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The Washington Diplomat Magazine

May 2010

Local Charities and Embassies
Party and Partner with Purpose

by Gail Scott

“Yes, we get a lot of solicitation and it’s hard to say no, that is why we have to choose carefully,” admits Veronica Valencia-Sarukhan, wife of the Mexican ambassador. “We do it because we believe it’s the right thing to do ……… and because we know that in the process we are helping disadvantaged people,” she said, referring to groups she assists such as the Latino Student Fund, the anti-trafficking organization Innocents at Risk, and Refugees International………Likewise, Debbie Sigmund, founder of Innocents at Risk, a Washington-based organization combating the worldwide trafficking of women and children since 2005, said that working with the diplomatic corps has been essential to “our awareness work.”

“Over 15 ambassadors graciously opened their beautiful residences to host fundraising events for us, and from those events we build ongoing relationships with each country that have led to great success in launching awareness programs back in their countries,” Sigmund told The Diplomat.

“Through the embassies we have been able to identify and partner with NGOs in their home countries,” she added, noting that “two former diplomatic wives, Minerva Espinal in the Dominican Republic and Veronica Ferrero in Peru, are still helping us even though they’ve left Washington and returned home.”

To read this complete article, follow this link to The Washington Diplomat.

March 25, 2010: Congressional Hearing on Human Trafficking

• TIP (Trafficking In Persons) Ambassador Luis C deBaca of the Department of State
• Timothy Williams, Director of INTERPOL Washington DC
• Dallas Jessup, “Just Yell Fire”
• Sandra Fiorini, Sr. Flight Attendant, AA
• Selene Martin, Director of LexisNexis Cares.

I am Deborah Sigmund, Founder and Director of Innocent at Risk a 501(c) (3) organization dedicated to preventing child exploitation and child trafficking.  I would like to thank the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission for asking me to be with you today to talk about THE GREATEST HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUE OF THE 21^ST CENTURY! – Human Trafficking!

I first learned about human trafficking in the summer of 2002 from a friend living in France.   I learned that each year millions of women and children are coerced, tricked, drugged, kidnapped and sold into the underground world of the sex trade.  I was horrified that this was happening yet no one spoke about it Child trafficking is happening EVERYWHERE not just in India or China, but everywhere in the world and in every city and town in the U.S.  I continued to ask “Why doesn’t anyone know about this and WHY ISN’T THIS FRONT PAGE NEWS?”

From the office of Trafficking In Persons, Department of State, I learned that Human Trafficking is a $32 billion dollar global industry.  It is actually the fastest growing criminal industry in the world.  Second only to the drug trade and more lucrative than the illegal arms trade. I learned from the Dept. of State in spite of the number of dedicated Government and Non Government organizations working to combat trafficking there was a great need for awareness and education about the issue.  As a result, Innocents at Risk was formed.  Since 2004 Innocents at Risk has been working with the Dept. of State, leaders in Congress such as Rep. Carolyn Maloney and Congressman Chris Smith, the Diplomatic Corp., Corporations and the media to educate the public about the horrors of the human trafficking.  We built partnerships with NGO’s in the US and abroad.

As the result of an awareness event two years ago, I met Sandra Fiorini, Senior Flight Attendant for American Airlines.  Sandra told me that she and other flight attendants often see suspicious situations in the airports and in the air that could be children being trafficked.  Sandra said, “We do not know what to do about it.”  As a result, Innocents at Risk produced 10,000 “Protecting Woman and Children from Human Trafficking” brochures containing

basic information of “How to Recognize Potential Victims” and containing the National Hotline Number 888.373.7888, run by The Polaris Project.  Soon a task force of Sandra and

flight attendants sprung into action.  We learned from these flight attendants that much trafficking was taking place via commercial airlines. This was a major breakthrough and a real positive step for Prevention.

The flight attendants initiative grew and we learned valuable information from airport personal and specific information was given to the authorities.  We were informed that twice a week there were young girls in a flight from Moscow to Chicago with one way tickets who were told they would be “models” or “work in TV” in NYC.  I called DHS, a trusted NGO working in Moscow and the Association of Catholic Bishops working in Chicago.  With law enforcement and the immediate attention of the NGO’s, lives were actually being saved.

Learning of The Flight Attendant Initiative, in early 2009, John Ingham of DHS assembled together the correct players from DHS, ICE and the FBI to meet with an American Airlines representative (Mike Wascom), The Polaris Project, Sandra Fiorini and Innocents at Risk to discuss how to mobilize this incredible resource of flight attendants who are “The First Line of Defense.”

After meeting for 6 months BLUE LIGHTNING CAMPAIGN was established to Denounce All Forms of Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Procedures were put in place.  For example:

1. 1. To begin training all Airline personal in recognizing situations of human trafficking.
2. 2. To begin training Custom agents and Law enforcement how to recognize human trafficking and how to respond most effectively.
3. 3. Passengers would receive acceptable information about human trafficking in corporate flight magazines, videos, and poster campaigns.
4. 4. Identical training for the travel industry would be incorporated.

It was a tremendous accomplishment! Innocents at Risk applauds American Airlines for coming to the discussion table and we congratulate the leadership of John Ingham for bringing everyone together to establish a protocol to expand this talented force of individuals and agencies. HOWEVER, THE BLUE LIGHTNING CAMPAIGN IS NOW ON HOLD AS IT HAS NOT BEEN FUNDED…

To date, Innocents at Risk is continuing our informal training of flight attendants.  We have Senior Flight Attendants based in Chicago, Miami, New York, Idaho, Atlanta, Ohio, Kentucky and Detroit who are training fellow flight attendants with our awareness brochures.

We have partnered with Airline Ambassadors who bring this effort a vital work force of over 6,000 members and corporate partners dedicated to preventing child trafficking in the U.S. and around the world.  With their focus to stop child trafficking, we have already had some successes.  Calls to the hotline had been made, planes have been met by the authorities and lives are being saved.  However, this is ONLY A FRACTION OF CHILDREN WHO COULD BE SAVED.

We need to do more! We need to train ALL Airline personal. Today, we are asking Congress to help fund the efforts of Innocents at Risk and the entire Blue Lightning Campaign which is ready to go.  Help us wake up America and “Open their Eyes” of the public to this horror happening all around us. IN THE NAME OF CHILDREN, today we ask for your support and funding to help us prevent more innocent lives from slipping away.

Flight Attendant Sandra Fiorini’s Testimony:

Good morning my name is Sandra Fiorini and I am an international flight attendant with American Airlines. My seniority number is 719 and I have flown with American for 39 years.  I would like to thank the House and Innocents at Risk for their opportunity to comment on Human trafficking.  During my career with American Airlines I have seen many instances of human trafficking. While every instance has been different, there were always red flags that indicated that something was not right. Most of us are parents and when children of any age are involved we seem to be more keenly aware when these flags are raised. A few examples I have seen can enlighten you to what is happening everyday:

1. 18 year old boy with newborn baby. No diaper bag, just one bottle and two diapers.
2. 3 adults of same nationality with 5 children of all different nationalities and same age (4-5 yrs old).
3. Prostitution tents at Redwood, CA campground.  Men coming in and out.
4. Young girls 15-17yrs old coming over from Russia thinking they are going to be models and work on TV in NYC, even though they didn’t speak any English.  Moscow to Chicago direct flight.

Please remember I am just one of 90,000 flight attendants world wide. Think of all the stories the other 90,000 can tell.  Before I was involved in Innocents at Risk, I would call the local police.  They would respond it was my word against theirs and what did I want them to do about it. Of course I wanted them to respond and file a report, which they would not do. Innocents at Risk has created a brochure with the trafficking signs and the Hotline Number to call.  This gives us a tool to report from the plane what we are seeing, which is the first step in prevention.  Because of calling the hotline an ICE agent was assigned to work the Moscow to Chicago flight to prevent the daily flow of young boys and girls from Russia for the sex trade.

Flight attendants are the first line of defense against human trafficking. Innocents at Risk is pulling together with many government agency’s in a coordinated effort under Blue Lightning.  For two years I have been educating my crews with the Innocents at Risk Brochures and wristbands with the Hotline number. I am asking them to wear the bracelets and use the hotline number to report what they have seen and pass the brochure on to other flight attendants. During that time the hotline has reported a 30% increase in call from flight attendants.  The general public is unaware of the positive results Innocents at Risk is making.

Flight attendants are an untapped work force that can combat this crime against woman and children.  Innocents at Risk is raising awareness in my workplace. The small percentage of trained flight attendants are reporting what they encounter everyday. With funding we could educate the whole 90,000 person strong army of winged angels.  I intend to keep working with Innocents at Risk until all 90,000 flight attendants are trained.

Co-Chairman McGovern and Innocents at Risk Founder Deborah Sigmund

Dallas Jessup, Deborah Sigmund, Sandra Fiorini, and Selene Martin

Innocents at Risk Founder Deborah Sigmund Speaks to Voice of America

Flight Attendants Are First Line of Defense Against Human Trafficking

Elizabeth Lee

April 5, 2010

Flight attendants at a large U.S. airline are training other flight attendants  to recognize signs of human trafficking on international and domestic flights. The flight attendant leading the program says it’s  possible to catch traffickers in the act, saving the lives of women and children trapped in the net.

For a moment in time, strangers from around the world come together as travelers.

It’s also a moment when American Airlines flight attendant Sandra Fiorini can save a life. ”We had an 18-year-old boy and he had a brand new day-old baby, umbilical cord everything was still there, day-old baby. He’s going on a six hour flight, no wife. He has two diapers stuck in his pockets and one bottle,” she describes.

Fiorini sees scenrios like that on a regular basis when she is on one of her international flights.  She says after 39 years on the job, it’s not difficult to recognize a suspected case of human trafficking. “Most of us are parents. When you see an instance that’s not right and a red flag is raised, especially when there is children involved, you’re more in tune with what’s happening,” she said.

Fiorini had tried to report suspicious activity to the police but they never responded.  Two years ago, it all changed when Fiorini met Deborah Sigmund, founder of the organization Innocents At Risk.

“It’s enslavement. We’re talking about modern day slavery,” Sigmund said.

Innocents At Risk provided Fiorini with brochures detailing the signs of human trafficking. There’s also a phone number to report a suspected case.

“Before you couldn’t call anyone,” Fiorini said. “The local authorities would not respond to you. So now when you do call this hotline number, someone does respond.”

Law enforcement will be waiting at the gate if a flight attendant reports something suspicious.  Innocents At Risk created a video showing why it’s important for law enforcement to respond.  The organization says women, girls and even boys are being sold into sexual slavery.

“This is happening everywhere in the world, every country in the world,” Sigmund said. “And it’s happening here in the United States.  Its a multi-billion dollar industry.”

Meanwhile, Fiorini educates flight attendants around the world, using brochures and bracelets that contain the human trafficking hotline number. “I show my brochure, I tell them what I’m doing, and then I ask them to put the hotline number in the cell phone,” she said. “Please pass the brochure onto another flight attendent.”

Fiorini and Innocents At Risk have also been mobilizing lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

“We are working with Congress, with Human Rights Commission, and I think that something will come out of that and I’m very optimistic,” Sigmund said.

The hope is that brochures like these will eventually end up in the seat back pockets of all flights so passengers will notify the flight attendants if they spot something suspicious.

Fiorini hopes once passengers know what to look for, they won’t turn the other way.

Follow this link to view the video:

VOA Flight Attendants Fight Human Trafficking

SELLING CHILDREN IN AMERICA PART II

By: Conchita Sarnoff

February 4, 2010

At long last a step in the right direction! With the heart wrenching crisis in Haiti reaching its apex and human atrocities being plastered across every television screen and front page daily, abducting those vulnerable and defenseless Haitian children was a very dumb idea. Yet again, maybe not… And not for the reasons you think.

After four years of grueling investigative research at great personal cost I am now just beginning to see the light. Across movie screens, television sets, new and traditional media the issue of sex slavery or child trafficking as it is most commonly referred to, is finally out in the open and beginning to pick up speed. Most recently, the U.S. Congress agreed to address the issue.

Last week during an off the record meeting at The Hill, I was assured that child trafficking in America is a subject worthy of an audience. The downside of course is that politically it is very much a hot potato with obvious long-term repercussions for anyone who takes it on.

Until our government is well and ready to honestly tackle the issues of: immigration, child pornography on the Internet, Internet security, national security, child prostitution, homeland and border patrol, Mexican drug cartels, money laundering, law enforcement, the administration of T and U Visas, training and recruiting, education and everything in between, Congress cannot have a transparent dialogue that will lead to the creation of valuable laws that protect, prevent, and stringently prosecute. Today there exist only two. “The Mann Act of 1910″ and the “Trafficking Victims Protection Act” (TVPA) of 2000. Both Acts in need of serious revision.

The Miami Herald finally exposed only a week ago, the story of a 2008 raid where agents arrested a ring of child traffickers operating out of a tony West Palm Beach neighborhood. Why did it take so long? Maybe it was economics driven by fear. The thought of real estate prices plummeting even further south in the area probably hit the panic button at the local government level.

For over a year I have been calling Maria Villafana’s office the Assistant U.S. Attorney, to give her inside information about a number of active “stash houses” in the area (brothels where they prostitute trafficked children). No response. I had acquired this information while interviewing one of the convicted traffickers arrested during that raid. He wants to negotiate his sentence and was ready to sing.

A few weeks after Ms. Villafana did not return my calls I turned the list over to an undercover agent working on a similar case. Luckily, at the insistence of my friend and colleague Renee Morrison, The Palm Beach Post finally broke the story.

At school I was taught that “every cloud has a silver lining”. Today, I’m praying that on the backs of those most unfortunate Haitian children the light might have begun to shine. It is time for our Government to move forward and help right this terrible wrong. Because in the long run the children who are trafficked, the government who stays silent and the predators who abuse the children will all pay the same price.

For the original article or other articles by Ms. Sarnoff follow the link to The Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/conchita-s-sarnoff/selling-children-in-ameri_b_449167.html

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In The Name of Our Children