[Vacets-local-dc] [Human trafficking ...]

[Hai Tran]

Efforts to Stop Human Trafficking in Vietnam Gains Momentum, Supporters
Viet Weekly, News Report, 
Annie Han Nguyen, Jan 28, 2005
Page  1  of 1
 -->A recent report on human trafficking by the U.S. State Department, which identified Vietnam as a country where the problem is serious, has mobilized hundreds of local, state and national organizations to work together to raise awareness and eliminate the problem, which some people have equated with modern-day slavery.

The "Trafficking in Persons Report" conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was released in June. Among the national, nonprofit organizations that have quickly moved to action is the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center, based in Washington, D.C. 

SEARAC Executive Director Max Niedzwiecki believes the re-election of President George W. Bush will help tremendously in the elimination of human trafficking. 

“The Bush administration has taken this issue on,” Niedzwiecki said. “Human trafficking is an issue this administration wants to be remembered as part of its legacy.”

SEARAC, now in its 25-year of operation, has spearheaded a proposal to the Office of Refugee Resettlement in October, in light of the human-trafficking report.

The 273-page human-trafficking report classifies Vietnam under a special watch list, because the country does not comply with the minimum international standards for eliminating trafficking, but it is making "significant efforts" to do so. 

The report assesses and divides every country in the world into three categories using a tier system. Starting with a marginal or least serious case of human trafficking, the system begins with Tier 1. Tier 3 is the most serious level a country can be classified under, due to its lack of compliance with international minimum standards to combat trafficking in persons. 

Niedzwiecki said the U.S. State Department has a difficult time in identifying the exact number of victims of trafficking in countries like Vietnam for various reasons. The United States only has a few cities that specifically reach out to Southeast Asians, which could be a major reason that few victims have been identified and assisted at all by Americans. 

Niedzwiecki said victims also have trouble identifying themselves to receive proper relief, because they don’t understand the governmental and judicial systems in the United States. Victims fear incarceration and deportation, because they are not documented when they arrive in the United States. They are unable to argue and defend that they are indeed victims of trafficking. Many victims also feel too ashamed to come forward to receive help from the U.S. or other non-profit organizations.

Last month a Radio Bolsa program in Orange County, Calif., reportedly described young people of both sexes in Vietnam who are sold into slavery in Taiwan, sometimes with the complicity of Vietnamese authorities. 

Linh Muc Nguyen Van Hung of the Radio Bolsa report alleged that girls and young women are sold as wives and guest-workers. They are often coerced into signing away most of their salaries in the form of bonds to the Vietnamese government officials. Niedziecki said he could not verify the numbers or confirm the facts that were mentioned in the Radio Bolsa report. 

In addition to the recent SEARAC proposal, other volunteer efforts and non-profit organizations are continuing to pursue this human rights issue, including the National Congress of Vietnamese Americans, based in Washington, D.C., and the Houston-based Boat People SOS. 

SEARAC is not working officially with any Vietnamese-American organization to combat the human trafficking problem in Vietnam, Niedzwiecki said.

The recent “Trafficking in Persons Report” can be found on the U.S. State Department Web site, www.state.gov. 




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