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16 June 2009

U.S. Honors Anti-Trafficking “Heroes” from Indonesia, Malaysia

Elly Anita and Alice Nah fight labor trafficking in their homelands

Elly Anita of Indonesia

By Yasmine Alotaibi
Staff Writer

Washington — One former human trafficking victim is using her experiences to save others from the same fate.

In 2006, Elly Anita of Indonesia accepted a secretarial position in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Prepared to start her new job in the Middle East, Anita instead ended up in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, where she was expected to work as a waitress or hotel receptionist. Anita, however, refused and insisted that she be given a secretarial job, as she had been promised.

Her employment agent beat her and starved her, kept her confined and even put a gun to her head. Although she was near death, Anita refused to work for him in any capacity other than secretary. When the office was empty, Anita found an opportunity to plan her escape. She used the Internet to contact a friend, who in turn directed Anita to the Indonesian embassy in Amman, Jordan, and the Indonesian nongovernmental organization (NGO) Migrant Care. With the help of the International Organization for Migration, Anita escaped Iraq and returned to Indonesia.

Since returning to her home country, Anita has used her experiences to help rescue others. She began working for Migrant Care, helping to rescue six women who were also trafficked.

One of the greatest threats to Indonesian trafficking victims is forced labor in the Middle East and more developed Asian countries. Saudi Arabia and Malaysia are the top destinations for trafficked workers, where victims are forced into domestic servitude and sexual exploitation.

Alice Nah of Malaysia

THE TRAFFICKING SITUATION IN MALAYSIA

Over the past year, the Malaysian government has taken some steps to address the problem of human trafficking. Employers in Malaysia often employ migrants from Indonesia, Nepal, Thailand and other countries in the region. These migrants are vulnerable to becoming victims of physical and sexual abuse, confinement and withholding of travel documents.

Although the government of Malaysia has investigated sex trafficking crimes and prosecuted sex traffickers, it has not taken steps to identify victims trafficked for labor. For example, although the government has recently passed anti-trafficking laws, it has not reconciled past laws that allow, or even require, employers to confiscate migrant workers’ travel documents. Without their travel documents, workers are forced to remain with their employers, often in unsafe conditions. The government also failed to prosecute any forced labor traffickers.

Alice Nah, however, has taken steps to protect trafficked people forced into labor in Malaysia. By serving as a founding member of the Migration Working Group, Nah helps defend those most vulnerable to becoming victims of forced labor: refugees and migrant workers. The Migration Working Group brings together lawyers, academics and volunteers to care for and protect potential victims. With this network, Nah is pushing local law enforcement to take more proactive steps in combating human trafficking. She has used online articles to raise government and public awareness of the problem as well as to encourage law enforcement to identify potential victims before they fall prey to human traffickers.

UNITED STATES RECOGNIZES ANTI-TRAFFICKING HEROES

By working so diligently to protect those forced into labor, Anita and Nah are being recognized by the U.S. State Department for their efforts in this year’s Trafficking in Persons Report. Since 2001, the department has annually published this comprehensive report on governments’ efforts to stop trafficking. While many nations continue to work to reduce this crime, this modern-day slavery continues to plague the world and devastate the lives of millions.

The State Department honors the efforts of individuals to end trafficking in its report section called “Heroes Acting to End Modern-Day Slavery.” These are people who have shown extraordinary courage in addressing the worldwide problem of human trafficking.

An estimated 800,000 men, women and children are trafficked across international borders each year. Millions more are trafficked within their own national borders.