other states, defines human trafficking, and increases the penalty for compelling a minor to engage in sexual activity for hire (first degree felony if victim is younger than 16).

The new law takes effect in March. The legislation also clarifies and strengthens penalties for kidnapping, abduction and other related offenses.

Ohio was among a handful of states without a stand-alone human traffick
Source: thenews-messenger.com
Project aims to bring awareness to human trafficking | thenews-messenger.com | The News-Messenger

Operations in Punjab: Crackdown against human traffickers – The Express Tribune

 

December 24, 2010

LAHORE: The Punjab chapter of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has arrested four government servants, two of the ‘most-wanted’ human traffickers and three other proclaimed offenders, Director FIA Punjab Zafar Ahmad Qureshi told reporters on Thursday.

Qureshi said that FIA Gujrat arrested a notorious human trafficker named Tahir Subhani and two of his guards.

Subhani is said to be an active member of the human trafficking network run by Mehmood and Hafiz Shabbir (his name was placed in FIA’s ‘Red Book’, which contains details of  the “most-wanted” human traffickers).
He said that Tahir Subhani was wanted in six different cases involving human trafficking. He said that the accused had confessed that two of the five people he tried to smuggle from Iran to Greece via Turkey had been shot dead.

The FIA official said that they had contacted the Foreign Office to bring the bodies of the deceased men back to Pakistan.

He said that the FIA had also arrested three proclaimed offenders, including Hafiz Ghulam Akbar, Rashid Ahmed, Abdul Majeed and Asghar Gajuji. He said that the ‘Red Book’ also contained Asghar’s name.

Highlighting his agency’s crackdown against people involved in corruption and human trafficking, he said that those detainees included four officials of the National Highway Authority, tehsildar Haroon Rasheed Durrani, patwaris Rafiqur Ahmed and Ghulam Mustafa. He said that these government servants had demanded Rs893,000 from 21 people whose land had been acquired by the government for the construction of a Motorway near Mouza Gulzarpur and Mouza Sher Singh.

Similarly, FIA Multan caught an assistant lineman “red -handed” while he was accepting a bribe of Rs10,000 for reinstalling the connection of a cold storage unit. The arrested worker’s immediate supervisor, the SDO, managed to escape.
 Source: The Express Tribune

Operations in Punjab: Crackdown against human traffickers – The Express Tribune

Keeping watch for traffickers | Breaking News

Friday, 24 December 2010 16:14 

 

 The Sri Lankan Navy is continuously monitoring and gathering intelligence from the Indian Ocean to curb human trafficking which is at a low at present, Navy Commander Vice Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe said.

“The Australian Navy and the Indian Navy are cooperating with our navy to arrest suspects who are engaged in human trafficking, including former LTTE cadres”, he added.

“We are physically present in areas where they tend to flee the country and pass the maritime boundary. They used different and unknown locations in the south to flee the country”, the Commander said

The Commander emphasized that it is a tough job to put a complete stop to human trafficking because asylum seekers now fled to other countries and then used boats to flee to their destination.

The Australian Navy Commander who visited the country to participate in the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of the Sri Lankan Navy was happy with the efforts that the Sri Lankan Navy had taken to curb human trafficking, Vice Admiral Samarasinghe said. (Supun Dias)





Pix by Kithsiri de Mel

Source:dailymirror.lk

Keeping watch for traffickers | Breaking News

PH diplomats in Israel taught new ways vs trafficking - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

Image via WikipediaBy DJ Yap
Philippine Daily Inquirer First Posted 11:42:00 12/24/2010  

MANILA, Philippines—Philippine diplomats in Israel were taught new ways to combat human trafficking cases in an “echo seminar” conducted recently in Tel Aviv, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.

“The seminar was conducted to update embassy personnel about laws against human trafficking and to introduce them to new measures and procedures of handling human trafficking cases which they may
encounter in the course of their duties at post,” the DFA said in a statement.

Ambassador Petronila P. Garcia noted the importance of “echoing” the seminar to all embassy personnel, including employees of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.

“The introduction of the new measures and equipping the Embassy's personnel with adequate knowledge is a demonstration of the Philippine government's progress to efficiently combat human trafficking,” she said.
She cited the coordination between the DFA and the Department of Justice and other stakeholders to ensure that offenders are brought to justice.

Third Secretary and Vice Consul Greg Marie Concha-Mariño facilitated the December 21 seminar. She previously attended the Regional Training on the Protection of Trafficking in Persons (TIP), Victims and Prosecution of Offenders held in Amman, Jordan from December 11 to 12.

The earlier seminar was attended by personnel from the different foreign service posts in the Middle East.
The participants underwent training on how to handle trafficking cases, how to provide the victims with adequate and necessary assistance, and how to guide them in the preparation of legal documents to be used in prosecuting offenders both in the host country and in the Philippines.
Source: globalnation.inquirer.net

PH diplomats in Israel taught new ways vs trafficking - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

Shemot - The Jewish Standard

Rabbi Jarah Greenfield •

Published: 23 December 2010

 

 

As we return to the book of Exodus this week in Parshat Shemot, we recall the Israelites’ descent into Egyptian slavery by the hands of a new king “who did not know Joseph.” The patriarchal family has faded off slowly over the course of more than three chapters and now, suddenly, a robust and fertile Israelite population bursts forth. This generation plunges down into servitude just as quickly as we learn of the ascent of a new Egyptian king. This Pharaoh, characterized by his fear of the increasing population and his complete indifference toward their once-respected relative, Joseph, executes a scheme to subject the Israelites to ruthless oppression. Thus begins the story of “yetziat mitzrayim,” the exodus from Egypt.

The Torah, which will permit slavery by law later on, draws a distinction between the slavery embedded within its own legal system and the slavery imposed upon the Israelites in Egypt. One mark of that distinction is in the word, “befarech,” used twice to describe how the Egyptians oppressed the Israelites. “Befarech (ruthlessly), they made life bitter for them with harsh labor at mortar and bricks and with all sorts of tasks in the field.” “Befarech,” argue the various rabbinic commentators, means backbreaking physical work, forced labor performed under the threat of violence, or work accompanied by denial of rest and meager food.

“Befarech,” argues Maimonides, means endless servitude doing jobs that have no purpose. Whatever the nuance of the word, the unifying principle behind these interpretations is that Egyptian slavery was excessively cruel and degrading.

One unusual midrashic treatment of the word “befarech” renders it as “bepeh-rach,” (“with a soft mouth”), suggesting that what made the bondage so crushing was that the Israelites couldn’t even find words to describe it. Their oppression was so all-encompassing that they were reduced to silence. Unable to speak about their own suffering, they also lacked, prior to Moses, a voice from the outside that could speak on their behalf.

As Jews, we recognize the depth of this oppression not only from our sacred texts but also from our painful collective history. As Jewish Americans, we know that the origins of our country are inextricably linked to the systemic oppression of African slaves. We deplore the hideous contradiction of our country being founded upon the notion of human freedom while being built by slaves. However, as author Ron Soodalter discusses in “The Slave Next Door,” slavery still exists in our country today. Although legally sanctioned slavery in America ended in 1865, slavery itself has persisted, having become hidden from the public eye. Today, human trafficking impacts people from every race and religion. Some give over their entire life savings to come to America from impoverished countries hoping for a better future; some are sold to bosses who threaten violence if they try to leave; some are minors who are captured into the prostitution industry within 48 hours of being released from youth detention centers. Even though we do know that slaves work in agricultural labor, product manufacturing, domestic work, and prostitution, human trafficking is so insidious that we don’t know how many or which of our daily products are tainted by slave labor.

As author Michael Waltzer points out in his book, “Exodus and Revolution,” the reason an oppressive regime works is that it is somehow attractive. If it weren’t so, he argues, then it would have been much easier for the Israelites to escape from Egypt than it was. The bondage that degrades the slave also conditions him into a type of complacency about his own suffering. Hazal, our rabbinic sages, also understood the enduring harm of a spirit broken by slavery. Such utter complacency may be the most pernicious aspect of oppression, but its impact is not only upon the slave. It also impacts the society that permits slavery to exist, whether legal or illegal, whether visible or hidden.

The fact that we all buy products every day that have likely been tainted by slave labor makes us part of a society that not only permits slavery but also enables it. This realization means that, at minimum, we have an obligation to learn as much as we can about how human trafficking operates, so that we can begin to speak about it in our communities. Because the bondage of our ancestors happened “bepeh-rach,” imposing upon them a stifling silence, their suffering endured until someone else decided to speak up for them. Speaking for those who have no voice is a familiar trope in human rights work. Those of us whose fundamental rights are secure have an obligation to do so, regardless of whether that obligation is understood through our faith tradition or our commitment to the ideals of our forefathers when they wrote that every human being is endowed with the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

When we refer to the inauspicious events of the Torah that describe the enslavement of the Israelites, we call it “yetziat mitzrayim,” the “going out” or “exodus” from Egypt. Inherent in the very name of the story is its redemptive feature, i.e., that servitude ends when the Israelites finally leave Egypt. We can take faith from “yetziat mitzrayim” that today’s slavery, too, can end if we take concrete steps to eliminate it. We can do so through giving tzedakah to survivors of human trafficking through human rights organizations, through volunteering professional legal and organizing skills, through education advocacy in your synagogue, and definitely through efforts to learn and teach others about the slave-trade industry in America. As we pray the words “mibeyt avadim peditanu” (“from the house of servitude You rescued us”), let us do so with the kavannah (intention) to do all that we can as Jews and American citizens to emancipate others living in our midst who have not yet been redeemed from bondage.

Source: The Jewish Standard

Shemot - The Jewish Standard