[Antiracism] [Workers' Rights] Indian trafficking survivors suspend hunger strike

[WMass Jobs With Justice]

From: Ricardo Valadez ricardo at jwj.org  



 

NEW ORLEANS WORKERS' CENTER FOR RACIAL JUSTICE
 <http://www.neworleansworkerjustice.org/> www.neworleansworkerjustice.org

Indian trafficking survivors suspend hunger strike on Day 29 after huge
political gains
Workers celebrate support, vow to fight on as allies hold solidarity rallies
in 10 US cities

WASHINGTON, DC - On Wednesday, June 11, 2008, about 150 Indian labor
trafficking survivors and supporters rallied at the Department of Justice
headquarters, where the workers suspended their hunger strike on Day 29
after an unprecedented outpouring of support from US Congressmen and leaders
from labor, civil rights, and religious communities. 

"Congress passed the Trafficking Victims Protection Act because we
recognized that modern day slavery exists and that workers trafficked into
the United States should be able to place their faith in the United States
justice system," Rep. Dennis Kucinich said at the rally, one week after he
and 17 Congressional colleagues sent a letter to the Department of Justice
urging legal protections for the workers while it investigates their case.
"Today, we must make sure we don't betray their faith in us." 

"After 29 days, we are suspending a hunger strike that has brought us more
power than any group of H2B guest workers in the United States has ever
had," said Sabulal Vijayan, an organizer with the Indian Workers' Congress.
"We have the confidence to suspend our hunger strike today because we have
faith in these allies to fight alongside us until the traffickers are
brought to justice."

The vast support for the workers' fight for justice against the labor
trafficking chain of Signal International and its recruiters was clear from
the speakers at Wednesday's rally, which included: 

.         US Congressman Dennis Kucinich 

.         Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Nickeled and Dimed 

.         Rev. Graylan Hagler, Senior Minister, Plymouth Congregational
United Church of Christ 

.         Jon Hiatt, General Counsel, AFL-CIO 

.         John Cavanagh, director, Institute of Policy Studies 

.         John Flynn, President, International Union of Bricklayers and
Allied Craftworkers 

.         Sarita Gupta, Executive Director, Jobs With Justice 

.         Indian Workers' Congress organizer Sabulal Vijayan 

.         Saket Soni, director, New Orleans Workers' Center for Racial
Justice 





More pics at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jwjnational/sets/72157605558256422/.

In addition, labor rights group Jobs With Justice held solidarity actions in
10 cities across the US on Wednesday: Atlanta, GA; Boston, MA; Portland, OR;
Knoxville, TN; Richmond, VA; Chicago, IL; Salt Lake City, UT; New York, NY;
Los Angeles, CA; and San Francisco, CA. Last week, Jobs With Justice members
wrote over 9,000 letters to US Congress in support of the workers.

"But our victory today is not yet complete," Vijayan added, referring to the
Department of Justice's failure to release the labor trafficking survivors
from the terror of deportation by granting them continued presence in the
US, as requested by Rep. Kucinich and his 17 colleagues.

"We live in constant terror of deportation. We cannot work. We cannot see
our families. We cannot provide for our families. We are listening to our
children grow up over long distance phone calls. Because of the DOJ's
inaction, our lives are in limbo," Vijayan said.

After the workers broke the fast in a ceremony blessed by Rev. Graylan
Hagler and other faith leaders, a delegation of ten workers' allies went
into the Department of Justice and met with Constituent Relations Associate
Director Julie Warren, who agreed to set a meeting between the workers and
the DoJ Civil Rights Division for the week of June 16th.

"Scripture says: 'Is this not the fast which I choose to loose the bonds of
wickedness, and to let the oppressed go free?'" Rev. Hagland said, before he
and other clergy distributed pieces of bread to the workers. "That is what
we're standing here to do, to loose the bonds of wickedness, and to let the
oppressed go free."

The hunger strike followed nearly 18 months of organizing by the workers,
who paid US and Indian recruiters up to $20,000 apiece for false promises of
permanent residency and green cards. Instead they received 10-month
temporary H2B guest worker visas and worked at Signal's Gulf Coast shipyards
under deplorable conditions. A total of 20 workers participated in the
strike, five of whom were hospitalized. One of them, Paul Konar, fasted for
23 straight days before being stopped by health problems.

The workers escaped Signal's labor camps in March 2008 and made a 10-day
"journey for justice," largely on foot, from New Orleans to Washington, DC.
They launched their hunger strike on May 14 to demand temporary legal status
in the US, Congressional hearings into abuses of guest workers, and talks
between the US and Indian governments to protect future guest workers.

"The Department of Justice has remained cold while these workers have taken
extraordinary risks to open the world's eyes to the reality of guest worker
programs," said Saket Soni, workers' advocate and director of the New
Orleans Workers' Center for Racial Justice. "This suspension of the hunger
strike gives the DoJ one last chance to fulfill its responsibility to combat
the brutal reality of human trafficking."

The Indian Workers' Congress is an affiliate of the New Orleans Workers'
Center for Racial Justice.

Read statements and see pictures from the rally at our blog:
<http://www.neworleansworkerjustice.org/> nolaworkerscenter.wordpress.com. 

CONTACT:  Stephen Boykewich, Media Director, New Orleans Workers' Center for
Racial Justice, spboykewich at gmail.com, US Mob. +1-504-655-0876

           Ricardo Valadez, Program and Communications Director, Jobs with
Justice, Ricardo at jwj.org, US Mob. +1-703-340-0610

 

 <http://www.neworleansworkerjustice.org/> www.neworleansworkerjustice.org

 

www.jwj.org

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

TO UNSUBSCRIBE, send an email to wmjwj at wmjwj.org with a Subject of "Unsub
Workers' Rights".

[Workers' Rights] posts opportunities for you to learn about and show
solidarity with workplace and working class struggles. And these events are
opportunities for JwJ members to fulfill their pledge:
<http://www.jwj.org/pledge.html> "I'll be there for workers' rights at least
five times a year!" This is the core mission of Jobs with Justice
(www.jwj.org), affirming that workers' rights are human rights. To
subscribe, send an email to wmjwj at wmjwj.org with a Subject of "Subscribe
Worker's Rights".

Western Mass Jobs with Justice
640 Page Blvd #101
Springfield MA 01104
(413) 827-0301 

 

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.hampshire.edu/pipermail/antiracism/attachments/20080612/bb219afc/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 44988 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://lists.hampshire.edu/pipermail/antiracism/attachments/20080612/bb219afc/attachment.jpeg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 40039 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://lists.hampshire.edu/pipermail/antiracism/attachments/20080612/bb219afc/attachment-0001.jpeg>