01-05-2006, 04:54 AM
Date: Fri, 30 Sep 2005 13:35:47 -0000
From: "Meena Seshu"<san_me...@sancharnet.in>
Subject: US accuses NGO of 'trafficking'
Dear all,
Please read the copied news item below.
We strongly refute the charge that we are pro trafficking. This is a
defamation of us as individuals and as an organization that works
for the human rights of people in sex work. This accusation is so
untrue.
We protest this colonial manner of dealing with any resistance, dumping
us as traffickers and criminals. After the girls were sent to the CWC,
out of the seventeen, thirteen proved that they were majors by
submitting authentic certificates of birth proving they were adults.
Out of the
four left, two were school going girls and only two were minors. The
CWC has the authority to release the girls and did so, To accuse us of
influencing the CWC is also untrue.!!
Brothel owners are not members of SANGRAM that is totally untrue.
The MOU with Avert and I have documentation to prove the same, was
on Mutual grounds and because we refused to sign the anti prostitution
clause of USAID, not because we are traffickers! In fact there are
external evaluations done by Avert society that strongly recommend that
the
SANGRAM project with women in prostitution should be made into a
demonstration and training center, as a best practice. !!
Meena Seshu
e-MAIL: "<san_me...@sancharnet.in>
___________________________________________
US accuses NGO of 'trafficking'
Rema Nagarajan Hindustan News
Washington, September 29, 2005
US government is getting tough on the issue of trafficking of human
beings. Indicating its seriousness on the issue, the US
government-funding agency USAID terminated funding to the NGO Sampada
Grameen Mahila
Sanstha (SANGRAM) for reportedly supporting brothel owners and
obstructing the rescue of minor girls from red light areas.
SANGRAM is said to be the first NGO to be cut off from funding for
trying to thwart rescue efforts. "It is for the first time in India and
perhaps internationally, as far as I know. I want to believe this is an
exception, an anomaly. But we are reviewing other programmes and if
there is any specific information that an organisation is trying to
keep
people from being rescued from any kind of trafficking we will be
looking into it," said Ambassador John R Miller, director, Office to
Monitor
and Combat Trafficking
In Persons.
In a letter dated September 9, the office of AVERT, a joint project
of USAID and the Indian government, informed SANGRAM of the termination
of funding.
The Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons of the US
State Department had received reports about SANGRAM's role in
"thwarting rescue efforts".
The US embassy in India and USAID are reviewing a bunch of grants to
examine if the grants are being used to fund work that is contrary to
the US policy on trafficking or HIV/AIDS. It is reliably learnt that
funds could be cut off to four or five more NGOs in India on similar
grounds as SANGRAM.
Restore International (RI), a South India-based anti-trafficking
NGO, was part of the raid organised by the police in May this year in
Gokul Nagar red light area in Sangli, Maharashtra. Seventeen minors
were reportedly rescued during the raid. According to the RI report,
SANGRAM, which has many brothel keepers as its members, has been trying
to
thwart attempts to rescue minors in prostitution.
SANGRAM in turn has termed the rescue "unlawful" and has questioned
the claim that 17 of the rescued girls were minors. However, an order
of a judicial magistrate dated May 30 this year states that of the 35
women removed from Gokul Nagar, "17 were reported to be minors". The
magistrate had ordered the case for custody of these minors to be
placed
before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), the authority that deals with
juveniles who need protection and care.
Ambassador Miller points out that with the court itself confirming
that 17 were minors, it was not only a violation of US law or UN
convention but also of Indian laws on child prostitution and
trafficking.
RI Director Greg Malstead when contacted stated that they faced
significant opposition from SANGRAM against the rescue effort. He added
that while the had no wish to pick any quarrel with SANGRAM, his
organisation would "expose and counter any opposition, from whatever
source,
to oppose rescue, protection and prosecution".
Meena Saraswathi Seshu, director of SANGRAM, in turn, defends her
organisation saying that it is strongly against child prostitution
that is akin to child sexual abuse but feels that "a simplistic
solution as raid and rescue merely offered patchwork relief". She
further
states, "In 1991, before SANGRAM worked in this area, every brothel had
minor girls in prostitution. Today, police and this organisation (RI)
found 35 of whom 31 are in dispute. Why is it that organisations that
work
for the rights of women in prostitution and sex work are considered pro
trafficking, which is a criminal offence or pro minors in prostitution
when it is clearly child sexual abuse."
Seshu claims that Malstead preferred to ignore the high-handness of
RI members during the raid, and instead, got his organisation in US,
Restore International to complain to SANGRAM's international
supporters.
The rescued minor girls have been handed over to their parents who,
it is suspected, might have been complicit in their trafficking, as
indicated by the statement of some of the girls to RI members. With
wide-spread fears that the rescued girls might be forced back into the
sex
trade, the US government is not amused. "If the US is going to play a
leadership role in abolishing this modern-day slavery in the 21st
century, then we need to ensure that US funds go to support that effort
and
not frustrate it,"
says Ambassador Miller.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 2
Date: Fri, 30 Sep 2005 22:43:27 -0000
From: "Meena Seshu"<san_me...@sancharnet.in>
Subject: Re: US accuses NGO of 'trafficking'
Dear all,
This is to inform you that Mr. Sampath Kumar of USAID Delhi called me
this afternoon on the 30/9/2005 and said that they are going to
investigate the news regarding SANGRAM - US accuses NGO of
'trafficking'.
He said that in a high level meeting at USAID today, it was decided
that they will investigate this deliberate defamation of both me as an
individual and SANGRAM the organization. He has assured me that they
are
going to deal with this matter immediately and has requested that we
wait till we hear from them.
He specifically requested that we do not go public on this issue till
he gets back to us.
I also think that it is in our interest not to shoot off responses but
to wait and give them a chance to refute this allegation.
But by Wednesday if nothing materializes then we will have to
strategize on the next course of action. I am worried that if we do not
respond
it may appear that we accept this horrendous and unbelievable
accusation.
Why is it that organizations that work for the rights of women in
prostitution and sex work are considered pro trafficking, which is a
criminal offence or pro minors in prostitution when it is clearly child
sexual
abuse?
In solidarity,
Meena Saraswathi Seshu
E-mail: <san_me...@sancharnet.in>
http://groups.google.com/group/civilsociet...a86594fb7fcec3f
From: "Meena Seshu"<san_me...@sancharnet.in>
Subject: US accuses NGO of 'trafficking'
Dear all,
Please read the copied news item below.
We strongly refute the charge that we are pro trafficking. This is a
defamation of us as individuals and as an organization that works
for the human rights of people in sex work. This accusation is so
untrue.
We protest this colonial manner of dealing with any resistance, dumping
us as traffickers and criminals. After the girls were sent to the CWC,
out of the seventeen, thirteen proved that they were majors by
submitting authentic certificates of birth proving they were adults.
Out of the
four left, two were school going girls and only two were minors. The
CWC has the authority to release the girls and did so, To accuse us of
influencing the CWC is also untrue.!!
Brothel owners are not members of SANGRAM that is totally untrue.
The MOU with Avert and I have documentation to prove the same, was
on Mutual grounds and because we refused to sign the anti prostitution
clause of USAID, not because we are traffickers! In fact there are
external evaluations done by Avert society that strongly recommend that
the
SANGRAM project with women in prostitution should be made into a
demonstration and training center, as a best practice. !!
Meena Seshu
e-MAIL: "<san_me...@sancharnet.in>
___________________________________________
US accuses NGO of 'trafficking'
Rema Nagarajan Hindustan News
Washington, September 29, 2005
US government is getting tough on the issue of trafficking of human
beings. Indicating its seriousness on the issue, the US
government-funding agency USAID terminated funding to the NGO Sampada
Grameen Mahila
Sanstha (SANGRAM) for reportedly supporting brothel owners and
obstructing the rescue of minor girls from red light areas.
SANGRAM is said to be the first NGO to be cut off from funding for
trying to thwart rescue efforts. "It is for the first time in India and
perhaps internationally, as far as I know. I want to believe this is an
exception, an anomaly. But we are reviewing other programmes and if
there is any specific information that an organisation is trying to
keep
people from being rescued from any kind of trafficking we will be
looking into it," said Ambassador John R Miller, director, Office to
Monitor
and Combat Trafficking
In Persons.
In a letter dated September 9, the office of AVERT, a joint project
of USAID and the Indian government, informed SANGRAM of the termination
of funding.
The Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons of the US
State Department had received reports about SANGRAM's role in
"thwarting rescue efforts".
The US embassy in India and USAID are reviewing a bunch of grants to
examine if the grants are being used to fund work that is contrary to
the US policy on trafficking or HIV/AIDS. It is reliably learnt that
funds could be cut off to four or five more NGOs in India on similar
grounds as SANGRAM.
Restore International (RI), a South India-based anti-trafficking
NGO, was part of the raid organised by the police in May this year in
Gokul Nagar red light area in Sangli, Maharashtra. Seventeen minors
were reportedly rescued during the raid. According to the RI report,
SANGRAM, which has many brothel keepers as its members, has been trying
to
thwart attempts to rescue minors in prostitution.
SANGRAM in turn has termed the rescue "unlawful" and has questioned
the claim that 17 of the rescued girls were minors. However, an order
of a judicial magistrate dated May 30 this year states that of the 35
women removed from Gokul Nagar, "17 were reported to be minors". The
magistrate had ordered the case for custody of these minors to be
placed
before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), the authority that deals with
juveniles who need protection and care.
Ambassador Miller points out that with the court itself confirming
that 17 were minors, it was not only a violation of US law or UN
convention but also of Indian laws on child prostitution and
trafficking.
RI Director Greg Malstead when contacted stated that they faced
significant opposition from SANGRAM against the rescue effort. He added
that while the had no wish to pick any quarrel with SANGRAM, his
organisation would "expose and counter any opposition, from whatever
source,
to oppose rescue, protection and prosecution".
Meena Saraswathi Seshu, director of SANGRAM, in turn, defends her
organisation saying that it is strongly against child prostitution
that is akin to child sexual abuse but feels that "a simplistic
solution as raid and rescue merely offered patchwork relief". She
further
states, "In 1991, before SANGRAM worked in this area, every brothel had
minor girls in prostitution. Today, police and this organisation (RI)
found 35 of whom 31 are in dispute. Why is it that organisations that
work
for the rights of women in prostitution and sex work are considered pro
trafficking, which is a criminal offence or pro minors in prostitution
when it is clearly child sexual abuse."
Seshu claims that Malstead preferred to ignore the high-handness of
RI members during the raid, and instead, got his organisation in US,
Restore International to complain to SANGRAM's international
supporters.
The rescued minor girls have been handed over to their parents who,
it is suspected, might have been complicit in their trafficking, as
indicated by the statement of some of the girls to RI members. With
wide-spread fears that the rescued girls might be forced back into the
sex
trade, the US government is not amused. "If the US is going to play a
leadership role in abolishing this modern-day slavery in the 21st
century, then we need to ensure that US funds go to support that effort
and
not frustrate it,"
says Ambassador Miller.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 2
Date: Fri, 30 Sep 2005 22:43:27 -0000
From: "Meena Seshu"<san_me...@sancharnet.in>
Subject: Re: US accuses NGO of 'trafficking'
Dear all,
This is to inform you that Mr. Sampath Kumar of USAID Delhi called me
this afternoon on the 30/9/2005 and said that they are going to
investigate the news regarding SANGRAM - US accuses NGO of
'trafficking'.
He said that in a high level meeting at USAID today, it was decided
that they will investigate this deliberate defamation of both me as an
individual and SANGRAM the organization. He has assured me that they
are
going to deal with this matter immediately and has requested that we
wait till we hear from them.
He specifically requested that we do not go public on this issue till
he gets back to us.
I also think that it is in our interest not to shoot off responses but
to wait and give them a chance to refute this allegation.
But by Wednesday if nothing materializes then we will have to
strategize on the next course of action. I am worried that if we do not
respond
it may appear that we accept this horrendous and unbelievable
accusation.
Why is it that organizations that work for the rights of women in
prostitution and sex work are considered pro trafficking, which is a
criminal offence or pro minors in prostitution when it is clearly child
sexual
abuse?
In solidarity,
Meena Saraswathi Seshu
E-mail: <san_me...@sancharnet.in>
http://groups.google.com/group/civilsociet...a86594fb7fcec3f