VietACTE-Alert Vietnamese Alliance to Combat Trafficking Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. Margaret Mead  ACTION: Read Orange County Register column on human trafficking and forward to friends.  Dear friends, "Theonly thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to donothing." This quote by Edmund Burke has served as VietACT's guidingcompass since we were formed in 2004 by a small group of volunteers whojust could not stand by and do nothing. So, we are doing a little partin fighting, speaking out, raising awareness, writing, and expressingour commitment to the fight against human trafficking. There are 27million people living in some form of slavery or exploitation --imagine if we could get just a million people to do something. ... [more]

VIETNAMESE police have arrested a man who allegedly trafficked 23 females to China after authorities received a tip-off from one teenager who escaped back into Vietnam, a news report said today. The Hanoi man, identified as Nguyen Anh Tuan, allegedly befriended the women through internet chatrooms, then enticed them to travel to northern border areas from where they were sent to China, the Than Nien daily said. Since 2005, Tuan and his accomplices had trafficked 23 females, including seven teenagers, to China, before one of them, a 17-year-old girl from northern Ha Nam province, escaped and alerted police back home, the report said. Vietnamese and Chinese police were working to bring home the other females. The Nhan Dan daily, citing police and border guard figures, meanwhile reported that 323 human trafficking cases were discovered in Vietnam in 2007, an increase of more than 40 per cent on the previous year. ... [more]

Sheriff's Department leads `Operation Red Light' By Jennifer McLain, Staff Writer ROSEMEAD - An online sex ad sting led to 37 arrests, counterfeit money and at least one human-trafficking victim. The arrests were made in Rosemead, Monrovia, San Gabriel, Alhambra, Monterey Park and unincorporated Pasadena. Charges included prostitution, keeping or residing in a house used for prostitution and operating a business without a business license. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department led the sting - "Operation Red Light" - which was conducted Tuesday and Wednesday. "Given the large scale and multiagency personnel, I thought the operation went very smoothly," Sgt. Tri Hoang said as he was tallying up the final arrest numbers Wednesday. Three teams out of the sheriff's Temple station were involved in the daytime sting, as well as police from Pasadena, Monterey Park, Alhambra and San Gabriel. ... [more]

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. - A jury on Monday convicted a millionaire couple of enslaving two Indonesian women they brought to their mansion to work as housekeepers. Mahender Murlidhar Sabhnani, 51, and his wife, Varsha Mahender Sabhnani, 45, were each convicted of all charges in a 12-count federal indictment that included forced labor, conspiracy, involuntary servitude, and harboring aliens.Prosecutors said the women were subjected to repeated psychological and physical abuse and were forced to work 18 hours or more a day. The Sabhnanis, who have four children and operate a worldwide perfume business out of their Muttontown home on Long Island's Gold Coast, could face up to 40 years in prison, although attorneys predicted the punishment would be considerably less. He is from India, and she is from Indonesia, but both are naturalized U.S. ... [more]

Hơn 200 Đồng Hương Tham Dự Đêm Cầu Nguyện Cho Nhân Quyền   Westminster, CA – Vào ngày thứ bảy, 8 tháng 12, hơn 200 đồng hương gồm các vị đại diện cộng đồng, đoàn thể, truyền thông báo chí, và anh chi em sinh viên học sinh đã đến tham dự Đêm Cầu Nguyện Cho Nhân Quyền được tổ chức tại Phòng Sinh Hoạt Việt Bao trên đường Moran.    Đêm Nhân Quyền năm nay được tổ chức bởi sự phối họp của 7 hội đoàn trẻ gồm có Tổng Hội Sinh Viên Việt-Nam, Nam Cali, Đoàn Thanh Niên Phan Bội Châu, Hội Sinh Viên Công Giáo, Gia Đình Phật Tử Miền Quảng Đức, Liên Minh Người Việt Chống Tệ Nạn Buôn Người (VietACT), Liên Hội Học Sinh Trung Học Việt Nam, Đoàn Thanh Niên Cộng Đồng, cùng với sự hỗ trợ từ Cộng Đồng Việt Nam Nam Cali, và Cộng Đồng Người Việt Tỵ Nạn Los Angeles.   Được biết, ngày 10 tháng 12 sắp đến là Ngày Quốc Tế Nhân Quyền được công nhận bởi Liên Hiệp Quốc và cộng đồng thế giới. ... [more]

by Frank ZellerSun Nov 18, 12:42 AM ET Vietnam sends tens of thousands of workers a year to Taiwan, Malaysia, South Korea and elsewhere, but unscrupulous operators trap many of them in conditions akin to slavery, experts say.Countless Vietnamese women have been trafficked abroad for prostitution, but even more "guest workers" have found themselves in an equally mundane kind of hell -- exploited, abused and bankrupted."It's like indentured labour because of the debt that the workers have to take on," said Professor Daniele Belanger, director of the Population Studies Centre at the University of Western Ontario.Overseas workers typically pay large fees and hand their passports to their new bosses, said Belanger, whose research team has interviewed Vietnamese migrant workers in Taiwan and South Korea, as well as dozens of returnees. ... [more]

Child Slavery with Rageh Omaar Around 8.4 million children around the world are enslaved today. Now, in a remarkable journey across three continents, five of them tell their stories. This documentary is presented by reporter Rageh Omaar.MAWULEHAWE Twelve-year-old Mawulehawe has been sold by his mother to a local fishermen in Ghana for $40 (£25). He may not see his mother again for many years. She will use the money to buy cooking oil to fry the fish she sells on the shore at Ada, a small fishing town a couple of hours drive east of the capital, Accra. The fisherman to whom Mawulehawe is sold, Aaron, will take him away to serve a three-year apprenticeship. Mawulehawe, like many others in the region, is being sold to help alleviate his family's poverty. He has several brothers and sisters and has had some schooling, but there is not enough money for him to continue. It is now his younger brother's turn to go to school instead. ... [more]

(HOUSTON, TEXAS) - A criminal complaint charging a Malaysian woman for her role in the human trafficking of an Indonesian woman has been unsealed, United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle and Acting Assistant Attorney General Rena J. Comisac, Civil Rights Division, Department of Justice, announced today.The federal criminal complaint, filed under seal on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2007, accuses Rozina Ali, 42 of bringing an Indonesian woman to the United States to work as an domestic servant.  Once here, the 32-year-old Indonesian woman was allegedly not paid or underpaid by the defendant, worked excessive hours, was subjected to beatings and was told she could not return to Indonesia.Rozina Ali, Sugarland, who was arrested by special agents of the FBI and the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2007, appeared before United States Magistrate Judge Frances H. Stacy today. ... [more]

ATLANTA, Ga-- Wan J. Kim, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights; David E. Nahmias, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia; Gregory Jones, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Richard Pennington, Chief, Atlanta Police Department, today announced that JIMMIE LEE JONES, also known as "Mike Spade," 31, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, pleaded guilty yesterday to federal charges of conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking and transporting young women across state lines for purposes of prostitution. Just after his trial began, JONES admitted to U.S. District Court Judge William S. Duffey, Jr. that he had lured and coerced eight young women – including two juveniles – into prostitution.  "The defendant in this case took advantage of numerous young women by enticing them with promises of modeling contracts and then using force, threats, and coercion to force them to work as prostitutes," said Assistant Attorney General Wan J. Kim. ... [more]

WASHINGTON — Iona Uiagalelei, Acting Director of Property Management for the American Samoan government, pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Honolulu to witness tampering in a federal sex trafficking investigation.  During his guilty plea, Uiagalelei admitted that on February 13, 2007, he met with two Chinese women and instructed them to lie when they testified before a federal grand jury in Honolulu. The two women were witnesses in the sex trafficking investigation of Chinese Nationals Fu Sheng Kuo and Shengji Wang. Despite Uiagalelei’s efforts to obstruct the investigation, Kuo and Wang were convicted earlier this year of conspiring to violate the civil rights of Chinese women smuggled into American Samoa and forced to work as prostitutes in nightclubs and brothels. Uiagalelei faces a maximum sentence of ten years imprisonment and a maximum fine of $250,000. The Attorney General has made the prosecution of human trafficking crimes a top priority. ... [more]

A Human Trafficking in Minnesota Conference will be held on Friday, September 28, 2007, 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Neighborhood House, 179 Robie St. E., St. Paul. The event is free to all, and donations of gift cards, gift baskets and cash for trafficking victims are welcome.The event is co-hosted by Civil Society, Korean Service Center, SEWA, Somali Educational and Social Advocacy Services, Vietnamese Minnesotans Association, Vietnamese Social Services, and Waite House, and the Rescue and Restore Coalition – Minnesota Human Trafficking Watch.The feature presentation will focus on what has been learned about trafficking from Danette Buskovick, director, Statistical Analysis Center, Minnesota Office of Justice Programs. Salima Khakoo, CEO and Managing Attorney of American Dream Law, LLCC, will follow with presentation on the state of human trafficking victimization in Minnesota. ... [more]

HÀ NỘI – “Trung ương Hội Liên hiệp phụ nữ Việt Nam phối hợp với Trung tâm Văn hóa phụ nữ Việt Nam tại Hàn Quốc thực hiện dự án hỗ trợ hôn nhân quốc tế, nhằm mục đích bảo vệ quyền lợi của phụ nữ Việt Nam trong quan hệ hôn nhân và gia đình có yếu tố nước ngoài.” Thông tấn xã Việt Nam hôm 17 tháng Tám, 2007, cho biết như vậy về một dự án tiêu tốn khoảng $3.5 triệu của chính phủ Việt Nam trong việc bảo vệ phụ nữ làm dâu tại nước ngoài nhất là tại Hàn Quốc.  Có vẻ như việc thiết lập dự án này nhằm xoa dịu dư luận tại Việt Nam sau khi vụ cô Huỳnh Mai, 20 tuổi, quê ở tỉnh Kiên Giang, bị chồng là người Hàn Quốc đánh chết tại phường Munhoa (thành phố Cheonan, Hàn Quốc) vào hôm 26 tháng 6 năm 2007. Sau đó vụ này được Đài truyền hình KBS của Hàn Quốc loan tin vào ngày 9 tháng Tám. Đài này đã công khai một bức thư của cô Huỳnh Mai viết một ngày trước khi chết, trong đó có đoạn: “Em đã cố gắng rất nhiều để trở thành một người vợ tốt, một người mẹ tốt, em mong muốn một gia đình đầm ấm. ... [more]

Dear friends— Last Wednesday, NBC aired a special on human trafficking titled, "To the Rescue". The special was about a girl who was trafficked. She is an Asian girl, and her story reflects the situation of hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese women today as well as millions of people worldwide. If you were unable to view this emotional, informative and touching special, you can view the transcript below.  "Lannie was a girl preyed on by human traffickers. But she had one thing going for her: two men who would stop at nothing to get her back" http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20185681/ You Can Make a Difference! For more information on human trafficking and to join the fight against human trafficking, please visit www.vietact.org.   Thank you and have a wonderful weekend. [more]

Dear Friends in the Fight Against Modern-Day Slavery:I write to bring your attention to a program airing on Dateline NBC (with Ann Curry and Chris Hansen) on human trafficking and an interview with me, Wednesday (August 8) at 10:00 PM EST. This investigative piece follows the trail of a sex trafficking victim from the Philippines to Malaysia. Watch as the cameras follow the routes of human trafficking in Southeast Asia, confront the traffickers and complicit officials, and help the victim reunite with her family back home. Dateline NBC's Web site will have additional information after the broadcast: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032600/ . This program, like others, is proof that we are making real progress in focusing the world's attention on modern-day slavery. We are grateful to have you as our partner in the movement.Sincerely yours,Ambassador Mark P. LagonDirector, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in PersonsU.S. Department of State www.state.gov/g/tipwww.gtipphotos.state.gov [more]

(ORANGE COUNTY, CA)  On Saturday, August 25, 2007 at 9:00 a.m. at Chapman University’s Kennedy Hall Room 237 A, Mark Taylor, senior coordinator for the US Department of State’s Office To Monitor and Combat Trafficking will kick-off a day-long human trafficking conference co-organized by a coalition of organizations, including the Vietnamese Alliance to Combat Trafficking (VietACT) Viet Nam Human Rights Network, the Vietnamese Voters Association based in Virginia and co-sponsored by Chapman University and the American Association of University Women.Through media stories, the problems of sex slavery and human trafficking of Vietnamese nationals to places like Cambodia have been exposed to the general public, but organizers of the 2nd Annual Anti-Human Trafficking Conference note it is also happening in California. ... [more]

  Vào tháng Năm 2006, một cuộc Hội Thảo về Tệ Nạn Buôn Người đã được tổ chức ở Hoa Thịnh Đốn. Các tổ chức cộng đồng địa phương cùng với khỏang 20 tổ chức đồng bảo trợ đã đứng ra thực hiện. VietACT, UNAVSA là những tổ chức tham dự vào cuộc hội thảo này. Cuộc hội thảo lần thứ hai sẽ được tổ chức ở vùng Little Saigon, California. Khác với kỳ hội thảo trước, kỳ hội thảo này là một cố gắng chung của những tổ chức quan tâm làm việc trên những vấn đề buôn bán phụ nữ, nô lệ lao động nam nhân và trẻ em.Đồng tổ chức cuộc Hội Thảo về Tệ Nạn Buôn Người năm nay gồm có VietACT, Mạng Lưới Nhân Quyền Việt Nam, hai tổ chức này ở Nam California và Vietnamese Voters Association ở Virginia. Đồng bảo trợ cuộc hội thảo gồm có Chapman University và American Association of University Women.   Mục đích của cuộc hội thảo là để tiếp tục đánh động dư luận quần chúng, giới trẻ, giới truyền thông và các giới chức dân cử. ... [more]

BOSTON – Race for Rights, at Boston College on Saturday, April 21st, is a fundraising walk to raise awareness about the global trafficking of humans – mainly of women and children. Student associations from across the New England area have gathered to sponsor this event, which will be filled with speakers, performances, and various activities throughout the day in addition to the walk. Human trafficking is the modern-day form of slavery, where victims – mainly women and children – are forced or defrauded into labor or sexual exploitation. Globally, an estimated 600,000 to 800,000 individuals are bought and sold across national borders, which does not include the millions trafficked within their own countries. These victims suffer from physical, mental, psychological, and inhuman exploitation. During the course of April, colleges and universities will hold individual events, in conjunction with Race for Rights. ... [more]

Deputy Director of National Immigration Agency (NIA) in Taiwan, Steven Wu, said that placing victims of human trafficking in detention centers is to protect them from criminals. Wu made the remarks during yesterday's digital video conference on "Protection of Trafficking Victims" organized by the American Institute in Taiwan. Wu was responding to comments by Father Peter O'Neill of the Catholic Hope Worker's Center, which operates shelters for migrant workers and human trafficking victims, that the government should not keep the victims that they have identified in detention centers. O'Neill said that the government should send the victims to shelters operated by non-governmental organizations such as his, citing U.N. protocol. The United Nations' recommended guidelines on the rights of human trafficking victims was presented during the conference by American University, Washington professor Janie Chuang from Washington D.C. ... [more]

Một tờ báo Malaysia nói hàng chục thiếu nữ Việt Nam được đưa ra trưng bày tại các quán cà phê ở Malaysia để đàn ông nước này đến xem mắt. Báo Star nói các cô gái này được những người môi giới Malaysia đưa sang Malaysia. Chính khách Malaysia, Michael Chong, lên án chuyện này, và nói gia đình các cô gái, thường là nghèo, đã nhận từ 20.000 đến 30.000 ringgit (5600 đến 8500 đôla) tùy theo vẻ đẹp của con họ. Đối tượng 'khách hàng' được nhắm Báo Malaysia nói nhiều cô gái Việt Nam được đưa ra để đàn ông xứ này chọn lựa 'Không tôn trọng phụ nữ' Theo báo Star, các nhóm hoạt động vì nữ quyền ở Malaysia tỏ ra bị sốc trước xu hướng này. Maria Chin Abdullah, đứng đầu một nhóm hoạt động vì phụ nữ, nói với tờ báo: "Hành vi này chỉ có thể xem là hình thức nô lệ tình dục được tiến hành trong một khuôn khổ pháp lý giả tạo. ... [more]

Tue Dec 19, 1:04 AM ET   KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - Malaysian men are acquiring Vietnamese brides for up to 30,000 ringgit (8,427 dollars) from agents who parade young, attractive girls in rural coffee shops, a newspaper has said.  The practice has been described as "sickening and immoral" by Michael Chong, head of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) public service and complaints department, the Star newspaper said.   MCA is a political party and member of the ruling National Front coalition.   "It is a sickening practice and shames our nation. Women should be treated as equals and by no means are they to be paraded and sold in such a manner," Chong told the Star.   "This is definitely not showing respect to women."   He said the girls are sold for 20,000-30,000 ringgit each and are paid for on the spot and taken away by local men.   "The prettier and sexier the girl, the higher price she fetches," Chong said. ... [more]

Vào cuối tuần vừa qua, khoảng 30 anh chị em trẻ thuộc các hội đoàn như VietACT (Liên Minh Người Việt Chống Tệ Nạn Buôn Người), Tổng Hội Sinh Viên (THSV), Đoàn Thanh Niên Phan Bội Châu, và VPAC (Uûy Ban Vận Động Chính Trị Người Mỹ Gốc Việt) đã tụ tập trong một phiên họp tại văn phòng Tổng Hội Sinh Viên để lên kế hoạch tổ chức sinh hoạt Đêm Nhân Quyền sắp tới.   Trước những tranh đấu cho tự do và dân chủ tại quê nhà hiện nay, chúng tôi nhận thấy tuổi trẻ Việt Nam cần ý thức được tầm vóc quan trọng của công cuộc dân chủ hóa đất nước.  Không những không thể làm ngơ, mà tuổi trẻ còn phải hiểu biết về những vấn đề tranh đấu đang xảy ra trong nước, và phải là một phần trong những cuộc thay đổi này.  Vì thế các hội đoàn trẻ đã quyết định sẽ long trọng tổ chức Đêm Nhân Quyền năm nay vào lúc 5 giờ tối mùng 9 tháng 12 Tòa Thị Trấn Westminster (8200 Westminster Blvd.) trong khu Sunken Garden. ... [more]

Every day of the year, there are human rights violations against people all over the world. Women, children and men are being raped, abused, exploited, tortured and persecuted, beyond our imaginations in places close to home like Vietnam and even here in the United States.   It must be stopped.   On December 9th, 2006, the evening before Universal Human Rights Day, a collaboration of passionate and motivated individuals and organizations including the Vietnamese Alliance to Combat Trafficking (VietACT) will organize an evening of awareness.                                                       The theme for this evening of awareness is “Be Not Afraid, Be the Change. ... [more]

By John E. CareyNovember 17, 2006 President Bush is making an historic visit to Vietnam this weekend. While the agenda is crowded with discussion of trade, North Korea, Iraq, the War Against Terror and other issues, American Human Rights activists are pressing for the United States to make stronger statements about Vietnam's record on human rights.Vietnam has many problems and one of the more serious for me is the exploitation of hundreds of thousands of poor women every year. Known for their extreme beauty and because in the Vietnamese culture the women are taught to care for the men, young Vietnamese women are prized "wives." Men from mostly Korea and Taiwan (but certainly many other nations) pay fees to join associations which bring them to Vietnam to find such "wives." A Korean or Taiwanese man may meet as many as 300 young Vietnamese women in a day while visiting Vietnam. He is interviewing them so that he can find a "wife. ... [more]

Let's Respect Human Dignity of Foreign Wives ``Marry Vietnamese Women’’ _ says advertisement placards set up in the countryside and on the outskirts of metropolises. And many Korean men follow the advice: In 2000, there were only 95 Korean-Vietnamese couples, but the number has rocketed to more than 10,000 in just five years. The government might as well thank its Vietnamese counterpart for helping to solve the problem of numerous rural bachelors. The problems are a very inhumane matchmaking process and many unhappy marriages. A recent report was too shocking to believe. A Korean bride-seeker in Vietnam met up to 400 women at one place and was forced to pick one in a few hours as if he were selecting a commodity. There were even price tags that differ according to the female applicants’ familial and academic backgrounds. The bulk of these arrangement fees went to Korean and Vietnamese marriage brokers. ... [more]

WASHINGTON, Nov. 3 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The National MultiCultural Institute (NMCI) announces that its ground breaking web portal, http://www.humantraffickingsearch.net is now multilingual and includes online videos through its Human Trafficking TV.The portal is searchable by keyword, by country and by theme in 14 languages including Spanish, French, German, Italian and Czech. Brief videos produced by UNODC, UNICEF, IADB, WITNESS and others have also been made accessible on the site. HumanTraffickingSearch.net and its "deep search" engine provide information on such topics as: Human Trafficking, Child Labor, Forced Labor and Sex Slavery. HumanTraffickingSearch.net has over 16,000 Web entries of information and resources on issues related to human trafficking and modern-day slavery from around the world. ... [more]