Newsgroup: it.arti.cinema
Titolo: Schiavitu' moderna

Modern Slavery Thriving in the U.S.
By Janet Gilmore UC Berkeley Media Relations 23
September 2004
http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2004/09/23_16691.shtml
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Washington, D.C. - A new report on forced
labor in the United States reveals in disturbing detail
how individuals in communities across the country are
forced through threats or violence to work in
deplorable conditions for little or no pay.
The report, "Hidden Slaves: Forced Labor in the United
States," describes for the first time the nature and
scope of modern-day slavery in America.
Released during a news conference in Washington, D.C.,
today (Thursday, Sept. 23), the report was conducted by
researchers from the University of California,
Berkeley's Human Rights Center and the Washington
D.C.-based, anti-slavery group Free the Slaves.
Forced labor occurs in at least 90 cities across the
United States, the researchers found, and at any given
time, 10,000 or more people are forced to toil in sweat
shops, clean homes, labor on farms, or work as
prostitutes or strippers.
"The most shocking aspect of this report is that
modern-day slavery still exists," said Laurel Fletcher,
a researcher at the Human Rights Center and professor
at UC Berkeley's law school. "Slavery is a problem the
public thinks we solved long ago, but, in fact, it's
alive and well. It has simply taken on a new form."
And the form of slavery will continue to change, said
Kevin Bales, president of Free the Slaves. "It is
important to remember that slavery is a crime and that
criminals are always looking for new ways to exploit
people."
Cases documented in the report include a Berkeley,
Calif., businessman who enslaved young girls and women
for sex and to work in his restaurant; a Florida
employer who threatened violence to force hundreds of
Mexican and Guatemalan workers to harvest fruit; and
two couples in Washington, D.C., who brought
Cameroonian teenagers to the United States with the
promise of a better education and then forced them to
work 14 hours a day as domestic servants, without pay
and under the threat of deportation.
Among the report's major findings:
* While forced labor exists across the United States,
reported cases are concentrated in states with large
immigrant communities, including California, Florida,
New York and Texas.
* Victims of forced labor are trafficked into the
United States from at least 38 different countries,
with China, Mexico and Vietnam topping the list. Some
are born in the United States and later held captive.
* Forced labor occurs in poorly regulated industries
with a high demand for cheap labor - sweatshops,
restaurants and hotels, in addition to agriculture and
domestic work. A lack of official monitoring in these
areas means unscrupulous employers and criminal
networks can gain complete control over workers.
* Forty-six percent of those trapped in forced labor in
America are found in prostitution and sex services, the
study estimates. Another 27 percent are domestic
workers, and one in 10 works in agriculture. These
victims are spread across the economy -
sweatshop/factory work makes up 5 percent; restaurant
and hotel work makes up 4 percent. Sexual exploitation
of children represents 3 percent.
The new study documents how modern slavery operates in
the United States. Perpetrators use a range of crimes -
fraud, coercion, physical and psychological violence -
to hold their victims captive. They confiscate
passports and threaten to turn their captives over to
the authorities if they refuse to obey. In some cases,
perpetrators and their associates threaten or
physically attack the families of victims in their home
countries.
"Victims may be verbally abused, beaten or sexually
assaulted by their captors," said Eric Stover, director
of the Human Rights Center and faculty member at UC
Berkeley's School of Public Health. "These repeated
attacks, especially against children and teenagers, can
result in serious physical and psychological trauma."
Even if victims can escape, they often fear leaving
because they do not speak English, are unfamiliar with
U.S. currency, and are unsure of how to use local
transport.
In a strange land, victims can grow dependent on their
captors, if only to survive.
According to Bales, "The lack of public awareness of
slavery in America makes this report very important.
People are literally living next door to slaves without
knowing it."
New federal laws have been passed to combat these
crimes, but the researchers found that much more needs
to be done - especially at the local level. Police
officers, rather than federal agents, are most likely
to encounter forced labor but often mistake it for
illegal immigration and treat victims as part of a
criminal enterprise.
The researchers recommend launching a broad-based
public awareness campaign; improving monitoring of
industries vulnerable to forced labor; increasing
training and coordination among law enforcement
officials in the United States; and strengthening
protections for survivors of forced labor.
The study was conducted by researchers from Free the
Slaves and from the Human Rights Center, which
collaborates closely with the International Human
Rights Law Clinic at the UC Berkeley School of Law
(Boalt Hall). Florida State University's Center for the
Advancement of Human Rights also assisted with the
research.
The report covers the period of 1998 to 2003 and is
based on quantitative and qualitative data, including a
survey of 49 service providers experienced in forced
labor cases; an analysis of 131 cases of forced labor
reported in U.S. newspapers; eight case studies of
forced labor in various regions of the United States;
and interviews with government officials, service
providers and labor advocates.
The "Hidden Slaves" report is available online at:
http://www.hrcberkeley.org/download/hiddenslaves_report.pdf

 Modern Slavery Thriving in the U.S.
Non c'č bisogno di andare negli USA... purtroppo...
Fai un salto qui nella chinatown milanese e vedrai che le condizioni
di lavoro dei cinesi in questa zona non sono per niente buone.
E vedi spesso e volentieri 14enni che caricano e scaricano scatoloni
di vestiti da un negozio all'altro (secondo me se li vendono tra
loro).
Non mi immagino cosa ci possa essere "underground" anche perchč
l'ultima retata risale a quasi un anno fa in uno scantinato dalle
parti di via giusti.
	Regards,
		Kazuma
-- 
In campo 22 giocatori, 10000 per gli organizzatori

 parti di via giusti.
Mi hai tolto le parole di bocca... se nel mio paesino da 35.000 abitanti i
protettori portano le ragazze alla stazione sotto gli occhi di tutti senza
la minima preoccupazione non voglio sapere come funziona nelle metropoli.
90 citta' .. negli states !!!   E questi si preoccupano... da noi , se va
bene, 90 sono le citta' con un basso tasso di criminalita' e/o
sfruttamento....
Come diceva quel tizio la.. ??  Chi non ha peccato scagli la prima pietra ??
Bah...tanto non mi stava mica simpatico...
--
rIO.sK