Virginia Man Forces Some 24 Women Into Slavery

In October of last year, Soripada Lubis was taken into custody for forcing almost two dozen women into slavery.

The story is familiar: he promised them a way to stay in the country after their visas had expired or lured them away from legal employers with financial rewards, confiscated their passports and threatened kill their families in Indonesia and alert immigration officials if the women tried to run. He put them to work as live-in housekeepers at other homes in the area. Given the weekends off, Lubis charged them between $300 and $350 monthly, to live in his one-story home, where they often had to share beds.

It been reported that the scheme has been going on since at least 2000 and that during the last five years, Lubis has made more than $90,000.

Authorities learned of Lubis in 2006, when a relative of a woman living in his basement contacted U.S. diplomats in Jakarta, Indonesia, seeking help. Over the next two years, authorities met with four women who said they had lived with Lubis at various times starting in 2001.

Soripada Lubis was charged with conspiracy to harbor illegal immigrants and released on bail, with the order to stay at his residence.

On February 25, Lubis plead guilty today to harboring illegal aliens for commercial advantage and private financial gain. His wife, Siti Chadidjah Siregar, a citizen of Indonesia, pleaded guilty to making false statements to federal agents who were investigating the scheme.

Lubis faces up to 10 years in prison as well as an order to pay restitution. Siregar faces up to five years in prison at sentencing.

Read more in Forced labor operation busted by Freeman Klopott at The Washington Examiner and on the Examiner.

Founder of Not For Sale Shares Views

This Examiner interview offers an interesting look at David Batstone, the founder and President of Not for Sale, one of the biggest organizations in the US fighting to abolish modern slavery.

What compelled you initially to become involved in the anti-slavery movement? How did it all begin?

There were two parts, really: the personal and the immediate. Personally, there was my faith, which asked me to think about others. What am I called to do? That answer was to advocate for those who are vulnerable. In my 20’s, I was involved in Central America, intervening for those in need. That work set me up for what I’m doing now.

The immediate happened when I discovered that my favorite restaurant in San Francisco used slaves. One thing led to another. I then took a year off, traveled the globe, and investigated slavery.

Read the whole thing here.

The Recession’s Silent Victims

The Wall Street Journal echoes what I’ve been saying:

In today’s global economic downturn, there’s at least one business that’s expanding: modern-day slavery.

That’s the main message of the U.S. Department of State’s annual report on Trafficking in Persons, released last week in Washington. The document is always a disturbing read, but it is especially so this year. Between April 2008 and March 2009, State found an uptick in slavery in almost every corner of the world.

Human bondage is by nature a shady business, so it’s impossible to attribute any one factor to this trend. Ambassador Luis CdeBaca, who heads State’s study, points to the increasing desperation of poor people to find work and the eagerness of unscrupulous employers to cut costs. The International Labor Organization estimates that private enterprises or agents made $31.6 billion in 2005 from forced-labor victims.

Sustainable Food Leaders Write to Chipotle CEO

For the Coaliton of Immokalee Workers:

June 15, 2009

Mr. Steve Ells, CEO
Chipotle Mexican Grill
1404 Wynkoop St., Ste. 500
Denver, CO 80202-1729

Dear Mr. Ells,

We write with admiration for your efforts to create a socially just and environmentally responsible restaurant chain. We applaud your goal of sourcing “food with integrity,” food that’s “unprocessed, seasonal, family-farmed, sustainable, nutritious, naturally raised, added hormone free, organic, and artisanal.” Chipotle points the way to a new business model for national-scale restaurant chains: rather than scouring the globe for the cheapest commodities, restaurants should source in a region-appropriate way – bolstering and not undercutting regional food production networks.

Yet for us, naturally raised meat – important as it is – does not trump decently treated human beings. We are outraged by the working and living conditions we have seen in the Immokalee area of Florida, source of some 90 percent of the winter tomatoes consumed in the United States. Many of us have visited Immokalee, and see it as a stark example of the vast power discrepancies in our food system. In the winter-tomato market, a small number of very large buyers dictate terms to the seven or eight entities that control land in tomato country; those growers, in turn, squeeze the workers in brutal fashion. Real wages have fallen dramatically in Immokalee over the decades and now hover well below poverty level; housing conditions would not be out of place in apartheid-era South Africa. These are the normal conditions, experienced by thousands of workers in south Florida. No one can be surprised that in some extreme cases, right now, some of the people who pick our tomatoes are living in what can only be called modern-day slavery: held against their will and forced to harvest tomatoes without pay. In this context, Chipotle cannot claim the same integrity for the tomatoes it serves as it does for its meat, much less guarantee its customers that the tomatoes in its burritos were not picked by slaves.

We realize that Chipotle has announced that it’s paying an extra penny per pound for tomatoes, but we have to ask: What has Chipotle done since that announcement to identify and cultivate growers who are willing to raise their labor standards and pass the penny along to their workers? Your company has shown admirable leadership in working with – and incubating – meat suppliers willing to meet your higher standards. But your failure to do that same hard work in the Florida tomato industry – together with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) – threatens to render your announcement an empty gesture aimed more at public relations damage control than an effort to make real change.

We view the CIW’s struggle for dignity as a non-negotiable part of the struggle for a sustainable food system. Therefore, we strongly urge you to enter into an agreement with this worker-led organization that has been fighting tirelessly to improve conditions in tomato country since 1993. As you know, the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange has acted to block the penny-per-pound raise agreed to by McDonald’s, Yum Brands, Burger King and others, by threatening to fine any grower who cooperates with the buyers and the CIW. The extra penny paid out by these companies now sits in an escrow account, and workers in the fields continue making the same dismal wage. The growers clearly fear the power tomato pickers have galvanized through the efforts of the CIW and Chipotle’s refusal to sign an agreement with the CIW only bolsters the growers’ intransigence.

Last month, another national-scale food company with a social mission, Bon Appetit, signed a far-reaching deal with CIW that goes well beyond the penny per pound raise. We urge you to study the CIW-Bamco agreement and step up your efforts to identify growers – big or small – who will work with you to make “food with integrity” truly “fair food.”

If Chipotle is sincere in its wishes to reform its supply chain, the time has come to work with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers as a true partner in the protection of farmworkers rights.

Break the Chains–The 500 Mile Dash

Are you on Twitter? Eric Proffitt is and he’s using the micro-blogging platform to keep people up to date on his quest to bring awareness to modern-day slavery by running 500 miles in chains across the UK, beginning this August 1.

Proffitt will set off from London’s Westminster Abby and run eight hours a day, for 27 days as part of his Break These Chains campaign.

“I’m doing this to help the world know that human trafficking still happens in every city on earth,” Proffitt said in an interview last week. “The whole point is that I want the entire world to stop and say ‘this is wrong’, I want this event to tip the balance and stop human slavery.”

Why the UK? According to the Break The Chains site, it’s to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the birth of William Wilberforce, the driving force behind the fight against slavery throughout the UK in 1833, which was the tipping point for abolishing legalized slavery throughout the world.

“Thus the UK is the ideal place to once again become a tipping point for slavery today,” the site concludes.

Juneteenth: A Celebration of the End of Slavery

Juneteenth is a celebration that commemorates the ending of slavery in the US. From the official Juneteenth site:

Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation – which had become official January 1, 1863. The Emancipation Proclamation had little impact on the Texans due to the minimal number of Union troops to enforce the new Executive order. However, with the surrender of General Lee in April of 1865, and the arrival of General Granger’s regiment, the forces were finally strong enough to influence and overcome the resistance.

Let’s commemorate the end of slavery, but not forget that some 17,500 people are trafficked in the United States to this day.

Statistics from the Freedom Center.

Hillary Rodham Clinton on Human Trafficking

In a piece for The Washington Post, Secretary of State Hillary Rhodam Clinton discusses the battle against slavery in the world and at home:

To some, human trafficking may seem like a problem limited to other parts of the world. In fact, it occurs in every country, including the United States, and we have a responsibility to fight it just as others do. The destructive effects of trafficking have an impact on all of us. Trafficking weakens legitimate economies, breaks up families, fuels violence, threatens public health and safety, and shreds the social fabric that is necessary for progress. It undermines our long-term efforts to promote peace and prosperity worldwide. And it is an affront to our values and our commitment to human rights.

The Obama administration views the fight against human trafficking, at home and abroad, as an important priority on our foreign policy agenda. The United States funds 140 anti-trafficking programs in nearly 70 countries, as well as 42 domestic task forces that bring state and local authorities together with nongovernmental organizations to combat trafficking. But there is so much more to do.

The problem is particularly urgent now, as local economies around the world reel from the global financial crisis. People are increasingly desperate for the chance to support their families, making them more susceptible to the tricks of ruthless criminals. Economic pressure means more incentive for unscrupulous bosses to squeeze everything they can from vulnerable workers and fewer resources for the organizations and governments trying to stop them.

Recession to Increase Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery

The State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report, which was released yesterday, says the global economic crisis is boosting the demand for human trafficking because of a growing demand for cheap goods and services. It cites the International Labor Organization, which estimates that at least 12.3 million adults and children are victims of forced labor, bonded labor and sex slavery each year.

“A striking global demand for labor and a growing supply of workers willing to take ever greater risks for economic opportunities seem a recipe for increased forced labor cases of migrant workers and women in prostitution,” it says.

It predicts that the economic crisis will push more businesses underground to avoid taxes and unionized labor, which will increase the use of forced, cheap and child labor by cash-strapped multinational companies.

The report surveys the efforts of 175 countries in their fight against trafficking and slavery. The countries are then ranked, and negligent countries face sanctions by the United States. The United States, however, is not ranked among them. This year, however, the Justice Department did issue a report on efforts to combat trafficking efforts in the United States. According to the report, in 2008 the FBI opened 132 trafficking investigations, made 139 arrests and obtained 94 convictions.

Next year, the State Department’s Trafficking in Persons Report will rank the efforts of the United States to combat slavery and trafficking within its own borders.

Information from CNN. Read the article here.

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

Jefferson and Elnora Calimlim, both doctors in Milwaukee, WI, were sentenced today to 72 months in prison for forcing a woman to work as their domestic servant for 19 years. The Calimlims were originally sentenced two and a half years ago, but the Court of Appeals found legal errors in the initial 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.

Read the full article here.

The Attitude That Will Change Nothing

In May, 12 people were indicted for allegedly bringing several immigrants to Missouri for construction projects, allowing them to overstay their work visas and threatening them with deportation if they questioned their bosses. One of the suspects is reported to have resided in Arizona. In a piece for The Phoenix New Times, Ray Stern marvels at how few cases of human trafficking have been exposed in the state noting, “Sometimes we get the feeling that modern slavery in the United States is about as common as satanic child sacrifice.”

Stern further goes on to say the case in Missouri doesn’t qualify as slavery: “Judging by the facts in the indictment, it was more like a gentler version of 18th-century indentured servitude. At any point, it seems, the illegal immigrant workers could have walked off the job. True, they might have been deported — (unless they moved to Arizona and got hooked up with some quality IDs) — but deportation to one’s home country isn’t in the same ballpark as being tied to a post and whipped, ‘Southern Man’-style.”

How wrong you are, Mr. Stern.