Welcome to the flesh market

 

There is a law that can hold criminals accountable for their crimes in trafficking children for sexual exploitation. But Malaysia is one of three countries in Southeast Asia that hasn’t signed this Protocol. What are you going to do about it? 

Once upon a time, we wished for our younger siblings to be gone. We wanted them out of our lives, and wished they would disappear so we could have our own rooms or never have to pick up after their mess again or even keep an eye on them all the time.

But what would happen if they really went missing? Would you ever forgive yourself for your secret wish if you found out that they had suddenly vanished because they were among the 1.2 million children trafficked for sexual abuse and exploitation every single year?

Of course you wouldn’t want that! The level of annoyance of your pesky sibling could never amount to wanting any physical injury to befall them, even if you did say or think of some really mean things that you wished would happen to them in your many moments of rage.

However much money you said you’d gladly part with, just to have someone take him or her away, it would never have crossed your mind for your brother or sister – no matter how irritating, mischievous or painful – to be part of a staggering 79 per cent of US$27 billion, gleaned from the sexual exploitation of children.

In the end, while you sometimes can’t even stand the sight of your brother or sister, you’d never wish for them to be kidnapped, raped, beaten, tortured and violated sexually or turned into the object of some pedophiles’ lust, because deep down, you know you care for them deeply.

 Blood is thicker than water and because of this, you know that you would even fight to protect them. And this is why, as youths, you must also be aware of the uphill battle we all face against child sex trafficking. It is your war too.

The State of Things

Just last month, Malaysia was upgraded to Tier 2 from Tier 3 in the United States Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, showing recognition of the efforts of the government to fight illicit trafficking.

And even more recently, the penalties of human trafficking were increased 10-fold, showing a move in the right direction to deter and curb this crime against humanity.

But despite all that, Malaysia is still one of only three countries in South East Asia who have not signed on to the Optional Protocols (Articles 34 and 35) in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) – a shocking fact, for these protocols are crucial in putting precedence on the rights and protection of children victimised by sexual trafficking.

What is Child Sex Trafficking, and what are the Optional Protocols?

The definition of trafficking of children is: “the movement of a child (anyone under 18) for the purpose of exploitation is considered trafficking, even if it doesn’t involve coercion.”

Sexual exploitation of a child for commercial purposes is sex trafficking, and often, sex trafficking is for any or all of these purposes: child pornography, child prostitution, child brides and child sex tourism.

This is where the Optional Protocols come in to protect children against such crimes.

According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Articles 34 and 35 of the CRC state that the government should protect children from all forms of sexual exploitation and abuse and take all measures possible to ensure that they are not abducted, sold or trafficked. In this protocol, it is made compulsory to criminalise these offenses. This Optional Protocol strikes hard on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, and is to supplement the Convention, and to provide detailed requirements to end sexual abuse and exploitation of children.

What Now?

But Malaysia is not bound by these Optional Protocols. Malaysian children are at great risk of sexual exploitation with little to no consequence to the monsters who are responsible.

 “So many Malaysians are appalled at the crime of the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, yet no concrete action is undertaken,” said Noreen Proseeur, Training and Education Director of P.S. The Children. “The Optional Protocol, once ratified, will be a solid platform to advocate for meaningful child protection with respect to the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.”

The Optional Protocol (to the CRC on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography) reinforces and extends the duty of the government to initiate protection measures relating to the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, explained Nooreen.

“It is a lack of political initiative that stops the government from signing to these protocols – they don’t deem it important,” she said. “The government is only looking into human trafficking, but much more still needs to be done to stop child sex trafficking.”

After all, said Noreen, raising fines is not a deterrent for criminals involved in multi-billion dollar crimes.

“The sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography is mostly syndicate oriented. Many of the individuals caught by law enforcement agents are “small fry”,” she said. “The arrest and prosecution of the syndicate leaders will require the unwavering commitment of all stakeholders, effective judiciary measures including a strong legal framework, adequate training for the judiciary and enforcement agents, inter-agency collaboration as well as inter-regional co-operation.”

“Malaysia needs a well-thought-out strategic plan to deal with this issue and not have knee jerk reactions just to get ourselves from Tier 3 to Tier 2,” added P.S. The Children director, Madeleine Yong. “It’s more than that: There needs to be prevention; managing of investigations, prosecution of perpetrators and protecting and assisting children in their recovery.”

Taking Action

One organisation taking matters into their hands is The Body Shop, who in collaboration with their non-governmental organisation (NGO) partners, are embarking upon their second year of their campaign against child sex trafficking.

Last year, The Body Shop launched their ‘Stop Sex Trafficking of Children and Young People’ campaign with the aim of creating awareness of this highly secretive and lucrative crime, urging the people to face the facts: Malaysia is a destination, transit and more shockingly, source country for trafficking, with an estimated 90 children getting trafficked every month.

This year, they are pushing even harder for the signing of the Optional Protocols – and the reason is clear.

“Child pornography is an extremely grave concern, now more so than ever. Technology has made it so easy to film a child for pornographic purposes; times have moved on and so has technology,” said The Body Shop MD, Datin Mina Cheah-Foong. “You can do so much more that you could not do before. It’s as easy as installing a spy camera in a kindergarten, for instance, and the pictures get circulated all over the world among pedophiles!”

So the Optional Protocols are to protect our children against just that, and to hold the perpetrators responsible and punishable for their actions.

“It’s shocking: There was a case overseas where a childcare centre caretaker was selling pictures of toddlers and young children under the pretense of changing their diapers! These are such instances that the Optional Protocol steps in.”

Credit must be given where credit is due, she said, for the government has taken many steps to fight human trafficking.

“This is just one more step to take. As it is, we are signatories for the CRC, so it is also to ensure that the law protects against child pornography.” The best example of this is the recent case of three-year-old Nicole Soo Siew Ching, who was abducted by her own father on June 26.

“Her frantic mother believed that Nicole had been taken to be sold by her father, to cover his gambling debt! But these protocols specifically make provisions to make his actions a crime, and not just a family dispute. This means that as soon as her mother lodges a report, it makes it a crime that the police are obliged to investigate, instead of her mother being told to go to the courts and apply for a court order to compel the father to return the child.”

It is to ensure that the government is obliged to actively do all within its power to recover a missing or abducted child, added Cheah-Foong. “It means more work, but it is the responsibility of the government! This is why we’re calling for the government to ratify it and include it into the CRC. This is why we’re working with our NGO partners to ensure that no matter what, there will be somebody who will never give up looking for the missing child.”

Why Should the Youth Care?

 “Everybody is someone’s somebody.” Your sister, your brother, your niece, nephew or cousin – when somebody goes missing, the effects are devastating.

“Not only that, the youth are getting trafficked too. It could be you – but you’d never think of it. When you’re young, you feel invincible,” said Cheah-Foong. “You always think that the bad things never happen to you, it only happens to somebody else. You say: I’m aware, I’m street-smart. But if not you, then somebody you know and somebody you care about.”

 “Truth be told, the newly amended fines are just not enough. What is RM 500,000 in a multi-billion US dollar industry? It’s pocket change! But the death penalty (the penalty of convicted drug trafficking) is not a true deterrent either.”

What she believes will be a true deterrent to child traffickers is what is called ‘Fruits from a Poisoned Tree’, where any material gains that have been acquired during the duration of involvement in trafficking is to be confiscated  – whether those gains were as a direct result of trafficking or from legitimate means.”

“A lot of traffickers have legitimate fronts. They need it to conduct their trafficking business. As it is, the government has laws that seize illegally gained assets. Why not extend it? I personally don’t believe in the death penalty – a criminal can only die once.”

What Can You Do?

In light of that, The Body Shop has made it their pledge to continue to urge for the ratification of the Optional Protocols, and simultaneously raise funds for their NGO partners with the sale of the Soft Hands, Kind Hearts hand cream (RM 39.90), where net proceeds will go to the NGOs directly. Working also hand in hand with INTI College, they are planning a march to raise awareness along the busiest street in KL, Jalan Bukit Bintang, at a yet-to-be-confirmed date.

In addition to that, you can sign the petition for the ratification of the CRC and the inclusion of the Optional Protocols at all Body Shop outlets nationwide.

There is still much to be done to protect our children from being sold to the highest bidder. There is a long way to go before child prostitution and pornography is crushed and defeated. And it begins now: As soon as you put down this paper and head out to tell somebody you know about the Optional Protocols. Because if knowledge is power, then we ourselves will be the most powerful weapon against the monsters of child sex trafficking.

 

Source URL: http://malaysiantoday.com.my/node/1605

Stopping human trafficking: Haunted by her past, Jewish woman advocates for other victims

The flashbacks never stop for Sandra.

Any number of things — hurtful words, a misogynistic comment, news stories about rape being used as a weapon of war in Darfur — can trigger the horrific memories of being sold for sex by a male relative.

What began in her childhood as sexual abuse masked as playful, almost loving intentions gradually escalated into rape, as her abuser offered Sandra to his friends in exchange for money and power in a rough neighborhood where their household was the only Jewish one for miles.

“I strongly believe there’s a myth in the Jewish community that these things don’t happen,” Sandra said. “That in an intact Jewish family, trafficking is unheard of.”

“Sandra” is not her real name. It was inspired by an older woman who shared her story of being trafficked at last month’s kickoff event for the San Francisco Collaborative Against Human Trafficking, a coalition of nonprofits and government agencies committed to ending human trafficking through education, advocacy, outreach and support for survivors like Sandra.

To protect her safety, Sandra (a pseudonym) would not divulge her real name, age or where she lives.

She is one of an unknown number of Jewish women who are victims of human trafficking, defined as the practice of people being tricked, lured or coerced into working for no or low payment, or on terms that are highly exploitative.

Victims can be used in a variety of situations, including prostitution, forced labor and other forms of involuntary servitude.

The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that roughly 200,000 U.S. citizens — mainly women and children — face a high risk of being trafficked throughout the country for sexual purposes.

Next to drugs and arms dealing, human trafficking is the world’s most organized, lucrative crime, according to the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime. Subsequently, many dealers have become involved in human trafficking.

“You can only sell drugs or a weapon once,” said Nancy Goldberg, co-chair of the S.F. Collaborative Against Human Trafficking and board vice president of the S.F.-based Jewish Family and Children’s Services. “But you can sell a girl or boy 15 to 40 times a night.”

In the past 10 years, the S.F.-based JFCS has seen many cases involving sex trafficking and domestic servitude, mostly with female victims, according to JFCS Executive Director Anita Friedman.

Though she could not provide a figure for the number of clients, Friedman said her organization has seen examples of these cases in its domestic violence, legal and immigration work.

In Sandra’s case, the abuser started selling her to his friends when she was just 9 years old.

To mentally escape the pain she endured, Sandra disassociated from the abuse, allowing her mind to transport her to a world of fantasy.

“I pictured a different life,” Sandra said. “I was able to build a house in my mind and decorate it. Of course it always had animals in it. Then I would go into this fantasy of an orphanage where I would be this loving mother figure for all of these children who I saved.

“I did so much for others in this fantasy that I couldn’t do for myself.”

Because of the abuse, Sandra had no idea what a normal childhood was supposed be like. She had friends, but they lived in other neighborhoods and weren’t aware of what was going on. And she couldn’t confide in them about the trafficking — her abuser convinced her that no one would understand.

There were no extracurricular activities — “It was go to school, come home and help in the house. That was what females did,” Sandra said.

Although she couldn’t really articulate what was going on, Sandra did seek help from her family in stopping the abuse. But they ignored her. They had no idea about the trafficking.

“I have an aunt who laughed about one of the times my mother was going off to work and leaving me with the abuser. I said, ‘If you leave me I’m going to kill myself.’ I was about 10,” Sandra said.

“She thought that was so funny for a 10-year-old to say. That I was so dramatic. Obviously, I was feeling something before I felt comfortable to say anything.”

When Sandra was 11, she met the first Jew outside of her relatives. The young woman, a student teacher in Sandra’s classroom, would go on to rescue her from five years of sexual servitude.

Sandra said she knew “consciously and unconsciously” that she had to stop what was happening to her. So one day Sandra approached her student teacher after school, sat down and blurted out every horrific detail of being sold for sex.

Throughout the conversation, Sandra’s body was numb. She heard her own voice speaking, but it was as if it were coming from somewhere else.

“In my naïveté, I thought ‘oh she’s Jewish, I’m Jewish, and she can help me,’ ” Sandra recalled. “I’m sure I didn’t have the vocabulary to describe what was happening, but she got it. I remember the expression on her face. It was shock and horror.”

Sandra’s teacher came home with her that day. Sandra was scared and beginning to regret their conversation. She remembers nothing as her teacher knocked on the front door and proceeded to talk with her mother.

“It was as if I had no hearing whatsoever,” said Sandra, who today calls her teacher one of the bravest people she’s ever met. “It’s as if I went deaf, so I don’t remember what she said. But as [my teacher] got up and left, I remember the look on my mother’s face. It was more anger than anything.”

Following the confrontation, Sandra’s mother asked why she had taken the situation out of the family.

“Even though we were isolated, without a Jewish community, there was still that sense of shame,” Sandra said.

To this day, Sandra has no idea was what said between her mother and her abuser, but the sexual abuse stopped almost immediately. That’s when the verbal and physical abuse began.

When Sandra was 12, her family moved to a larger community, one with many Jewish families. Although the trafficking had stopped, the family member who had sold her continued to physically abuse her, mostly because he felt betrayed, she said.

He called her fat, ugly and stupid. And she believed him. As a teenager, Sandra’s mind occasionally turned to thoughts of suicide. Those thoughts still weave in and out of her mind today.

As she got older, Sandra said, it was “easy to just shut down and go on with life.”

She added, “I’m cheerful, outgoing and funny. I blended into society on a certain level. But there’s always a part of me that feels I don’t fit in. That stigma’s still there, like a scarlet letter.”

Her abuser was not punished and remains a revered member of the family. No one sought help for Sandra, and she never spoke of the trafficking to anyone until she was married and became a mother. When her children were young adults, she told them of the abuse.

Sandra’s husband provided emotional support, and she finally was able to receive therapy, though she found it extremely difficult to trust anyone.

After starting therapy, Sandra confronted her mother about why she hadn’t been as protective of Sandra as she should have been.

“She said, ‘Why are you bringing this up now? You’re married, aren’t you happy?’ I guess, as many women of that generation thought, marriage erases all.”

Today Sandra is an advocate and a voice for women who are victims of human trafficking. She has a good life, she said, in spite of a past that haunts her.

“My life will not be defined by what happened to me,” Sandra said. “I’m what I do with my life today.”

Related: Why is trafficking a Jewish issue?

source: http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/41394/stopping-human-trafficking-haunted-by-her-past-jewish-woman-advocates-for-o/

Rio chooses 7-year-old Samba Queen; child advocates worry that this promotes child prostitution

“Rio’s Carnival parade focuses on sex and is inappropriate for a 7-year-old”

Child sex tourism exists.

This simple fact is shocking and horrifying to many parents and others who care about children.

A Brazilian Congressional Report states that Brazil is the second worst country for child prostitution (Thailand is first).

There are actual travel agencies that specialize in bringing tourists from the United States and Europe to countries like Thailand and Brazil and then actually helping them to set up transportation, hotel rooms and even meeting with the child.

Brazil has been working to fight child prostitution by promoting awareness and giving people who have seen suspicious behavior a place to report it. That’s why so many Brazilians are so unhappy about a recent decision regarding Rio’s Carnival parade.

Carnival’s Samba Queen is traditionally a sex symbol. She is typically a scantily clad woman who dances down the street in Carnival’s parade. This year’s Samba Queen is a 7-year-old girl.

Child advocacy groups say that this is sexualization of a child during a time, Carnival, when child prostitution in Brazil is at its height. They believe it is not only inappropriate but potentially dangerous.

A Brazilian judge is considering stopping the child from performing. A Brazilian child advocacy group has come out as strongly against the decision.

“We’re not against children taking part in Carnival, but we’re against them in that position, which promotes a sexual image of children and teenagers,” said Carlos Nicodemus to the Associated Press. He is the president of Brazil’s Council for the Defense of the Rights of the Child.

This is happening in Brazil, but pedophilia is present everywhere. Last May, a man from the Philadelphia area was charged with helping to operate and participating in a child sex prostitution ring in Russia. The children he was hurting were Russian orphans.

Pedophiles can be wealthy, poor, gay, straight and any ethnicity. Most are male, but some are female. In fact, Pennsylvania’s Child Predator Unit just arrested its first woman in January.

If you have any information about possible child sexual abuse or exploitation, you are urged to call the Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678.

source: http://www.examiner.com/x-34892-Philadelphia-Motherhood-Examiner~y2010m2d6-Rio-chooses-7yearold-Samba-Queen-child-advocates-worry-that-this-promotes-child-prostitution

Southeast Asia Reminded That Domestic Workers Have Rights

If you’re a nanny, housekeeper, driver, or other domestic worker in Southeast Asia, you have rights. And the International Labor Organization (ILO) wants to tell you all about them with their new booklet called “Domestic Work, Decent Work.” They’ve published it in seven languages, and are in the process of distributing it to labor rights organizations across the region. And this information can’t come too soon for the hundreds of thousands of domestic workers in Southeast Asia, especially those who are exploited, abused, or modern-day slaves.

In Thailand alone, there are over 120,000 domestic workers. However, an exact count of domestic workers in the country and across Southeast Asia is incredibly hard to come by, since so many of them are undocumented immigrants or unregistered minors. The domestic work industry is highly unregulated, especially in Southeast Asia, which means that workers are incredibly vulnerable to exploitation by employers.

This exploitation can range from unfair wages or poor treatment to trafficking,sexual abuse, and physical violence. And while we usually think of domestic workers as maids and nannies, wealthy households in Southeast Asia may also employ drivers, gardeners, butlers, and personal security guards or body guards. These latter occupations tend to be male dominated, while the childcare, cooking, and cleaning occupations tend to be female dominated. Regardless of gender, however, the high proportion of children and undocumented migrants who work in domestic service makes this population highly vulnerable to human trafficking.

Some sex offenders escape restriction

Sex offenders who committed serious sex crimes out of state can live anywhere they choose in Iowa because of a loophole in state law.

The law, overhauled last spring, continues to restrict those who commit felony sexual abuse in Iowa from living within 2,000 feet of schools or child care centers. But because of a flaw in how the statute was written, it doesn’t apply to abusers with comparable convictions from other states who move to Iowa.

“They made a big mistake, and now we’ve got people moving in,” said Rep. Christopher Rants, R-Sioux City, a candidate for governor and one of a handful of lawmakers who voted against the changes.

Just how many out-of-state offenders with a history of felony-level sexual abuse who have moved close to schools or child care centers in Iowa is unclear. That would take a time-consuming examination of records in the Iowa sex offender registry, state public safety officials said.

Lawmakers changed the sex offender law last year to try to better monitor where sex offenders go while they are awake, rather than only restricting where they can sleep.

The new law, widely supported by law enforcement, narrowed the list of offenders who are forbidden from living within 2,000 feet of a school or child care center to those who commit Class C felony sexual abuse.

It also bans everyone on the state’s sex offender registry whose victim was a minor from being present on the grounds of an elementary or secondary school, public library or child care center without permission, or from loitering within 300 feet of a public playground, sport-related activity area, pool or beach when it is in use by a minor.

Ross Loder, a lobbyist for the Iowa Department of Public Safety, said the law as a whole is better with the updates. He said he will urge lawmakers to fix the loophole when the next session of the Iowa Legislature begins on Monday.

Rants and Rep. Kent Sorenson, R-Indianola, are drafting a bill that would close the loophole and broaden the 2,000-foot rule again so that anyone with a sex offense against a minor would be subject to the restriction.

Child abuse experts say the changes made last spring are smart because statistics prove sexual abuse cases typically do not involve strangers picking random children from places where kids gather. They usually involve abuse committed by a child’s close relative or trusted family friend.

But Democrats and Republicans negotiated the changes behind closed doors, fearing the controversial update could be political suicide if Iowans thought they were weakening sex offender laws.

At the end of the three-month session, lawmakers passed an agreed-upon bill with very little public discussion.

Rants contends the flaw could have been caught if the process had been more open.

“We warned folks there were going to be problems with their rush to get it down without a thorough discussion,” Rants said. “They just expected everyone to be quiet and go along with it with no public scrutiny.”

The new law also clarifies which offenders are required to register and when. The law ensures they register when they come to Iowa to live, work or go to school.

Loder said special restrictions can be imposed on a case-by-case basis if someone under supervision is transferred to Iowa. A parole or probation officer can stop an offender from living, say, next to a school bus stop or within sight of a school.

And those on the sex offender registry now have closer contact with law enforcement because they are required to check in in person and to get a new photo if they’ve changed their appearance.

Loder pointed out that crafting the new law was far from simple.

“When you put together a 55-page bill, it’s a very, very complex framework you’re developing,” he said.

source: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20100106/NEWS10/1060369/-1/BUSINESS04/Some-sex-offenders-escape-restriction

Corruption bust leads top-10 list, Christie and Goldman follow

“Assemblyman Daniel Van Pelt, Lakewood, covers himself as he leaves federal court in Newark in July after his arrest as part of a corruption probe.”

“Gov.-elect Chris Christie, left, and Lt. Gov.-elect Kim Guadagno greet their supporters after unseating incumbent Democratic Gov. Jon S. Corzine to win the state governors race in Parsippany on Nov. 3.”

A string of high-profile stories put New Jersey and the Shore at the center of national and international media attention in 2009.

From a massive corruption bust to a hotly contested and closely watched gubernatorial election to the end of a Monmouth County family’s fight to regain custody of an abducted child, the first decade of the 21st century was packed with big headlines.

But the annual list of the year’s top ten stories compiled by Press editors and reporters also contains articles that chronicle powerful events that never made national news. Here they are:

1.http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070328/SPECIAL/50223003&template=theme&theme=MONMOUTHCORRUPTION”> OPERATION BID RIG: On July 23, New Jersey’s largest-ever corruption probe turned into the year’s biggest story, as 44 were cuffed and charged with offenses that ranged from bribe taking to trafficking in human kidneys.

http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070328/SPECIAL/50223003&template=theme&theme=MONMOUTHCORRUPTION”>The FBI’s Operation Bid Rig arrests followed two tracks: officials accused of corruption and rabbis in Syrian Jewish and Hasidic communities accused of money laundering.

Among those arrested were the mayors of Hoboken, Secaucus and Ridgefield, as well as Ocean County Republican Assemblyman Daniel Van Pelt, Lakewood Housing Inspector Jeffrey Williamson and rabbis from congregations in Deal and Long Branch.

At the center of the scandal washttp://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=DWEK01″> Solomon Dwek, the former real estate mogul from Ocean Township who became a cooperating witness in the investigation after he was arrested for bank fraud in 2006.

2. CHRISTIE ELECTED GOVERNOR: Responding to a tax-cut platform, recession-weary New Jersey voters chose Republican former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie in this year’s gubernatorial election, ousting Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine in a contentious race that, while close, led to the biggest GOP victory since 1970.

Christie took 49 percent of the vote and Corzine took 44 percent. Independent Chris Daggett, who had a strong debate performance but faded in the polls at the end of his campaign, won 6 percent.

Monmouth and Ocean counties proved their political clout in the race, delivering 22 percent of Christie’s vote.

3. http://www.app.com/article/99999999/SPECIAL/90219090&template=recurring&theme=davidgoldman”>THE FIGHT FOR SEAN GOLDMAN: Tinton Falls father http://www.app.com/article/99999999/SPECIAL/90219090&template=recurring&theme=davidgoldman”>David Goldman’s five-year international custody battle for his 9-year-old son Sean attracted attention worldwide this year as lawmakers, State Department officials and even President Barack Obama joined efforts to return Sean to the U.S. from Brazil, where he was living with Goldman’s former in-laws.

Goldman’s wife, now deceased, took their son to Brazil in 2004 and never returned. Her family and the man she married, a prominent and influential lawyer, fought off Goldman’s attempts to regain custody of Sean until last week, when a Brazilian judge ordered they turn the boy over to his father. Goldman and his son returned to the U.S. in time for Christmas.

4.http://www.app.com/article/20081012/SPECIAL/81013004&template=theme&theme=JERSEYSQUEEZE”> ECONOMIC FALLOUT ON THE JERSEY SHORE: The longest recession since the Great Depression continued at least until the fall of this year, but its damage lingered all year. New Jersey and the Shore felt the pain.

From January to November, the state lost 88,900 jobs, and its unemployment rate rose from 7.3 percent to 9.7 percent. When the unemployment rate reached 9.8 percent in September, it marked the highest jobless rate since 1977, according to the state.

Behind the job losses was an economy trying to recover form the housing market’s collapse. Despite attempts this year to breathe life into the market with mortgage rate cuts and first-time homebuyer credits, the median price of an existing home in the region that includes the Shore was $343,800 during the third quarter, down 8.9 percent from $377,300 in the same quarter a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Still, some experts are hopeful that the worst is over.

“It was really a year of stabilization and setting a stage for what should be recovery in 2010,” Jeffrey Otteau, an East Brunswick-based real estate analyst.

5. http://www.app.com/article/20091128/NEWS/911280327/Orthodox-moves-to-end-silence-on-sex-abuse”>SEX ABUSE IN THE LAKEWOOD ORTHODOX COMMUNITY: What some have called an epidemic of sexual abuse in Orthodox Jewish communities in Lakewood and elsewhere in the country was spotlighted this year as Jewish leaders, abuse survivors and activists clashed over how to deal with the problem.

While Lakewood’s rabbinical leaders strongly deny their residents are discouraged from reporting sex abuse to law enforcement, many critics said that’s exactly what has happened, and have blasted the internal tribunals set up to address abuse in the community as ineffective.

But changes began over the summer, as leaders in Lakewood planned seminars for teachers, clergy, parents and others on how to prevent and fight abuse. One rabbinical court that handled many of the town’s abuse allegations also was closed, and Orthodox leaders met with Ocean County prosecutors to fuse a joint approach to dealing with sex crimes.

“We blithely thought that religious values would keep this from happening,” said Ronald D. Price, the executive vice president of the Union for Traditional Judaism. “But enough evidence has come forward where you reach that tipping point, and a responsible leader has to acknowledge it, even if he doesn’t want to.”

6. EMINENT DOMAIN BATTLE ENDS IN LONG BRANCH: In September, an eight-year battle between a group of Long Branch residents and city officials over whether properties could be seized through eminent domain came to an end as both parties signed a settlement allowing residents to stay in their homes.

Members of the Marine Terrace, Ocean Terrace, Seaview Avenue Alliance had fought since 2003 to stop the redevelopment that threatened to level the working-class neighborhood that sits between Seven Presidents Oceanfront Park and the city’s first phase of the Beachfront North redevelopment project.

In what lawyers called a “complete win” for the homeowners, the consent order not only eliminated the use of eminent domain in the MTOTSA neighborhood, but gave property owners the right to act as their own redevelopers, providing incentives and five-year tax abatements on any improvements they make.

Long Branch Mayor Adam Schneider pledged residents in several communities would never again be threatened with the use of eminent domain in connection with redevelopment. He and other council members resisted efforts by one councilman to introduce an ordinance that would outlaw the use of eminent domain throughout the city.

7. THREE CONVICTED IN KILLING CONNECTED TO LAKEWOOD BARBERSHOP MURDER GET LIFE: The sentence was handed down early this month: Lee Reeves, Jamell Scott and James Russell, the three Lakewood men convicted of murdering 55-year-old Athelma Vasquez as she slept on a couch in her Lakewood apartment on Oct. 14, 2008, would serve life in prison.

Vasquez was shot to death the same day two of her killers and another man went on trial for the Feb. 7, 2006, murder of 21-year-old Jose Francisco Olivares in the Man, Woman and Child barbershop in Lakewood. Russell and Scott were sentenced to life in prison last year for that gang-related killing.

Prosecutors argued Vasquez was killed in an unsuccessful attempt to stop Christian Vivar Granados, the boyfriend of Vazquez’s daughter, Alisa Morales, from testifying at the barbershop murder trial. Morales and Granados also were supposed to be killed, but their lives were spared because Reeves’ gun jammed after he shot Vasquez, prosecutors said.

While Reeves expressed remorse for killing Vasquez at the sentencing, Scott and Russell both maintained their innocence, and their lawyers promised to appeal their convictions.

8http://www.app.com/article/20091020/NEWS/111230009/-1/SPECIAL20/Dwek+pleads+guilty+to++50+million+bank+fraud”>. SOLOMON DWEK PLEADS GUILTY TO BANK FRAUD: In 2006, Solomon Dwek was a well-respected real estate mogul with a $300 million empire in seven states. Now, the 37-year-old son of a prominent Monmouth County rabbi is a community outcast and admitted felon facing up to 11 years in prison.

Dwek pleaded guilty Oct. 20 in federal court in Newark to one count each of money-laundering and bank fraud after admitting that he defrauded PNC Bank in 2006 by depositing a phony $25.2 million check — which was credited to his account before the checked cleared — and then wiring away $22.2 million the next day. A day later, he tried the same scam, which was rejected after PNC already lost millions.

But in the twists and turns of the four-year-long case, Dwek became the linchpin of a major FBI anti-corruption case in which 44 politicians, public officials and rabbis — some from his own Orthodox Jewish community in Ocean Township and Deal — were arrested in a sweeping corruption and money-laundering sting this July.

Dwek is free on a $10 million bond until his Feb. 9 sentencing. The U.S. Attorney’s Office has said it may recommend a lighter sentence based on Dwek’s ongoing cooperation.

9. LAKEWOOD POLICE SHOOTINGS: A September drug raid on a Lakewood house by a joint force of township police and federal, state and county officials ended in the first police shooting at the Shore in more than a decade.

Patrolmen Jonathan Wilson and Leonard Nieves Sr., Lt. Gregory Meyer and Sgt. Louis Sasso, all of the Lakewood Police Department, were shot by the target of the probe who was upstairs in the two-story house when the authorities, bearing a no-knock search warrant, forced their way into the home.

Wilson, a decorated, six-year veteran of the township police force, was shot in the face, and Meyer was shot in the foot; both were hospitalized and survived, though Wilson may never fully regain the ability to see form his left eye. Nieves and Sgt. Sasso were spared serious injuries by their bulletproof vests. The man police identified as the shooter, Jaime Gonzalez, 39, was critically wounded during the raid, and has since been charged with four counts of attempted murder and drug and weapons possession charges; two others have also been charged in connection with the incident.

10http://www.app.com/article/20091210/NEWS/91210103/Local-man–George-E.-Smith–accepts-Nobel-Prize-in-Physics”>. LOCAL MAN WINS NOBEL PRIZE: In 1969, current Waretown resident George E. Smith was a researcher for Bell Labs in Union County, batting around ideas for improving data storage with co-worker Willard S. Boyle. Together, they sketched the CCD, a chip that transforms patterns of light into useful electrical information.

Their invention led directly to the development of a staggering array of imaging technologies, from digital cameras to high-powered astronomy telescopes. It also won them the Nobel Prize for physics this year.

Smith and his wife, Janet Murphy, traveled to Stockholm, Sweden earlier this month, where Smith accepted the award, which came with his share of the $1.4 million in prize money. In interviews, Smith was humble about the discovery that changed the way people everywhere see the world.

“I won’t tell you about all the times we sat at the blackboard and came up with duds,” he said.

source: http://www.app.com/article/20091226/NEWS/912260319/Corruption-bust-leads-top-10-list

Anti-human trafficking efforts in Canada, Aboriginal girls remain forgotten

In one’s experience working at a nonprofit organization, an advocate is well aware of the tendency of the government authorities when dealing with the human rights issues. More often than not, human rights issues will not be taken seriously enough without the external pressure. The Canadian government is not an exception to such case. Though it takes human rights issues very seriously, the external pressure such as, that of the U.S. government, appears to be a necessary component for the Canadian government to take further initiatives in protecting human rights for some people. The Canadian government’s anti-humant trafficking efforts demonstrates a good example of such case. According to the news reports for the past few months, the Canadian authority literally announced the increased efforts to fight against human trafficking as soon as he met with the U.S. authority.

Yes, the Canadian government responded to the pressure from the U.S. government

Prior to the Canadian government’s increased anti-human trafficking efforts, media has reported the advocates’ ongoing concerns for possible increase of sex trafficking victims during the 2010 Olympics. Though it ignored the voices of advocates to take further initiatives in its fight against human trafficking, the Canadian authorities certainly increased its efforts to beat down the traffickers as it quickly responded to the pressure from the U.S. authorities. [1] The same report also noted the Canadian federal authority’s response to the interview regarding Canada’s anti-human trafficking efforts as follows:[2]

We have not seen any evidence of any special human trafficking plans that organized crime, say, might be utilizing around the Olympics, but it is a focus of our attention [emphasis added]

The Canadian government takes an easy rout: cracking down on immigrants

The Canadian government took the easiest rout to demonstrate its effort to fight against human trafficking by cracking down immigrants and their visa status. The media began to report police arrests of some immigrants followed by the reports on their deportation. A Chinese woman in Calgary who allegedly attempted to sell sexual services of two women for $8000 to an undercover cop was arrested a few weeks ago. However, she was quickly bailed, and the two victims were deported without further assistance or treatments. The Canadian government further continued its focus on tightening immigration control to beat down human trafficking in Vancouver. In December, 19th, 2009, a pregnant woman who is a mother of three children was facing deportation for her alleged involvement in human trafficking ring. [3]

Crackdown on immigrants, but forget about Aboriginal women- the true sex trafficking victims in Canada

Sex trafficking of Aboriginal females in Canada has been rampant for a long time even before the human trafficking issue became such a huge deal in the international community. While no record of national statistics is available on sex trafficking of Aboriginal women, individual studies point out high percentage of their victimization within the Canadian border. [4] According to the research, between 70 percent of sexual exploited Aboriginal girls and 50 percent sex workers in Winnipeg are of Aboriginal descent. [5] The figure is clearly alarming since “Aboriginal peoples only make up 10 percent of the Winnipeg population.”[6] The same research also stated that poverty, physical and sexual abuse, homelessness, racism, and low self-esteem are the contributing factors behind the over representation of Aboriginal women in sex trafficking. [7] Yet, the Canadian government has failed to address such root causes of sex trafficking involving Aboriginal women for a long time.[8]

If the Olympics is held in Prairie providence

If the Olympics is held in Prairie providence, where most sex trafficking victims from Aboriginal community reside, the problem involving sex trafficking of Aboriginal females would have received the attention from the media and the government that they rightly deserve. After all, the international community including the U.S. government would have prompted the Canadian authorities to clean up the streets before the Olympics in Prairie. Granted blaming the immigrants for rampant human trafficking by cracking down on their visa status is a quick fix for any government to show some anti-human trafficking efforts to the international community, particularly when facing a huge global event like the Olympics. It also became a great outlet for many governments to demonstrate some efforts to fight against human trafficking in their own soils before the U.S. States Department. Surely, illegal immigrants involved in human trafficking will more likely be cleaned out of the street corners in Vancouver as a result of its anti-human trafficking effort. However, if the Canadian government continues to ignore the rampant sex trafficking of Aboriginal women and refuse to address the root cases of human trafficking in the country, The human trafficking will never stop in the country, and Canada will certainly retain its notorious reputation as a safe haven for organized criminals.

source: http://www.examiner.com/x-24740-Norfolk-Human-Rights-Examiner~y2009m12d21-In-antihuman-trafficking-in-Canada-aboriginal-girls-are-still-forgotten

Bid to get help for young sex victims

CHILD sex trafficking is becoming a big problem for the south west and councils in the region have been criticised by children’s charity Barnardo’s for not doing enough for victims.

More than 80 per cent of local authorities across the UK are not providing specialist services for children, according to the charity in a report yesterday, which also shows last year they helped more than 1,000 children.

In the region, there is currently just one specialist centre for victims, in Bristol, which the charity says is not good enough.

Barnardo’s south west assistant director Duncan Stanway, pictured, said: “We don’t know the true extent of this problem, but we know, however hidden from the public eye it might be, it affects many thousands of children.

“Trafficking could mean that a child is moved from one part of Swindon to another by an adult for sex.

“We shouldn’t have to do this work, but adults are not going to stop the predatory sexual abuse of girls and sometimes boys.

“We shall not stop trying to thwart such people and help their victims escape from their clutches.

“I believe that sexual exploitation is becoming more organised – the criminals who abuse are more sophisticated.

“There are networks of older men grooming and trafficking children in the UK. It’s a growing phenomenon and it’s extremely difficult to police.”

Last year Bernardo’s worked with 1,060 children who had been sexually exploited – sexually abused for cash – in just 20 of the 209 local authorities and trusts.

Despite all 209 local authorities and trusts across the UK having responsibility for producing Children And Young People Plans, only 40 are known to provide any type of specialist service.

The charity has also said another problem is that there are no official records kept on the number of children exploited and where local authorities have asked Barnardo’s to research a potential problem.

The report also reveals disturbing trends both in child trafficking within the UK for sexual exploitation and the risks to children and young people who go missing.

Of the 609 sexually exploited children and young people Barnardo’s is currently working with, 90 appeared to have been trafficked within the UK, which equates to one in six.

National research estimates that 100,000 young people under the age of 16 run away from home or care each year, across the UK.

source: http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/4742692.Bid_to_get_help_for_young_sex_victims/

Drive against human trafficking

PAKISTAN’s leg of global campaign “Stop sex trafficking of children and young people” was launched during a ceremony held under the aegis of ECPAT International and The Body Shop here on Sunday.

The campaign is supported by the Child Rights and Abuse Committee, Pakistan Pediatric Association, PAHCHAAN, Konpal and Working Group against Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation.

The event was attended by about 50 celebrities and socialites of the city.

The speakers, including Dr Tufail Muhammad Khan from ECPAT, Dr Naeem Zafar from PAHCHAAN/PPA, Kanwal Hashmat Malik and Mohtashim from The Body Shop, Juggan Kazim and Shahzaman, said such efforts would end the exploitation of children and young people. They stressed the need to ensure that community-based prevention programmes to stop trafficking of children and young people were reaching at-risk population. They demanded the authorities concerned ensure international legal standards for protecting children and young people from trafficking.

source: http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=206392