A note from our Director of Media Relations, Amy Roth - a 3 min video clip you will not want to miss:
*****
For those of you who didn’t see it, ABC World News aired a piece last night featuring Don Brewster and Clayton Butler of AGAPE, our aftercare partners in Cambodia; our client Bella, who has thrived in AGAPE’s loving care; and some powerful IJM undercover footage of Bella, shot by one of our investigators when he first encountered her in the very dark and dangerous Anarchy building.

See the video piece here:
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/sex-trade-cambodian-children-10164798

Additionally, a written piece that mentions IJM directly appears on ABC’s Web site.
http://abcnews.go.com/WN/cambodia-children-sold-slavery/story?id=10163645

Grateful to be in this work with you,
Amy

IJM is calling on the international community to immediately implement measures to protect vulnerable children from trafficking risks and other forms of abuse in Haiti. 

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This week, The Atlantic published an article “Island of Lost Children” by former IJM Chennai Communications Fellow Nicolette Grams.

This timely and thoughtful piece in The Atlantic highlights the multitude of dangers brewing for children in Haiti, calls on people to protect the vulnerable, and features IJM’s work and methodology as a solution to such horrors, wherever they may occur.

Please do share this article with others, especially if they are engaged in relief work in Haiti at this time. Questions are rising about the implications of the Haiti earthquake on the vulnerability of women and children - and the implications are indeed grave.

Please do consider this article to be a resource. We will continue to get other helpful resources into your hands as this crisis continues.

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/201001u/haiti-trafficking

There is much on all of our hearts for prayer today… First to mind comes the people of Haiti - along with all those around the world who are relatives of loved ones in Haiti, waiting for news, wondering, feeling helpless and wanting to be able to do something to bring help and hope in the midst of chaos that defies description. Also on our hearts on those who are able to be present and to bring help right now - aid workers, doctors, nurses, faith leaders, government agencies… I definitely recommend choosing an organization to serve as an ambassador for the help you wish you could presently give. Samaritan’s Purse, World Vision, Compassion International, Red Cross, along with many church denomination relief agencies (check UMC (with whom I went to Haiti in 1998), PCUSA, PCA, among many others) are all on the ground and can be trusted to use your funds well.

Have other recommendations? Please leave a note of guidance in the comments.

Also very much on our hearts here at IJM are a few critical operations at hand. I want to bring one to your attention for your prayers tonight. In a South Asian city for whom we have often waged much prayer, there is a rescue operation unfolding tonight, and as is sometimes the case, there are many ways this operation could be thwarted. The lives, dignity, and freedom of approximately 15 children are at stake in this operation. Please pray for:

-shrewd wisdom on the part of our staff team
-excellent collaboration with the authorities
-courage for the children as the operation unfolds
-safety for all involved

What is on your mind and heart tonight - how can we be in prayer?

We have been closely updated by our staff in the Philippines regarding the impending typhoon (set to hit later this week, perhaps Thursday), and also the dire conditions that many in the Philippines (including our staff and Director) are still suffering through after last month’s typhoon. Scores of people have lost all of their possessions, if not also family members and friends. Please do keep this nation in your prayers this week as yet another devastating storm looms.

Reuters – Philippines starts evacuation ahead of new typhoon:
“The Philippines began evacuating thousands of people in northern areas prone to floods and landslides on Tuesday ahead of a powerful typhoon that has gained strength over the Pacific, officials said.”

Other news of note today from IJM casework countries:

Manila Bulletin – Andrey Sawchenko addresses Cebu’s sex trafficking problem: “The local branch of international human rights organization, International Justice Mission (IJM) lamented Tuesday the continuing problem of human trafficking in the Philippines, including Cebu, despite the country’s fading out from the international sex tourism radar.”

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/10/19/guatemala.police/” title="CNN">CNN – Two killed in attack on Guatemalan police: “Lethal assaults on police and prison guards in Guatemala continued over the weekend, with an attack on a national police patrol that killed two officers and left one wounded, authorities said.”

AP – Full results of AIDS vaccine in Thailand show drug is of “modest help”: “Fresh results from the world’s first successful test of an experimental AIDS vaccine confirm that it is only marginally effective. Yet, the findings are exciting to scientists, who think they may show how to make a better vaccine.”

You may have seen coverage of “Operation Twisted Traveler” on many major news outlets this week - this is a significant example of the U.S. Protect Act at work. Evidence provided by IJM investigations was used in the extradition of one of the three American alleged sex tourists arrested in Cambodia and now being brought to trial in the U.S. Below I have copied several examples of the media coverage from the past 2 days - I hope these articles are helpful to you as you learn more deeply and broadly about the nature of sex trafficking, its victims, its perpetrators, and the impact of functioning law systems to overcome this crime:

Washington Post: 3 AMERICANS FACE CHILD-SEX CHARGES

“Authorities in both countries relied on information provided by Action Pour Les Enfants, a nonprofit group, and the International Justice Mission, human rights agency. Their involvement, Rodley said, marked a breakthrough for Cambodia, which historically has had an uneasy relationship with such organizations because of their criticism of the government.”

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/08/31/cambodia.sex.tourism/index.html” title="CNN: SEX-TOURISM OPERATION NETS THREE, JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SAYS">CNN: SEX-TOURISM OPERATION NETS THREE, JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SAYS

“Operation Twisted Traveler is crackdown on U.S. sex tourism in Cambodia. Three men being returned to United States, charged under Protect Act. Suspects convicted of previous sexual offenses in U.S., agency says. They face sentences of 30 years for each alleged victim.

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Times of Zambia (via AllAfrica.com) – Human Rights Commission expresses concern at the continued illegal detention of suspects in police cells and congestion in prisons: “Mr Mulembe in an interview in Lusaka yesterday said most police cells were over-crowded because some suspects had been kept longer than necessary without charges. He called for upholding of the rule of law and respect for the rights of suspects, and reaffirmed that the commission would continue to advocate for suspects’ rights.”

Toronto Star – Cambodia’s poor must fight for their homes, despite legal protections on the books:  “In a rundown enclave of the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, hundreds of poor people can’t sleep at night. They’re afraid to go to work in the morning for fear their homes will be gone when they return. Today the clock has run out for the community of 150 families, slated to become the latest victims of clearance projects that have rolled across Cambodia since its land became a prize for developers.”

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A few news pieces of note today, including global urgencies as well as press coverage of participants from IJM’s GPG and Advocacy day (thanks Ted Haddock (copyright) for the great action shot of Sara and Troy Groves, Susie Larson, and IJM staffers on Capitol Hill):

CM Spin - Sara Groves: “’I’m appreciative that IJM is not only at the forefront of confronting this issue, but that they give us the tools and empowerment to take our advocacy to the next level,’ says Groves. ‘Speaking directly to our leaders from Minnesota about the importance of ending the trafficking of minors gave me renewed hope in our ability to influence real change.’”

Fredricksburg Freelance Star - Six IJM supporters from the University of Mary Washington attended the Global Prayer Gathering and advocated for the Child Protection Act in Washington, D.C. earlier this month.

All Africa.com - The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) yesterday requested the court to give a life sentence to former Cabinet Director in the Rwandan Interior Ministry, Callixte Kalimanzira

CNN - At least 24 people have died and three others have been seriously injured in clashes between local residents and members of an outlawed Kenyan sect, authorities said Tuesday.

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THAILAND: The New York Times - Soldiers armed with assault rifles fought running street battles with anti-government protesters in Bangkok on Monday as unrest spread through a wider swath of the Thai capital, and the chief of Thailand’s armed forces vowed to use “every means to end the chaos.”

CHINA: The Wall Street Journal - China issued its first action plan on human rights, vowing to address a host of issues, from torture to the death penalty and the environment.

DARFUR: BBC News - The kidnappers of two aid workers in Darfur say they will kill them, unless six French aid employees convicted of abducting children in Chad are retried.

Xinhuanet - A top commander of Uganda’s rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has announced that he is tired of war and is negotiating his surrender with the Ugandan military.
“Akiki said over 100 rebel fighters have been killed and over 60 abductees rescued from the elusive rebel group. He said the military is closing in on Kony and soon or later he will be captured or killed.”

More global news: Burma, Peru, Thailand, Congo, Zimbabwe

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Photo: Ted Haddock/International Justice Mission®

CNN – Bolivia votes to approve a new constitution that will allow leftist President Evo Morales to run for another term this year.
“‘Once approved, this will be the refoundation of Bolivia and the refoundation of a new state where there will be equality and we will all have the same rights and the same obligations,’ Morales said. Others say the referendum was a way for Morales to keep himself in power, a move that could plunge the country into further violence, division and uncertainty.”

The Washington, D.C. Examiner – More than a thousand women were forced into sex slavery in the U.S. last year – many being trafficking through Washington, D.C.
“D.C. is a hot spot for labor trafficking as well as sex trafficking,” Powell told The Examiner. “Foreign nationals are brought into the area to work as nannies, house domestics and even on construction sites. Sex trafficking affects both foreign and national victims.”

Reuters – Congolese Militia leader pleads not guilty to charges of training child soldiers to kill, pillage and rape during the 1998 – 2003 conflict in the first war crimes case heard at the International Criminal Court in The Hague
“Lubanga’s armed group, recruited and trained hundreds of children to kill, pillage and rape. Hundreds of children still suffer the consequences of Lubanga’s crimes. They cannot forget what they suffered, what they did, what they saw.”

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Reuters – U.N. force demands role in joint military operations by Congolese and Rwandan armies against Hutu rebels:
“The U.N. force in Democratic Republic of Congo, known as MONUC, is the world body’s largest such mission but it has been largely kept in the dark over the joint operation, which has seen over 3,500 Rwandan soldiers cross into Congo this week:”

The Inquirer (Philippines) – Parents of two boys file illegal detention charges against officials of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA): 
“We believe the rights of the young men have been violated. Even if there is an automatic review, the case against my clients [Brodett and Tecson] have already been dismissed. If they are still under detention, then that is a violation of their rights.”

AP – Russians condemn slaying of human rights lawyer:
“Attorneys, activists and lawmakers Wednesday condemned the brazen shooting of a human-rights lawyer on a busy Moscow street and called for a thorough and honest investigation into a killing that spotlighted the risks faced by Russians who fight for justice.”

CNN – Zimbabwe opposition leader calls country’s cholera epidemic a “man-made crisis”:
“Some 2,755 have died and 48,623 people are suspected to have been infected with cholera since last year, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.”

Boston Globe – A photo essay profiles Peruvian street children and NGO efforts to provide education for them: 
“In this shuffle of commerce and survival, so many of Cusco’s children are lost. Many of Cusco Department’s residents between ages 6 and 14 don’t attend school regularly, or at all.”

If you have not secured access to the full text of the New Yorker’s IJM feature yet, here are a few spots to gain a glimpse into the content:

On IJM’s main website: www.ijm.org/newyorker—supplementary resources and a Q&A with IJM President & Ceo Gary Haugen

From today’s Wall Street Journal, Law Blog:

“In this week’s issue of the New Yorker (click here), Haugen (pictured) says that the four billion people who live in places with a dysfunctional justice system “don’t get a sleepy lawyer or a crummy lawyer — they get nada.” He says:

“The colonial powers who built justice systems in the Third World never intended to serve these people. Colonial justice was designed to control these people. Then, in the nineteen-sixties, the colonial powers left, and the justice systems stayed. Nobody, when we started international development, said, ‘Let’s revamp the public justice system. Let’s go into these places, where you either have colonial or pre-modern systems of justice, and bring to bear what we’ve learned about due process.’ No, that part was skipped. . . The people who care about injustice don’t tend to spend a lot of time in courtrooms or police stations. We tend to use words like ‘corrupt’ and give up on these places."”

Ted Haddock/International Justice Mission®

News from IJM Casework Countries

BBC – India elections not as impacted by Mumbai attacks as anticipated

China Daily – Cambodia arrests 50% more human traffickers in the first 9 months of this year

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Ted Haddock/International Justice Mission®

News from IJM Casework Countries

Voices of America – Thousands of refugees from the Congo seek refuge across the Ugandan border

UN Dispatch – US warns of increase in slave-holding practices as economy worsens

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