American Anti-Slavery Group's Call-in for the Eradication of Slavery Act

Representative Chris Smith of New Jersey, a long time supporter of AASG, is trying to reintroduce House Resolution 5911, the Eradication of Slavery in Sudan Act. This bill will create a commission of experts charged with the following:

(1) Identifying the location of slaves in Sudan and ensure their freedom;

(2) Ensuring safe passage of freed slaves and family reunification;

(3) Documenting existing slavery and working to prevent new cases;

(4) Ensuring that former slaves have access to basic social services needed for rehabilitation and reintegration;

(5) Ensuring that enslavers are brought to justice.

You can help make the abolition of slavery in Sudan a reality by adding your voice and participating in the American Anti-Slavery Group’s call-in for HR 5911. The call-in will take place on Tuesday, July 3, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. We are targeting the following members of Congress to try to gain original sponsors for the Eradication of Slavery in Sudan Act.

Name	State	Party	DC Office	State Office
Diane Watson	California	Democrat	(202) 225-7084	(323) 965-1422
Donald Payne	New Jersey	Democrat	(202) 225-3436	(973) 645-3213
Michael Capuano	Massachusetts	Democrat	(202) 225-5111	(617) 621-6208
Frank Wolf	Virginia	Republican	(202) 225-5136	(703) 709-5800
Mel Watt	North Carolina	Democrat	(202) 225-1510	(704) 344-9950
Barney Frank	Massachusetts	Democrat	(202) 225-5931	(617) 332-3920

Please take the time to call some or all of these legislators, each call you make will have a huge impact. Below is a sample script of what to say when calling:

“I am calling to urge the Congressman/Congresswoman to co-sponsor the Eradication of Slavery in Sudan Act. Tens of thousands of people are currently enslaved in Northern Sudan. This is contrary to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees all people the right to live free from bondage. We must fight these blatant human rights abuses with legislation like the Eradication of Slavery in Sudan Act. Please urge the Congressman/Congresswoman to call Chris Smith's office and to sign on to this bill.”

Sudan Must Rewrite Rape Laws to Protect Victims

"An international aid group called on Sudan on Thursday to rewrite its laws to protect women from 'mass rape' in the war-torn Darfur region.

A report from U.S.-based Refugees International accused government-backed armed groups of systematic sex attacks on women and girls in the country's remote west.

Legally, it is 'all but impossible' to prosecute rapists, the report found.

Women who admit to being raped risk prosecution for having sex outside marriage -- an offence punishable by 100 lashes or death by stoning, it added.

Sudan's Foreign Ministry declined immediate comment on the report. But Khartoum has often denied that mass rape occurs in Darfur, accusing Western media of sensationalism."

Read the complete story here.

Twenty Girls Saved From Circus Slavery

"According to Lt. Col. Philip Holmes, who founded the charity in memory of his first wife, about 500 Nepalese children, mostly girls, are slaves in Indian circuses.

The girls are usually sold for about £70.

'Probably the main factor is poverty,' he said. 'It has to be said there is also an element of greed, and some nasty parents are quick to off-load children from a previous marriage.'

'I was sleeping when he came,' said one 15-year-old girl. 'He hit me on the back. He said that he would kill me, and then he raped me. If anyone came to know, he said that he would kill me.'"

Read the complete story here.

Sudan: China's Influence a Key to Peace in Darfur, Rice Says

"China's economic clout in Africa has grown over the years, putting it in a significant position to help end the genocide in Darfur, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in a press interview in Paris.

The international community cannot continue to leave 'innocent populations ... to their fate,' Rice said of the victims of the government-supported Jingaweit militia, which has devastated the Western Sudanese region, killing more than 200,000 people and displacing 2 million others since 2003.

Rice said in a June 25 interview with French television that the Chinese 'do have a special relationship with the Khartoum government and recently they've begun to speak out about the need for the Khartoum government to live up to the obligations it has repeatedly taken [to protect Darfuris] and then not followed through.'

'I really do believe that the Chinese government will do now what it has said it will do, which is to use its relationship to push the Khartoum government forward' to end the crisis in Darfur, Rice said in the French television interview."

Read the complete story here.

Environmental Degradation Triggering Tensions and Conflict in Sudan

"Sudan is unlikely to see a lasting peace unless widespread and rapidly accelerating environmental degradation is urgently addressed.

A new assessment of the country, including the troubled region of Darfur, indicates that among the root causes of decades of social strife and conflict are the rapidly eroding environmental services in several key parts of the country.

Investment in environmental management, financed by the international community and from the country's emerging boom in oil and gas exports, will be a vital part of the peace building effort, says the report.

The scale of climate change as recorded in Northern Darfur is almost unprecedented, and its impacts are closely linked to conflict in the region, as desertification has added significantly to the stress on traditional agricultural and pastoral livelihoods.

In addition, 'forecast climate change is expected to further reduce food production due to declining rainfall and increased variability, particularly in the Sahel belt. A drop in crop yields of up to 70 per cent is forecast for the most vulnerable areas,' says the Sudan Post-Conflict Assessment."

You can read the complete story here.

Meeting Seeks To Find Plan For Darfur

"French President Nicolas Sarkozy urged swift international action Monday toward speeding up deployment of troops in Darfur, as key world players met to try to consolidate efforts and resources for the ravaged Sudanese region.

Sudan was not invited to the one-day Paris conference, organized by a new French government that has made the four-year conflict in Darfur a top priority. The meetings come after Sudan agreed, under international pressure, to allow the deployment of a joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping force in the region.

Sarkozy pledged an additional $13.4 million to the existing--and cash-strapped--African Union force. 'Silence is killing,' in Darfur, Sarkozy said in greeting participants to the conference."

Read the full story here.

More Than 53,000 Enslaved Workers Used in Brick Kilns

"Brick kilns and mines at the centre of a slave labour scandal used more than 53,000 illegal migrant workers, a Xinhua reported today. Fan Duixiang, a senior member of the Shanxi provincial congress, said investigations found that 2,036 of the 3,347 firms it had raided were operating without the necessary licences and illegally using 53,036 migrant workers.

So far nearly 600 people, including dozens of under-aged children, have been released from slavery in Shanxi and Henan province.

The rescue was sparked by an internet petition posted by concerned parents in early June that said up to 1,000 children were languishing in the brickyards and small mines, triggering widespread attention.

In the past two weeks thousands of policemen have raided more than 8,000 brickyards and small coal mines in the two provinces in an effort to end the slave labour.

Still, the parents of 400 missing children last week launched a fresh internet appeal, saying their children had still not turned up and expressing fears that the youths could have been hidden by brickyard bosses."

Read the full story here.

Oregon Senate Unanimously Passes Bill to Make Human Trafficking a Crime

"The Senate on Friday passed a bill making it a crime to subject anyone to involuntary servitude in Oregon. The vote was unanimous, and the bill goes next to the House.

Senate Bill 578 would bring Oregon into line with 27 other states, including Washington and California, which have laws criminalizing human trafficking. The Oregon bill would make the crime of 'trafficking in persons' punishable by up to 10 years in prison or a $250,000 fine, or both.

Thousands of people a year are brought to the United States from other countries for purposes of sexual or labor exploitation, according to the U.S. State Department. Once here, they are subjected to involuntary servitude, including commercial sex trade, child labor or debt bondage.

'As a corridor between Mexico and Canada, Oregon needs to make this a crime,' said Sen. Joanne Verger, D-Coos Bay, a chief co-sponsor of the bill. 'It's a modern-day form of slavery.'"

That story can be found here.

Migrant Workers Settle Claims Against Connecticut Nursery

"Part of a human trafficking federal lawsuit filed in Connecticut by workers from Central America has been settled.

A dozen Guatemalan workers have reached a settlement with Imperial Nurseries in Granby. The workers had accused the nursery of forcing them to work nearly 80 hours a week for less than minimum wage.

The workers say they were promised jobs planting trees in North Carolina for seven and a-half dollars an hour.

Instead, they say they were taken in a van to Connecticut without their consent, had their passports confiscated so they would not escape and were threatened with arrest or deportation."

Read the complete story here.

Detroit Man Gets 14 Years for Human Trafficking

"A Michigan man has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for trafficking in Eastern European women forced to work as strippers.

Aleksandr Maksimenko pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to commit money laundering, involuntary servitude and immigration offenses.

In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts ordered Maksimenko to repay $1.5 million to 12 women, the Detroit News reported.

'They took my money and my spirit,' one victim, a 21-year-old from the Ukraine, said of Maksimenko and co-defendant Michail Aronov."

Read the complete story here.

Help Provide Essential Aid to Sudan

This month AASG board member John Eibner will return to Sudan with our partner organization, Christian Solidarity International, to lead a relief mission.

Hundreds of thousands of people are fleeing the violence in Darfur for Southern Sudan. Without your help, they will go without food, shelter or medicine this rainy season.

Please donate today by clicking here.

We need to raise at least $75,000 to meet the goals we have set.

Your gift will help:

* Secure a sustainable food source for Darfuri and Southern Sudanese refugees;
* Give the gift of freedom to 200 enslaved boys and girls;
* Provide survivor kits to 2,100 refugees and liberated slaves so that they may fulfill their basic needs.

A single survivor kit costs $36. Can you buy two?

The rainy season has begun, and hundreds of thousands are without food, shelter or medical care. In addition to liberating slaves and providing survivor kits, we plan to deliver at least 50 metric tons of sorghum seed for planting--creating a sustainable food source for those in need.

Planting must take place immediately for there to be a harvest this fall. Make your contribution today.

If you cannot contribute financially today, please take a moment to forward this message to those of your friends, family and colleagues who can. Every bit helps.

In freedom,
AASG

Chinese Parents Still Wait for Slave Victims

"Hundreds of children who were working as slaves in Chinese brickyards remain missing more than a week after the brutal human trafficking ring was exposed, state press reported on Thursday.

The parents of 400 missing children have issued a fresh appeal to China's leaders to find their sons and daughters, amid fears the brickyard bosses had hidden the youths in an attempt to avoid punishment.

Chinese authorities say that 45 000 policemen have raided more than 8 000 brickyards and small coal mines in Shanxi and Henan provinces in central and northern China over the past two weeks in an effort to end the slave labour.

Police have rescued 591 workers, but only 51 of those are children, according to the latest report by the official Xinhua news agency."

Read the complete story here.

Sudan Will Not Hand Over Any Citizen to ICC

"A top Sudanese government official has reiterated that his country will not hand over any citizen to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for trial in connection with the Darfur violence.

On May 3, the ICC had issued arrest warrants against two suspects wanted in connection with the violence in Sudan’s Darfur region. The warrants issued against Ahmed Muhammed Haroon, former minister of state for interior of the government of Sudan and currently minister of state for humanitarian affairs, and Janjaweed militia leader Ali Muhammed Abdul Rahman, who were accused of targeting civilians in attacks on four villages in West Darfur between August 2003 and March 2004.

On the armed violence that erupted lately in the capital, Khartoum, which has claimed the lives of many, the presidential adviser said measures were in place to avert recurrence of such incidents."

Read the full story here.

China Closes Slave-Trading Job Agencies

"Thirteen job agencies at the main railway station of a major Chinese city have been closed for tricking people into working as slaves, state press reported on Wednesday.

The agencies at Xian, the capital of Shaanxi province, were allegedly 'deceiving rural workers and sending them to work as slaves in illegal brick kilns,' Xinhua news agency reported, citing the city’s railway chief.

More than 500 workers, some of them children, have been rescued from the brutally run brickyards in Shanxi and Henan province in recent days, while around 170 people have been arrested for their involvement in the slave trade.

State press reports have said more than 1,000 people had likely been enslaved but human rights groups believe the situation is likely far bigger than officially acknowledged."

Full story here.

China Province to Ban Cheap Bricks to Fight Slavery

"A Chinese province at the centre of a scandal over forced labour at brick kilns will ban the making of cheap bricks -- but not for another 18 months -- in an effort to end the practice, the official Xinhua news agency said.

From the end of next year, cities in northern Shanxi province will no longer be allowed to use solid clay bricks of the kind made cheaply in small kilns, Xinhua reported, citing the provincial government."

Read the complete story here.

Man Who Enslaved Mexican Woman Will Be Deported

"A man suspected of keeping a slave from Mexico in his Montcalm County home will be deported.

Fermin Pedro Ramos has agreed to plead guilty to three charges related to transporting and harboring an illegal alien.

As part of the agreement, the Greenville man agreed to be deported, pay back wages to the victim and pay the government $45,000 or forfeit his personal assets.

Ramos was originally charged with seven counts, including sexual abuse, against a woman he had brought to the U.S. from Mexico."

That story can be found here.

China Slave Labor Scandal Widens

"China's slavery scandal widened yesterday with the state-run press reporting that young girls had been forced into prostitution at a brickyard work camp where abuse and beatings were routine.

According to the government, police have so far rescued up to 570 enslaved workers, some of them children, and detained nearly 170 people suspected of trafficking, beating and enslaving workers in Shanxi and Henan.

As authorities focused on ending the slavery, a report in the Communist Party magazine 'Democracy and Law' said some female slaves had been forced into prostitution. Two girls aged 17 and 16 had been forced into prostitution at the Wangjiang brick factory in Hebei province in 2004, according to the report."

The full story can be read here.

Oxfam to Withdraw from Darfur's Largest Camp

"International aid agency Oxfam today announced it will permanently phase out activities in Gereida, the largest camp in Darfur where more than 130,000 people have sought refuge from violence. The agency criticized the local SLM authorities' lack of action to improve security in the area and address violence against aid workers, in the six months since an unprecedented attack forced the evacuation of staff and suspension of humanitarian operations. Oxfam urged the international community to do more to pressure all parties to the conflict in Darfur to end attacks on civilians and aid workers."

To read the complete story, click here.

Free a Slave in Sudan

Two months ago, the American Anti-Slavery Group asked our supporters to help fund an aid mission to Sudan in April and May. Thanks to hundreds of generous responses, we were able to contribute nearly $10,000 to this latest slave liberation and humanitarian aid mission conducted by our partner organization, Christian Solidarity International.

The aid team liberated 250 slaves – Dinka men and boys – from their masters in Northern Sudan and provided them with essential services and supplies to begin life anew as free people. AASG Board Member and CSI President John Eibner led the mission, and AASG Speaking Associate and slavery survivor Simon Deng met with the freed slaves and assisted in documenting their experiences.

The report from that trip can be found at: http://www.iabolish.com/apr07_tr/trip_report-1.html

This month CSI President and AASG board member John Eibner will return to Sudan to lead a relief mission. In addition to securing the freedom of 200 slaves, we plan to deliver 2,100 survivor kits and organize the provision and planting of seed.

Planting must take place before the rainy season ends in September. Doing so will mean providing a sustainable food source for thousands of displaced Darfuris and South Sudanese.

A $54 donation can free a slave or a $90 donation can both free a slave and provide a survivor kit to meet his or her needs. Today, an estimated 12,000 South Sudanese are being held in bondage. Our work will not be finished until each of them is free. Please consider this very worthy cause. You may donate by visiting our secure site at: https://secure.ga0.org/02/free_slaves

Thanks in advance for your generosity!


In freedom,
AASG

Human Trafficking Case Discovered in Indiana

Rolando Gomez and Roberto Can were pulled over Wednesday night at mile marker 73 on I-70 in Indiana. Five females were among the 10 other passengers in the van, including several who were underage.

"As long as you can keep them in the dark and keep them scared that is more control you have over them," said Lt. Sheperd.

The full story can be read here.

CNN, 2007 Trafficking Report

Two Bostonians Plead Guilty to Sex Trafficking

Two Brazilian nationals living in the US pleaded guilty to charges related to the sex trafficking of 11 women between 2004 and 2006. Vanessa Guedes Lopes, 25, and Raphael Eller Mello, 27, forced the 11 women to have sex with johns after advertising them on a website as "escorts".

“Trafficking has been around a long time. Because of issues with immigration, we can no longer not address it,” states Sgt. Detective Kelley O’Connell, a member of the Boston Police Department’s trafficking task force. The task force has busted 10 human trafficking operations since it was established in 2005.

The full story can be read here.

Human Trafficking Target of New Legislation

A new anti-human trafficking bill in Michigan is entering the legislature. The bill will mirror the existing federal human trafficking law and will allow the government to seize more of convicted human traffickers' assets and provide more restitution for victims.

"Human trafficking is slavery, plain and simple," states Rep. Dudley Spade, one of the bill's sponsors.

The full story can be read here.

Congress Using Olympics to Pressure China on Sudan

The US House of Representatives is urging China to divest from Sudan, saying they will use the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing as leverage. Members of a foreign affairs subcommittee testified that China's influence could bring an end to the war in Sudan.

Daoud Hari, an Olympic athlete and refugee from Sudan says, "I remember seeing how the Janjaweed killed the villagers. In one case, they dismembered the family bodies and put them in the village well to poison the water resources for the area."

Jill Savitt, leader of the campaign Olympic Dream for Darfur says it this way: "If there are ways members of Congress and members of this subcommittee can approach the Olympic sponsors, can approach the International Olympic Committee and say that they do not want the Olympics tarnished by genocide, that the Olympics host can not be complicit in an ongoing genocide."

Beijing has allegedly appointed a special envoy to Sudan and is making"unremitting efforts" to find a solution.

The full article can be read here.

Cape Cod Woman Fights Human Trafficking With Crafts

On May 15 a Cape Cod woman opened Emancipation Imports, a store that sells crafts by former slaves and women and children at high risk to be sold into slavery. The story buys crafts from India, Nepal, Cambodia, Africa, Russia and Serbia to provide women and girls with an income to allow them to become self-sufficient.

"It's empowerment," said Symons.

Read the full story here.

Seven Nations Added to State Department's Human Trafficking Blacklist

Seven nations have been added to the US State Department's human trafficking blacklist for allegedly not doing enough to end human trafficking. The new additions to the tiered report are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Algeria, Equatorial Guinea, and Malaysia.

This brings the total number blacklisted to 16. Returning nations include Myanmar (Burma), Iran, North Korea, Cuba, and Syria.

Read the TIME story here or the complete State Department report here.

Woman Pleads Guilty to Human Trafficking Related Charges

Olga Mondragon pleaded guilty today to charges related to her role in a human trafficking operation. She was convicted on a total of 13 counts after she and 7 co-defendants attempted to smuggle women and children from Central America into Houston to work in conditions of debt bondage. The trafficking ring threatened the women if they attempted to leave before they paid off their alleged debts.

"This insidious crime is nothing more than thinly-cloaked modern day slavery. Seven defendants have been held accountable for these crimes and should serve as a warning to any who are engaged in this form of human trafficking and oppression," said U.S. Attorney DeGabrielle.

Sentencing is set for September 24.

Read the full story here.

Justice Served in Oregon Sex Trafficking Case

Vance Jay Roberts has been found guilty on 27 charges relating to the sexual trafficking of two women just outside of Portland, Oregon. New evidence was brought forth during this 90 minute trial, including books entitled "The White Slaver," "Raped and Abandoned," "The Raped School Girl" and "The Unwilling Model".

Sentencing is to occur in August.

Embassy Builders in Iraq Accused of Human Trafficking

"The Department of Justice is investigating whether or not a Kuwaiti construction firm contracted to build the US Embassy in Iraq has carried out human trafficking with its laborers, according to a report in Thursday's Wall Street Journal.

'The Department of Justice launched the probe of First Kuwaiti General Trading & Contracting Co. after former employees alleged that workers at the company were told they were being sent to Dubai, only to wind up in Iraq instead... First Kuwaiti confiscated the workers' passports, so they were unable to depart Baghdad, these people said,' wrote Yochi J. Dreazen.

Iraqis were not hired by First Kuwaiti for the $592 million project out of fear that they could compromise the project's security."

The full story can be read here.

Fifth Graders Hold Car Wash to Raise Money to Rescue Slaves in Sudan, Africa

WEST SPRINGFIELD, MA, May 22, 2007 – Fifth graders at Coburn School have been studying racism since the end of February. Some of what they’ve learned would surprise you. For example, slavery still exists. “I thought it was done. I thought it was back then,” says Austin Lyne, one of the students. So the students thought of an idea to help.

They are holding a car wash Friday, June 8^th, at Coburn School on Southworth Street. The time they are holding it is from 10:00am to 1:00pm. “Even my mom can make it to the car wash. It’s her lunch break,” says Miranda Lavender, another student. For a regular car it’s $4.00, for a larger car or truck it’s $5.00, and for a really dirty car it’s $6.00. They will also have a donation box so you can donate money without getting your car washed.

All of this washing has a purpose – they’re donating 100% of the proceeds to the American Anti-Slavery Group (www.iabolish.com), a group that purchases slaves from their owners in Sudan, Africa and then returns them back to their families. Buying a slave’s freedom costs about $50. “For less than a Friday family night at the movies, we can free a slave for life,” explains Sara Palmer, their fifth grade teacher. “When the students heard how horrible slavery is, and how many slaves there are in Northern Sudan, they couldn’t wait to make a difference.”

Here’s how the fifth graders describe slavery: to be a slave, imagine if you were taken away from your family and friends. Your captors give you a little food every day. They bring you to a place and sell you to a person and he makes you work. You work every day, in hot weather; you work without water, and if you do something wrong, he punishes you or hits you. Slaves are not treated like people, not even pets, because you care for pets. Slaves are nothing. Slaves are objects.

Donations are also accepted before June 8^th. Please send your donation to:

Room 21 Racism Group

115 Southworth Street

West Springfield, MA 01089

These West Springfield students know they’ll affect children they’ll never meet face to face. But they don’t need a thank you. Victor Sinigur says it best. “Please come. We can help the slaves.”

Contact: Ms. Sara Palmer, 413-263-3318 or spalmer@wsps.org

Governor of New York Signs Anti-Trafficking Bill

Governor Eliot Spitzer of New York has signed an anti-trafficking bill into law. The law makes labor trafficking a class D felony and sex trafficking a class B felony, eligible for up to seven and up to twenty-five years in prison respectively.

The law also helps trafficking victims to obtain visas in the U.S. and refugee assistance

“Human trafficking is modern day slavery and among the most repugnant crimes. We have given law enforcement the ability to adequately prosecute perpetrators, and have provided meaningful assistance for the unfortunate victims of these egregious crimes," said Governor Spitzer.

The U.S. State Department estimates that 20,000 people, the vast majority of which are women and children, are trafficked into the U.S. for slavery purposes.

For more on this story, click here and here.

Couple in Long Island Slavery Case Change Lawyers; Still No Bail

Thomas Platt, the judge in the high-profile Long Island Slavery case, has said that before he would issue a ruling that the couples' attorneys would have to respond in writing to recently issued government court papers. Prosecutors have objected to the Sabhnanis being released because of their risk of running away and committing further crimes.

The couple has also fired their lawyers and have hired new lawyers for the trial. The former attorney's detention plan for the couple was to turn the couple's house into a prison with three guards posted around the house, which would cost around $15,000 a day.

The couple will now have to wait until at least Monday until a federal judge could potentially release them on bail to home detention.

Satellite Images Show Devastation in Darfur

Amnesty International launched a new website called Eyes on Darfur, focusing on the atrocities going on in Sudan and parts of Chad. The site shows before and after high-quality satellite images of different areas that have been attacked and gruesome pictures of the aftermath if you go to the photo tab. Particularly terrifying pictures are seen from the Um Sidir area.

Visit Amnesty's Darfur site here and click on "satellite evidence" for those images.

Update in Oregon Sex Slave Case

A jury unanimously convicted Vance Roberts of eight counts of first-degree kidnap, six counts of first-degree rape, four counts of first-degree sodomy, three counts of first-degree sexual abuse, two counts of sexual penetration with a foreign object, and one count of possession of marijuana.

Roberts still contends that everything was consensual, but authorities say that the women were forced to participate in abusive and demeaning sexual activities for several days at a time.

Washington County senior deputy district attorney Jeff Lesowski says that it is likely that Roberts will receive life in prison. Sentencing is to take place August 3.

Roberts' half-brother, Paul Jackson, who was a participant in this scandal, is still at large.

That story can be found here and here.

Simon Deng of AASG Interviewed on Fox News

Georgia Funds to Jump Start Centers for Prostituted Girls

"To help young girls who have been prostituted, Georgia lawmakers have earmarked $140,000 —- far less than advocates wanted.

Few places exist to help sexually exploited kids, even though authorities call metro Atlanta a major hub for child prostitution.

Many prostituted girls end up locked in youth detention centers or back on the streets. One option is Angela's House, a group home in rural Fulton County, that the Juvenile Justice Fund owns. But the house has room for only six girls at a time, and they stay for up to six months. In five years, more than 90 girls, some as young as 11, have come to Angela's House for help. Some were runaways lured into prostitution, some were kidnapped and forced into prostitution, some were homeless and desperate.

'This is not something a 10-, 11- or 12-year-old can get over in a week or two,' [Sen. Vincent] Fort said. 'They need services, ongoing services.'

Next year, the Juvenile Justice Fund will seek $700,000 from the General Assembly again."

To read the complete story, click here.

Darfuri-led advocacy group comments on announcement of sanctions against Sudan

The Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy, an advocacy organization founded by Darfuri refugees and led by AASG Speaking Associate Mohamed Yahya, released a statement yesterday in response to President Bush’s announcement of new trade sanctions against Sudan.

Damanga’s statement on the new sanctions is below. As part of the Darfuri community, Damanga is a crucial voice on this issue.

To set up an interview with Mohamed, or to invite him to speak in your community, contact the American Anti-Slavery Group: 1-800-884-0719 or visit www.iabolish.org.

***

President Bush Announces Sanctions Against Government of Sudan

Darfuri advocacy organization commends steps taken; emphasizes need for stronger action

Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy welcomes news steps taken this week by President Bush to put pressure on the government of Sudan to stop the violence in Darfur.

According to the International Herald Tribune and other major newspapers, in a speech on May 29, President Bush reiterated the U.S. view that the atrocities in Darfur constitute genocide. He announced stiffer economic sanctions against Sudan. He also urged the international community, especially the United Nations, to impose additional sanctions against Sudan.

President Bush was highly critical of Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir, saying, "President Bashir's actions over the past few weeks follow a long pattern of promising cooperation while finding new methods for obstruction."

Adding to existing sanctions against about 100 Sudanese companies, President Bush has imposed sanctions on an additional 31 companies and against several individuals accused of war crimes. It is a crime for any U.S. company or individual to knowingly do business with any of these companies. The President’s new measures also include directing Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice to work more intensively with Great Britain and other allies to impose broad international sanctions.

Currently, economic sanctions are opposed by China, Russia, and South Africa. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon has decided to pursue a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Darfur. President Bush said in his speech that he has agreed to allow those diplomatic efforts to continue. However, he also warned, "The time for promises is over—President Bashir must act."

Damanga thanks President Bush on behalf of Darfur people for his serious initiative. Damanga pledges to work with the President and all Americans, as well as the rest of the world, to stop the genocide. But we emphasize that more must be done.

Damanga believes that U.N. peacekeepers must be deployed immediately to Darfur in order to make peace a reality. The international community must also help refugees return home and rebuild their destroyed villages. Damanga believes that security will not be fully provided without a hybrid U.N. and African Union peacekeeping force numbering over 27,000. Damanga urges the U.S. to take leadership of those troops. We also urge the whole international community to fully cooperate with the U.S., the U.N., and the European Union to stop the genocide now.

Any delays will certainly cost more lives in Darfur and will undermine the credibility of the entire international community. Action is a question of conscience and moral obligation. Stronger steps must be taken now.

Sex Slave Trial Gets Under Way in Oregon

A man accused of kidnapping two teenage girls and holding them as sex slaves was in court on Thursday, where he heard testimony from the alleged victims that included detailed descriptions about the horror they said they went through.

In court on Thursday, Roberts listened as the two women who said they were victimized told their stories. One said she was held hostage and raped for a week and the other said she dove through a window to escape. Both said they thought they would die.

'There was no way to escape,' one of the women testified. 'I was in some form of bondage at all times, meaning a chain around my waist or handcuffed at my wrists or my ankles.'

On at least two dates, once in 1988 and once in 1990, Roberts cruised the streets of Portland in his "beater" Datsun pickup looking for hookers. Once a deal was struck, he would drive the women to a remote location. At that point, Jackson would emerge from the covered bed of the pickup and the women would be forced into the back. They were chained to a U-bolt, hooded with a pillowcase and driven to the Hillsboro home. While Jackson drove, the women said Roberts would repeatedly sodomize them.

Things only got worse when they arrived at the home, Lesowski said. The women were chained up in a partially sound-proofed storage room off the master bedroom. Along with repeated rapes, the women were forcibly sodomized with sex toys and other objects and photographed wearing diapers and performing sex acts."

To read the complete story, click here and here.

Three Women Arrested in San Antonio Human Trafficking Case

Three San Antonio women have been arrested on charges of human trafficking. The women are accused of smuggling in young girls from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico to be prostitutes in San Antonio and could face between 10 years and life in prison if convicted. The three women are the first to be tried under the Trafficking in Victims Protection Act of 2000.

The victims were promised $600 each to accompany men on business trips and were told that no inappropriate behavior would be involved. Instead, however, they were prepared to serve men as prostitutes and threatened that if they tried to run away that they and their families would be killed.

Of the incident, one of the girls says, "At the house, we were to attend to customers there, dance, disrobe, and have sexual relations with the customers."

According to the Justice Department, federal prosecutors handled 555 cases involving human trafficking between 2001 and 2005, 129 involving the sex trafficking of children.

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