Global Human Traffiking Watch: January 2014

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Friday, January 24, 2014

Forced to fish: Slavery on Thailand's trawlers

By Becky Palmstrom BBC News, Thailand

A woman sits at a pier as Thai fishermen venture out

Thailand is the third largest exporter of seafood in the world, supplying supermarkets in Europe and America, but it's accused of crewing fishing boats with Burmese and Cambodian men who've been sold and forced to work as slaves.

Military music is pumping out into the tropical sunshine. In front of us are some 100 police officers standing in rows, and two heavily armed SWAT teams standing at attention. General Chatchawal Suksomjit, deputy chief of police, is walking down the lines, shaking hands, nodding and saluting.
With his dark glasses, slicked-back hair and shiny grey uniform he oozes importance.
He ushers us on to some waiting police boats and out into the waters of the Malacca Straits, along the border with Malaysia.

“Start Quote

If people aren't useful on board, they can be killed and thrown overboard”

Phil Robertson Human Rights Watch

The general is head of a new committee set up to deal with the trafficking of men into the fishing business - an industry he describes as "dirty, dangerous and difficult".

Human rights groups claim the Thai fishing fleet is much worse than this. Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch, who wrote a report on it for the International Organization for Migration says the use of forced labour is "systematic" and "pervasive".
"The biggest problem we've seen is that if people can't work, people aren't useful on board, they can be killed and thrown overboard," he says. "It doesn't happen on every boat but it does happen enough to raise serious questions about the lawlessness in this industry."

General Chatchawal Suksomjit, on patrol in the Malacca Straits

There is also a recruitment crisis. By the Ministry of Labour's count, fishing boats in Thailand are short of 50,000 men. One captain at the port of Chonburi says they are desperate.
"Because Thai fishing is difficult, some people we have to force on to the boat," he says.
Many boat owners and captains rely on brokers to recruit their workers, but the brokers are often unscrupulous, tricking young men from neighbouring countries into a job from which there is no escape.

As the police boats charge out towards the border with Malaysia, we approach four battered fishing boats. The SWAT teams surge on to the deck of the first boat, but meet no resistance.

"The focus of the mission today is to find trafficked and forced labour," announces the general in Thai, before ordering the mainly Burmese crew down on to the deck. The crew have holes in their shirts or no shirts at all. Most are barefoot. We slide around on the nets, scales and fish guts on the deck.
When I talk in Burmese they speak quietly, glancing nervously at the captain and the crew master.
One group say they didn't know they were coming on to a boat when they left Rakhine State in the west of Burma, or Myanmar as it is also known. They owe a broker $750 (£450) for bringing them here. One man glances out from under a mop of salt-soaked hair. "It's been seven months," he says. He still hasn't been paid.
With my basic Burmese and the crew's reluctance to talk, it's hard to assess the situation but brokers, deception and debt often go hand-in-hand with forced labour.

Typically an illegal worker from Cambodia or Burma meets a broker and is offered a factory job. He accepts and finds himself passed from one broker to another, taken to a port and put on a fishing boat. The victim is then told he owes a lot of money.

It's a well-sprung trap. If he escapes, then as an undocumented migrant the police will arrest and deport him. One Cambodian man I spoke to was trapped for three years on a boat without any wages, while he "paid off his debt". He was never told how much he owed.
The general and his team cannot talk directly to the Burmese-speaking crew because they haven't brought a translator so determining whether the men are trafficked is not possible. After 20 minutes the general ushers us off the boat.

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Anyone who tried to escape had their legs broken, their hands broken or were even killed”

Ken Former fisherman

"Wouldn't it make your job easier to have a translator?" I ask. He replies that usually they rely on someone on board who can speak Burmese, such as the crew master. However, it's often the crew master who is accused of the worst cases of abuse and violence.

"How do you know there was no forced labour or trafficking here?" I ask.
"From what we saw, there was no lock-up or detention room," he says. "We saw no signs of harm on their bodies or in their facial expressions. By looking into their faces and their eyes they didn't look like they had been forced to work."
It didn't seem like a foolproof system.
When the authorities do rescue trafficked men they often end up in a government-run detention centre on the outskirts of Bangkok.
Ken is one of these men. He explains that he was promised a good job in a factory but was forced on to a tiny boat in the open sea where he fished 20 hours a day, seven days a week. When he talks, his rough fingers run over the word L.O.V.E, which is clumsily tattooed across his knuckles. The broker said Ken owed a lot of money for being found a job and taken to the port. Months passed but Ken, like so many others, was never paid.
"People said, anyone who tried to escape had their legs broken, their hands broken or were even killed," he says.
Desperate to escape, Ken jumped ship and swam for six hours in the open sea, until he was picked up by a yacht and dropped off in the resort of Pattaya. Like many trafficked men, he felt ashamed to return home empty-handed so when the police found him and deported him, he crossed the border illegally again to find work in Thailand.

This time he was told there was a job for him in a pineapple canning factory, and he agreed.

But there was no factory, just another boat and another insurmountable debt. Fortunately for him, other crew-members managed to smuggle a phone on board to call for help and he was rescued as part of a special operation by Thailand's Department of Special Investigations.
Puntrik Smiti, the Deputy Director General at the Ministry of Labour, admits that men like Ken are vulnerable. "There are some good fishing operators who are trying to improve the treatment of workers," she says. "The problem is there are small operators who are unregistered and don't want to come into the system."

Ken's boat arrives in port, after the crew phoned for help

Only one in six boats is registered, she says, and most of the workers are illegal. She also points out that existing labour laws are inadequate. In fact Thailand's Labour Protection Act exempts workers employed in the fishing industry, while other ministerial regulations exclude boats with a crew of less than 20, or those that travel outside Thai waters for more than a year.
Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch says it is on these long-haul boats that the worst abuses take place.
"If you're talking about a fish caught on a Thai boat that has gone overseas, that has gone to Malaysian waters, Indonesian waters or further afield, you're definitely talking about a fish tainted with forced labour," he says.
"If you're talking about a fish caught in Thai waters, the chances might be less. But there are much fewer fish caught that way. And now the major exporting is coming from the overseas catch."
The effect of local over-fishing is forcing Thai boats to go as far afield as Yemen to maintain an export business worth $7bn annually. Mother ships refuel boats far from shore and transfer crews, ice and fish at sea.

Ken has been learning to cut hair in the detention centre

Trapped at sea, workers cannot escape or complain about their conditions. The system also muddies the supply chain because fish are mixed at sea, and often again at the ports and processing plants, before being sold to larger companies for export. Max Tunon of the International Labour Organisation, who published a report on the industry in September, says it is "close to impossible" to disentangle Thailand's fish supply chains.
Consumer pressure may one day force the industry to make these supply chains more transparent. Mackerel, sardines and other Thai fish are bought by some Western supermarkets and restaurants, while household brands such as John West and Chicken of the Sea are both subsidiaries of the largest exporter of Thai seafood, the Thai Union Group.
For its part, the Thai Union Group says it only sources fish from boats that are properly registered, with crews that have proper working documents. A representative says the company works with its partners to "take meaningful steps to promote human rights" in all its business operations. Mackerel and sardines accounted for only 6% of its revenue in 2012. Tuna is caught by a different fleet of boats.

Chart showing world's largest seafood exporters

A few days later in Burma, we sit on the floor of a bamboo shack in Bago, 100km (60 miles) north of Rangoon. This is Ken's home. Although idyllic, the poverty is palpable.
Ken's parents haven't heard anything from their son, who is now 32, for four years.

His father is thin, with a gaunt face and red teeth from chewing betel nut. His mother is plumper and has a comb holding up her grey hair.
I show them a video of Ken. "That's him! That's my son," his mother cries in recognition.
She raises her hands to her face and weeps, while her husband places his hand close to hers.
"We didn't know anything," she says. "We heard nothing."
"I am so happy, so happy," Ken's father says, unable to tear his red-rimmed eyes from the screen.
It's hard to know just how many more families like Ken's are waiting for sons and husbands trapped at sea. With some vessels spending months or even years away, without being checked, the system encourages abuse.
Ultimately, as one fishing boat captain told us, if the Burma or Cambodian economies boom and there are jobs for men back home, the Thai fishing fleet will be in trouble.
This could also force the industry to change its ways, quite aside from any consumer pressure. For now though, the flow of men trafficked into slavery on fishing boats continues.

Whether it's freedom from surveillance or freedom to be single, this Spring the BBC is investigating what freedom means in the modern world.

Freedom 2014

In today's Magazine

Blasphemy case: Briton in Pakistan sentenced to death

Christians at a protest after violence over accusations of blasphemy - March 2013

Several recent cases have prompted international concern about the application of Pakistan's blasphemy laws

A court in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi has sentenced a 65-year-old British man to death after convicting him of blasphemy.

Mohammad Asghar was arrested in 2010 after writing letters to various people claiming to be a prophet, reports say.
His lawyers argued for leniency saying he has a history of mental illness, but this was rejected by a medical panel.
Pakistan's controversial blasphemy laws carry a potential death sentence for anyone deemed to have insulted Islam.
Several recent cases have prompted international concern about the application of these laws.
Mr Asghar, who is believed to have family in Scotland, was accused of writing letters to police officers claiming to be a prophet. He is thought to have lived in Pakistan for several years.
His lawyer told the BBC's Saba Eitizaz that she was forcibly removed from the case by the judge and that proceedings were carried out behind closed doors.
She says she will launch an appeal against the verdict, which was delivered late on Thursday.
Correspondents say Mr Asghar is unlikely to be executed as Pakistan has had a moratorium on the death penalty since 2008.
Critics argue that Pakistan's blasphemy laws are frequently misused to settle personal scores and that members of minority groups are also unfairly targeted.
In 2012 the arrest of a young Christian girl, Rimsha, on blasphemy charges provoked international outrage. After being detained in a high security prison for several weeks she was eventually released and her family subsequently fled to Canada.
Blasphemy is a highly sensitive issue in Pakistan, where 97% of the population are Muslim.
Muslims constitute a majority of those prosecuted, followed by the minority Ahmadi community.

India: Woman gang-raped on orders of 'kangaroo court'

Couples deemed to have violated local codes face 'shocking' unofficial punishments in India's villages, as Andrew North reports

Police in India's West Bengal state have arrested 13 men in connection with a gang rape of a woman, allegedly on orders of village elders who objected to her relationship with a man.

The 20-year-old woman has been admitted to a hospital in a critical condition.
Unofficial courts in India's villages often sanction killings of couples deemed to have violated local codes.
Scrutiny of sexual violence in India has grown since the 2012 gang rape and murder of a student on a Delhi bus.

At the scene

Rahul Tandon BBC News, Calcutta

It was on Wednesday night that the 20-year-old came through the gates of the Siuri district hospital, seeking urgent medical help.
The man in charge there, Dr Asit Biswas, told me that she was now in a stable condition, but that she needs counselling after her ordeal. He said she was a brave woman. He would not discuss the details of the case saying that a full medical report had been sent to the police.
On a road near the hospital, a small group of sari-clad women held a protest demanding justice for the victim.
Her family have not spoken to the media and local journalists who have been to her village say that many residents are too scared to speak about the case.
I left the hospital with many questions still unanswered. But the scale of India's problems can be seen by the latest case here - a seven-year-old girl was being rushed in after allegedly being raped by her teacher.

The government tightened laws on sexual violence last year after widespread protests following the attack.

But violence and discrimination against women remain deeply entrenched.
The suspects were produced in court and have been remanded in custody. They have not yet made any public comment.
Police said the latest incident on Monday night was prompted by the relationship between a woman belonging to the Santhal tribal group and a non-tribal man from a nearby village in Birbhum district.

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Santhals have been known for living in peace in closely-knit communities bound by ritualistic codes, with none of the caste-based hierarchies and conflicts which mark India's majority Hindus. ”

Clan-based village councils made up of local elders wield great influence over life in large swathes of rural India and often mete out punishments for offences deemed to contravene local traditions and mores.

Although honour killings, sanctioned by unofficial courts that are common in parts of northern India, are unheard of in the tribal Santhal community, women are still treated as second class citizens.
'Crime of falling in love'

The woman went to the Siuri district hospital seeking urgent help

"The relationship was going on for almost five years. When the man visited the woman's home on Monday with the proposal of marriage, villagers spotted him and organised a kangaroo court. During the 'proceedings', the couple were made to sit with hands tied," Birbhum police chief C Sudhakar told the BBC.
He said the headman of the woman's village fined the couple 25,000 rupees ($400; £240) for "the crime of falling in love".
The man paid up, but the woman's family were unable to pay, police said.
The headman, who is a distant relative of the woman, then allegedly ordered the rape, Mr Sudhakar said.
"Her family could not pay, so go enjoy the girl and have fun," the headman reportedly told villagers, according to a complaint filed by the woman's family.

The 13 men arrested in connection with the incident include the headman.
Although the attack took place on Monday night, the family of the woman gathered courage to go to the police on Wednesday afternoon. The woman was admitted to a hospital only on Wednesday night.
She is currently being cared for by a five-member medical team in hospital, local officials say.

The incident has led to outrage in India with some describing it as "inhuman and completely outrageous" and many calling for a quick trial and punishment for the rapists.

"In a democratic country, based upon the rule of law, no vigilantism can be permitted," India's Information Minister Manish Tewari said.
"The West Bengal police must thoroughly investigate the alleged gang rape... and bring to justice those responsible. Authorities must also ensure that the woman and her family receive immediate and adequate police protection," Amnesty International's Divya Iyer said.
Correspondents say rape is a common occurrence in India with many cases still going unreported, despite the heightened media attention in recent months.
Although India has tightened its anti-rape laws and society is more openly discussing cases of violence against women, women across India still live with the daily fear of sexual assault and victims still often have to deal with police apathy.
In 2010, village elders in Birbhum ordered at least three tribal women to strip and walk naked in front of large crowds in West Bengal, police say.
The women were being punished for "having close relations" with men from other communities.

Soutik Biswas India correspondent

Read more from Soutik

Village 'justice'

July 2012: Asara village in Uttar Pradesh state bans love marriages and bars women under 40 from shopping alone, using mobile phones outside, and orders them to cover their heads when outdoors
May 2011: Eight people arrested in Uttar Pradesh for stoning to death a young couple who had a love affair
September 2010: A Dalit (formerly "untouchable") woman in Madhya Pradesh is ordered to pay 15,000 rupees ($330) compensation to the high-caste owners of a dog for feeding their pet. The owners say the dog became "untouchable"
August 2010: Village elders in West Bengal order a woman to walk naked in front of large crowds for having "an illicit love affair with a man from a different community"
June 2009: A Muslim woman and her Hindu husband kill themselves after the local village council orders them to annul their marriage or face death

Rape scandal

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Sex abuse files on US priests go public

The Archdiocese of Chicago was established as a diocese in 1843 and as an archdiocese in 1880.

Tue Jan 21, 2014 7:49AM

Thousands of pages of documents showing sexual abuse of children by Chicago priests are set to go public on Tuesday, a report says.

The Archdiocese of Chicago handed over last week more than 6,000 pages of documents to victims’ attorneys, who said they will show the archdiocese concealed abuse for decades.
The attorneys said some priests were even moved to new parishes where they molested again.
The Washington Post reports that the new disclosure will involve 30 priests of the archdiocese, one of the largest and most influential in the US.
The Roman Catholic Church has been under harsh criticism in recent years for its failure to report child sex abuse, which mostly occurred before 1988 and 1996, to authorities.
Cardinal Francis George, who has led the archdiocese since 1997, released a letter to parishioners on Jan. 12 in which he apologized for the abuse.
“I apologize to all those who have been harmed by these crimes and this scandal, the victims themselves, most certainly, but also rank and file Catholics who have been shamed by the actions of some priests and bishops,” George wrote.
The archdiocese has paid millions of dollars to settle sexual abuse claims. In 2008, the archdiocese agreed to pay $12.6 million to 16 victims of sexual abuse by priests.
According to the Post, many of the accused priests are dead, and the documents will include only 30 of 65 priests for whom the archdiocese says it has credible allegations of abuse.
The Archdiocese of Chicago was established as a diocese in 1843 and as an archdiocese in 1880. It serves more than 2.3 million Catholics in Cook and Lake counties in Northeastern Illinois.
ARA/ARA