February 2012

Annick Febrey, IJM's Legislative Affairs Manager, and I had the honor of meeting with Samantha Power, Special Assistant to President Obama on Human Rights and Multilateral Affairs and her deputy, Rob Berschinski, on Wednesday, February 22.  We proudly presented a letter with more than 29,000 signatures, asking the President to take the lead in ending modern-day slavery at home and abroad.

NAIROBI, KENYA – Two young men were released from prison late last week after being held unjustly for two years behind bars. The men were both arrested exactly two years ago and charged with robbery with violence – forced to languish in a Kenyan prison for a crime neither had committed.

IJM learned about the men, both in their early twenties, about a year and a half ago. Since then, IJM lawyers have represented them in court, urging the judge to release the men based on the lack of evidence connecting them to the crime.

CHENNAI, INDIA – Dozens of children, women and men were rescued from slavery in a rock quarry late last week. IJM assisted government officials to bring the families out of the quarry and secure official release certificates declaring them emancipated from forced labor slavery.

IJM staff accompanied the families from the rock quarry to the government office, where they testified to the dangerous conditions of their enslavement.

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA – Early this morning, IJM worked with police to rescue a girl who was being exploited in a small Cambodian brothel. IJM staff accompanied her to the police station, where she shared about the abuse she had endured.

IJM Cambodia’s Director of Investigations noted that the anti-trafficking police unit worked quickly and efficiently to make sure the rescue operation was a success, from the initial planning to final execution.