Maid To Order
PerryScope
By Perry Diaz
September 11, 2007
In 2005, Human Rights Watch published a critical report on the abuses suffered by women
domestic workers. The report, "Maid to Order: Ending Abuses Against Migrant Domestic
Workers in Singapore," outlined the research made on the "abusive conditions facing many
domestic workers in Singapore." Although the report was limited to the study of abuses in
Singapore, human trafficking is as widespread as the common cold; that is, no country is
immune to this abhorrent "disease." There are approximately two million people -- mostly
women and girls -- who are trafficked into slavery every year.
The United States has its share -- or more than its share -- due to the fact that lots of people
around the world dream of going to America where the streets are paved with gold. People
from third world countries are brought to the U.S. in various -- mostly illegal -- ways. According
to the U.S. Department of Justice about 15,000 women and girls are trafficked into the U.S.
every year.
The United States -- the "land of the free" -- is not as free as one would think it is. Yes,
slavery is still being practiced in America today but in more subtle ways. The slave masters
could be some of the most successful and respectable model citizens.
One of the celebrated cases of human trafficking involved James J. Jackson, vice president of
legal affairs at Sony Pictures Entertainment, and his Filipina wife, Elizabeth Nicolas Tagle
Jackson. Their victim, Nena Ruiz, a former Philippine teacher, filed a lawsuit in 2003 against the
couple for "involuntary servitude, false imprisonment, invasion of privacy, negligence, fraud,
assault and battery, and violation of labor laws." Ruiz claimed that she was only paid $300 for
one year's work. She also claimed that she worked seven days a week from 5:30 AM to 10:00
PM, slept in a sleeping bag in the living room, and ate days-old food while she prepared fresh
food for the Jacksons' two dogs.
Ruiz was recruited by her cousin-in-law, who worked for Mrs. Jackson in the Philippines, to
become the traveling companion and caretaker of Mrs. Jackson's mother in Sacramento,
California. However, shortly after her arrival in the U.S., the Jacksons took her to their home in
Culver City in Southern California. After a year of enslavement, Ruiz ran away and sought the
help of the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking. She filed a lawsuit against the Jacksons
and a jury awarded her $825,000. In addition, she was awarded another $825,000 for
compensatory and punitive damages. However, she was unable to collect because the
Jacksons filed for bankruptcy protection before the trial began.
Another celebrated case of human trafficking involved a rich Filipino-American couple, Dr.
Jefferson Calimlim, Sr. and his wife Dr. Elnora Calimlim of Brookfield, Wisconsin. In March of
2006, the Calimlim couple were convicted in a Federal court for using "threats of serious harm
and physical restraint" to coerce a Filipina -- Irma Martinez -- to serve as their domestic
servant for 19 years. Each of them was sentenced to four years in prison.
Martinez testified that the Calimlims paid her $1,200 a year for the first 10 years and $4,800 a
year for the last nine years, way below the minimum wage rates. The judge ruled that
Martinez was entitled to restitution of more than $900,000 and the Calimlims were ordered to
pay $1.25 million in fines.
Recently, another case of human trafficking made it to the front page of Filipino-American
newspapers. In a press release issued by the New Jersey Attorney General, a Filipina named
Angelita Reyes of West Windsor, New Jersey, pleaded guilty to a charge of third-degree
criminal restraint. Under the plea agreement, Reyes will get a sentence of probation and pay
$78,000 in back wages to the victim, Arlene Gado, a 23 year-old Filipina.
A report published by the Attorney General stated, "In 2005, Gado signed an employment
contract in the Philippines, witnessed by her parents, that provided that she would travel to
the U.S. to work in the home of Anthony Mandap, a vice consul in the Consulate General of the
Philippines in San Francisco. The contract provided that her duties would focus on the care of
Mandap's three children and she would receive $8 per hour for a 40-hour work week, with
overtime paid at a rate of time-and-a-half. "
Shortly after Gado arrived in California, she was transferred to the home of Mandap's in-laws,
Angelita and Norberto Reyes, in New Jersey." For two years, she worked for the Reyeses and
provided care to Norberto who was incapacitated and needed assistance in feeding and
bathing.
Gado contacted a cousin in Michigan and told her of her problems. Her cousin then contacted
the New Jersey Department of Labor and reported Gado's low wages. On May 2, 2007,
Criminal Justice agents rescued Gado and placed her in a shelter. Reyes is scheduled for
sentencing on October 12, 2007.
What is really disturbing is that these three cases of human trafficking involved Filipinos -- the
victims as well as the traffickers. Are we looking at the tip of an iceberg here? It is estimated
that there are about 500,000 Filipino undocumented immigrants in the U.S. today. Since most
of them are employed clandestinely, they're vulnerable to abuses and exploitation. Assuming
that only 10% are victims of human trafficking, there may be as many as 50,000 Nena Ruizes,
Irma Martinezes, and Arlene Gados working as virtual slaves in the U.S.
What is deplorable as the human traffickers themselves are their recruiters -- or accomplices --
in the Philippines, some of whom are related to the victims or traffickers. Indeed, without the
assistance of these recruiters, the "maid to order" business would not be as rampant -- and
lucrative -- as it is today.
In 2000, the U.S. Congress passed the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA). The goals of
TVPA are: 1) Prevent human trafficking overseas; 2) Protect its victims and help them rebuild
their lives in the U.S. with Federal and state support; and 3) Prosecute traffickers of persons
under stiff Federal penalties. In addition, they may be granted temporary residency (T-visas).
An Information and Referral Hotline has been established for anyone who have come in
contact with a victim of human trafficking. The number is 1-888-3737-888.
(PerryDiaz@gmail.com)
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