"Slave Next Door" Exposes U.S. Gov't Sanctioned Slavery

http://humantrafficking.change.org/blog/view/slave_next_door_exposes_us_govt_sanctioned_slavery

Boondoggles, pork barrels, and shoddy work are scandalous, but it was another, uglier issue that brought First Kuwaiti to the world's attention. Some of their contract workers had been trafficked to Iraq against their will, held by force, and paid little or nothing. First Kuwaiti - and by association, the U.S. Department of State - were using slave labor to build the embassy. Taxpayers were footing the bill. The idea of a U.S. subcontractor trafficking enslaved workers into the country where we are waging a war to introduce freedom and democracy, is unthinkable. And yet, in case after case, the construction company hired workers, normally through sub-contractors, from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Sierra Leone, Egypt, Turkey, and the Philippines under false pretenses. Falsely promised work in Dubai, they were landed in a combat zone. Once in Iraq contractors confiscated the workers' passports, forced them to live in squalid conditions, and to work long hours for little or no pay.

Bartered brides

http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13278577

The kidnapping has been going on for some time, and locals talk of a number of cases so far this year. The abductions follow a pattern: a Hmong girl is wooed by an out-of-towner—whether from Vietnam or China is not clear—who speaks her language. She is lured to a rendezvous to be drugged and smuggled into China, probably near Lao Cai, about an hour’s drive from Sapa. Tall, pretty girls are said to be particular targets.

The Polaris Project.org - For a World Without Slavery

http://www.polarisproject.org/

Musicians Peter Buffett and Akon Raise Awareness for Human Trafficking With Website Re-Launch

http://www.csrwire.com/News/14886.html

IsThereSomethingICanDo.com will address worldwide social issues, feature various charities, and offer new music downloads and live news with revolving subject matter. Spotlighting human trafficking during March and April, the site will feature NGO's including: Alliance to Stop Slavery and End Trafficking (ASSET), Polaris Project, Somaly Mam Foundation, United States Fund for UNICEF and Anti-Slavery International Inc.

Halliburton sued for Human Trafficking

Source - Raw Story

Thirteen Nepali men were recruited and held against their will for thirteen months in a human trafficking scheme engineered and perpetrated by Halliburton and its Jordanian contractor, according to a lawsuit filed yesterday in California federal court.

This spring, a judge at the Department of Labor ordered KBR's contractor, Daoud, to pay $1 million to the families of 11 of the victims. "The Inspector General for the United States Department of Defense investigated and confirmed the facts related to the fate of the 12 men, which led to increased enforcement of anti-trafficking measures by the United States," the lawfirm said in a release.

KBR was spun off from Halliburton in a 2006 IPO, and formally disengaged from the company in 2007. The spinoff appears party as a result of negative press relating to allegations the company engaged in overbilling and got sweetheart deals. KBR had been Halliburton's engineering arm for 44 years, and was also accused of overbilling and sweetheart deals during the Vietnam War.

Human trafficking may be on the rise in North Carolina

Charlotte Observer

Legal Aid runs a program, the Battered Immigrant Project, that offers assistance to immigrant victims of domestic abuse and human trafficking. The program receives most of its referrals from domestic violence shelters, law enforcement and churches, and Stuart said the number of referrals has “definitely increased” in the last few months.

She said she doesn't know whether human trafficking or just awareness of the problem is rising. But North Carolina is becoming an attractive state for traffickers because of its growing population and the availability of farm work, Stuart said.