By Haidee V. Eugenio
Variety Assistant Editor

FEDERAL Labor Ombudsman Jim Benedetto says a “change in attitude” about human trafficking is needed if the CNMI wants to deter this crime, which has victimized more than 40 women, including minors, who were recruited as waitresses but forced into prostitution by their employers once they arrived here.
“It has taken us decades to begin to seriously change our attitudes about violence against women because of these deeply ingrained stereotypes, and it will no doubt take us years to get to the point where we can discuss human trafficking for what it is: a crime,” he said.
Benedetto, the guest speaker in yesterday’s Rotary Club of Saipan meeting at the Hyatt Regency, said the general public often blames the victims of trafficking, as well as of domestic or sexual violence, sharply questioning their motives in coming forward.
“The victims’ shame and the harsh judgment of society make it particularly difficult for women who have the courage to bring these incidents to the attention of the authorities…Others seek to minimize the issue by claiming ‘it happens everywhere’,” said Benedetto, adding that saying so is merely code for “we aren’t going to do anything about it.”
Immigration Director Melvin Grey separately told Variety yesterday that since February at the airport, the Division of Immigration has started asking basic questions of alien workers who come to the CNMI for the first time, including questions about their jobs, their qualifications, their employers and contact numbers to help deter human trafficking, illegal sponsorship and illegal employment.
“It tries to address a lot of things. So that people won’t take advantage of these workers. We also advise them what they should do if something goes wrong with their employment,” Grey said in a telephone interview.
Benedetto said the idea of having an airport interview for first time foreign workers in the CNMI was first brought up during the Babauta administration “but nothing came of it.”
Yesterday, Grey said he started implementing what he called the “Authorization for Entry Questionnaire” which involves having the foreign workers fill out survey forms in front of immigration officers, who also make sure that the workers are picked up by their employer or a representative at the airport.
The questionnaires are printed in both English and Chinese.
Benedetto, in his presentation before the Rotary Club, said the number of human trafficking victims in the CNMI is closer to 40 than 30 as earlier indicated by Karidat Social Services social worker Lauri B. Ogomuro to the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
“One from a case against the Tinian Dynasty; two from the Red Heart case; nine from the case of U.S. v. Zheng; 19 from the Star Four case; with another three or four that already departed the CNMI; six who came in just this year, with a seventh who has yet to be located, and an eighth who was intercepted at the airport by alert Division of Immigration authorities, and a ninth who was prevented from boarding a flight in China based on information provided by the eighth,” Benedetto told Rotary Club members and guests.
In the Red Heart case, the victims — including Kayleen D. Entena who testified before the U.S. Senate panel — went to local authorities who investigated and aggressively prosecuted the case. The owners of the club were sentenced to years in prison.
Star Four owns the now defunct Starlite and Stardust Clubs, which allegedly trafficked in young women, including minors. The U.S. v. Zheng case involved the prosecution and sentencing of a businesswoman and a co-defendant for committing sex trafficking and for operating a prostitution business in the CNMI.
In years past, many incidents were reported alleging that foreign nationals were restrained or confined to their barracks, their travel or identification documents confiscated by their employers, and sued by persons acting on behalf of their employers in their home countries simply because they filed a legitimate grievance with the CNMI Department of Labor, among other things.
In response to these cases, the CNMI enacted the Anti-Trafficking Act of 2005.
‘Minimizing the issue’
Benedetto cited an instance when a police officer persuaded a possible victim of human trafficking to go back to her employer instead of referring her to Karidat or Guma Esperansa while the case was being investigated.
The Anti-Trafficking Act of 2005 was signed into law at the time, establishing guidelines for dealing with human trafficking victims and cases. The law adds several new crimes to the Commonwealth Code, and provides penalties for trafficking.
At the Feb. 9 Senate hearing held in Washington, D.C., Benedetto said the young woman in the Red Heart Massage case who testified before the panel was accused of lying about what happened to her in order to obtain benefits as a crime victim.
“Some claimed her account was ‘old news’ even though her traffickers were sentenced in Superior Court within a few weeks of the hearing. Some accused her of being responsible for her victimization, since she had worked after coming in on a tourist visa,” said Benedetto.
In his presentation before the Rotary Club, Benedetto said that when Ogumoro of Karidat and Guma Esperansa stepped outside of the Senate panel hearing room in Washington, D.C. after testifying that the CNMI had 30 victims of trafficking housed at the battered women shelter, one person angrily shouted at her, “What’s your problem? There are thousands or victims in the U.S.”
Benedetto said others seek to minimize the issue of human trafficking by claiming “it happens everywhere.”
He said it’s true that trafficking is a worldwide practice just as domestic violence and sexual assault happen everywhere.
“But allow me to suggest that this is not a serious or appropriate response to those who express concern about trafficking. Imagine a family whose daughter is sexually assaulted or beaten by her spouse. Imagine that they immediately dial 911 to report the crime. Does anyone here think it would be acceptable for the 911 dispatcher to say, ‘Oh, you know, this happens everywhere’…Of course not. We expect the police to investigate the crime, and the prosecutors to prosecute the offenders. Saying it ‘happens everywhere’ is merely code for ‘we aren’t going to do anything about it,’ ” he said.
Benedetto urged others to join those who are on the front lines dealing with these issues and do something about human trafficking.
“It’s easy to blame the victims, or to shout down the messenger, but it won’t do anything to address the real issue of lives destroyed by human trafficking,” he added.
Benedetto formed a coalition of stakeholders and other interested parties he named the “Victims of Trafficking and Battered Immigrant Women’s Coalition” which still meets on a quarterly basis.