Children of the Underground

A Proposal



Table of Contents




I INTRODUCTION
II NEEDS STATEMENT
III PROGRAM OBJECTIVES
IV BUDGET AND TIMETABLE
V STAFF
VI PROGRAM EVALUATION
VII FUTURE FUNDING
VIII ADDENDUM/REFERENCES







Contact Information:
David Hoffman
1746 N. Cherokee Ave, #4-I
Hollywood, CA 90028
www.beachnet.com/~hoffman
hafreepr@vel.net
323-462-2407









INTRODUCTION


Human trafficking, mainly in the form of forced prostitution, is a growing problem today. This problem has manifested itself in a big way since the break-up of the Soviet Union, and the breakdown of national borders under programs such as NAFTA, GATT and the EU.

As the London Guardian reports:

Every year more than 6,000 children aged between 12 and 16 are smuggled into western Europe to work as prostitutes and drug traffickers or to beg, the children’s charity Terre des Hommes said.[*]

Those falling victim to people-traffickers are becoming younger, and the crime gangs are adopting increasingly sophisticated techniques to prevent them from coming to the attention of the police, said Barbara Limanowska, the author of a Unicef report on the trafficking of women and children in south-eastern Europe.

Some 10-30% of all eastern European sex workers are minors, Ms Limanowska said. Save the Children estimates that up to 80% of people trafficked from Albania are teenage girls under 18.[†]

“The women are kept in apartments and places where police access is not easy, and then work in bars, clubs and brothels rather than on the streets,” she said....

Ms Limanowska said there was strong demand for the services of teenage prostitutes, and no evidence that western clients were affected by either moral scruples or fear of breaking the law....[1]

These figures do not even include the millions of girls and young women trafficked and sold into prostitution in India, Nepal, Latin America, the Dominican Republic, Thailand, Japan, Brazil and the Philippines.

The trade in human beings has re-entered the international agenda in the last twenty years, propelled by numerous “push” and “pull” and facilitating factors:

  • Increasing female poverty due to economic restructuring, especially in countries of origin (or "sending countries"), to which have been added in recent years the East European countries where female unemployment may reach 90% as compared to full employment in the past;

  • Increasing wealth in countries of destination, with growing organised sex industries;

  • Increasing crime “mafias”, organising across borders;

  • Collapsed states, political uncertainties and civil wars leaving populations without legal protection or livelihoods, and vulnerable to military as well as civilian criminal groups;

  • Increasing globalisation of trade and travel, making the movements of money (legal and illegal), business and people faster and much less regulated;

    • All statistics are only estimates, as is the economic value of trafficking estimated at US $7 billion by the UN. The reasons for this are the fear and silencing of victims, the secrecy, mobility and political clout of organised traffickers, the confidentiality of banking processes, and the low importance among immigration and police officers (and airline/transport authorities) in comparison to other international policy and policing questions, such as drugs or terrorism (or even art fraud), although they may often be linked.

    The trafficking process is a complex and elusive issue, adapted by its perpetrators to policing and legal changes, and to new opening economic opportunities. There are countries of origin, countries used for transit, and countries of destination, and sophisticated cross-cutting routes using road, rail, air and ship transport, depending on the geographical proximity of countries.

    Women and girls who are trafficked are vulnerable not only when they are recruited or coerced by traffickers but also as exposed and insecure immigrants in their destination countries. Discovery by state authorities can lead to rapid deportation yet the factors which 'pushed' women into the hands of traffickers remain untouched. The vulnerability of the women continues with some known to have been trafficked a second or subsequent times.[7]

    Focusing on war-torn Kosovo, the Toronto Star paints a very grim picture:

    Since Yugoslav forces pulled out of the province last June and turned it over to United Nations control, thousands of East European women have been lured over Kosovo’s unsettled borders to a life of violence, abuse, starvation and disease that police describe as subhuman.

    Behind the doors of dimly lit makeshift bars, women are forced to receive 10 to 20 clients a night on filthy backroom cots. Sometimes there are no toilets or running water.

    The criminals, who operate across Europe, kidnapping, terrorizing and enslaving women, have become a small but particularly dangerous force in Kosovo’s burgeoning underworld. Those who have tried to liberate the women from the lucrative sex trade have been threatened with mob violence. It is believed some of the captives have been murdered trying to escape....

    “Kosovo is a great big marketplace,’’ says Barbara, an administrator with one of the organizations that help shelter the women on their way back to their home countries, placing them in secret, heavily guarded locations....

    And, she adds, the trade is shocking because it is not ordinary prostitution. The women are not voluntary sex workers, and they are abused and degraded in a life of daily terror. “The stories we hear are so horrible, I have to stop listening,’’ she says. “It’s hard to believe that human beings could be used in such an appalling way in Europe in this century.’’...

    In the past six months, police have rescued only 50 women, taking them to halfway houses in Kosovo for treatment and preparation for return home....

    “Some of the women have begged the humanitarian workers to help them, and they’re just ignored,’’ says Barbara....

    The main country of supply for Kosovo’s sex slaves, police and aid workers say, is the former Soviet republic of Moldova, bordering impoverished Romania. But many others are from Romania itself, as well as Ukraine and Bulgaria.

    “More than 174,000 are estimated trafficked each year from the former Soviet Union and East Europe,’’ it said. “Most are under 25, but a lot of them are aged 12 to 18.’’ Ironically, some of the victims began their nightmarish odyssey by spending their life savings on phony visas to escape their near-bankrupt countries.

    Others were tricked into signing up for what they thought would be “respectable’’ jobs as waitresses or dancers in rich western countries, handing over their documents to racketeers who later sold the women to human traffickers for sums ranging from the equivalent of $500 to $20,000.

    According to those who have helped the rescued women, a typical life of sexual slavery begins in a sleazy hotel room in an East European city, where the new recruits are “indoctrinated’’ by multiple rapes. Women who already earned a scant living from prostitution discover that their wages are now owned by their new masters.

    Captured by what appears to be a well-developed criminal network, the women are moved through several countries in the region, traded off each time to men who bid thousands of dollars or deutsch marks for them. Many end up in Macedonia, whose borders with Kosovo are patrolled by international forces, and which has a large ethnic Albanian population. Once they reach Kosovo, the enslaved women hit rock bottom. Police who have raided bars in Pristina say that some of the women have been forced to live in cellars “not fit for a dog to inhabit.’’

    The owner of one bar named Toto’s, which was closed by international police, locked them into a squalid unheated basement without running water, toilets, or beds to sleep in. Some of the trapped women tried to commit suicide. Others were penned in an attic. All were kept under lock and key, and women who tried to escape said they were beaten. In addition to working as prostitutes, some of the women were forced to provide bar “entertainment’’ by dancing naked for the clients.

    Many of these women will never be rescued.

    Aid workers fear they will eventually die violently, or from inevitable disease. Few clients worry about protection against sexually transmitted disease, and the women are in no position to protect themselves. The women we see have every kind of physical and mental illness you would expect in that life, says Barbara.

    None of the captive women will realize her dream of rising from abject poverty. And only a few will be able to leave their captors, even after they have worked out the “debts’’ incurred by their sale. “The best they can hope for is to get out with their lives,’’ says Barbara. “We don’t even know how many have already died.’’[8]



    NEEDS STATEMENT


    Children of the Underground will assist children and young women who are victims of sexual trafficking, primarily from Russia and Eastern/Central Europe. The organization will provide an alternative to victims who otherwise might have no choice but to be incarcerated in an immigration facility, then deported (thus doubling their pain and suffering).

    Ms Limanowska said it was time that greater emphasis was put on the human rights of the victims, rather than focusing attention on the phenomenon as a security or migration issue.

    “It’s vital that they stay and testify against their exploiters rather than simply being sent back to their country of origin.”[9]

    As the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service stated in a report drafted by the Central Intelligence Agency; and as Hana Snajdrová of the Czech Republic National Police told this author (to cite just one example), additional safehouses are needed to assuage the growing problem.[10]

    Children of the Underground, a facility to be located in Central/Western Europe, would take the form of a safehouse/medical/legal clinic to liaison with police and cooperating human rights agencies. The facility will be low-profile, for safety reasons. In this respect, it would operate just like any battered womens’ shelter, with extra emphasis placed on safety due to the highly vulnerable nature of its victims. While organizations such as La Strada, Unicef (United Nations Children’s Fund), OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) and others work to raise public awareness of the problem of human trafficking, Children of the Underground will work in the background, rescuing and sheltering the victims themselves.


    PROGRAM OBJECTIVES




    BUDGET AND TIMETABLE


    Total proposed budget: $353,500

    1. Safehouse and Equipment Purchase: $128,500


    2. Yearly Operating Expenses: $75,000


    Operating Period: The initial grant will cover start-up and operating costs for a minimum of 3 years, after which additional funding will be obtained through typical fundraising means such as government grants, individual donations, and private foundations.

    Resources: Supplies and services such as food, medicine, office equipment, doctor visits, psychological counseling, and legal services will be sought on a donatable, pro-bono, or sliding-scale basis where possible.


    STAFF


    In addition to the founder, who will act as administrator, field investigator and operational manager, a full-time nurse trained in trauma/rape with administrative capabilities will be hired; and a full-time security guard will be secured.

    Volunteers in the form of doctors, nurses, therapists, lawyers and others interested in careers in relief work will be secured, including college interns who can obtain class credits for their time.

    Founder’s qualifications: Professional background in investigative journalism (criminal investigations); Charitable background in Youth Counseling (Covenant House/Under 21) and Rape Prevention (Oklahoma Department of Health, Rape Prevention Program Coordinator); Training in elder and disability care. Experience setting up community not-for-profit newspaper.


    PROGRAM EVALUATION


    Success of the program will be measured by the ability to fulfill the agreements set forth in the grant proposal. Meeting each objective as well as submitting the necessary financial statements and progress reports throughout the grant period will provide both the grant recipient and the funding partners opportunities to assess the accomplishments and improvement areas within the program.

    The specified areas to be evaluated are:

    1. Number of victims rescued and sheltered.
    2. Number of victims healed and rehabilitated.
    3. Number of victims repatriated/reintegrated.
    4. Number of brothels shut down and prosecuted.

    Tracking progress of the program will be conducted by our own administrators, cooperating agencies and grant makers. The information gathered from the evaluative process will be presented in written form to the funding partners. It is the ultimate goal that all involved agree on the program benefits, and will provide support for expanded services in the future to further assist Children of the Underground, so that, ultimately, in the future, there will be less need for such organizations.


    FUTURE FUNDING


    Once Children of the Underground is established, and the efficiency of Public-Private partnerships is demonstrated, funding will come from government agencies seeking to expand services in this area. (This would include the EU Commission’s DAPHNE, STOP and PHARE programs, the U.S. Embassy, and direct support from local governments.) Direct mail fund-raising campaigns may also be utilized, and donations from private foundations and individuals will continuously be sought.

    This concludes the proposal. Thank you for your consideration.


    Sincerely,

    David Hoffman
    Founder, Children of the Underground



    ADDENDUM

    David Hoffman
    1746 N. Cherokee Ave, #4-I
    Hollywood, CA 90028 USA
    (323) 462-2407 (phone & fax)
    www.beachnet.com/~hoffman
    hafreepr@vel.net

    Work History

    For a good visual overview of my career and abilities see: www.beachnet.com/~hoffman

    Current book projects: Murdergate! The Presidency, the U.S. Government and the Politics of Murder; [and] Deadly Deceit: Bush, Bin Laden and the Bomb.

    Author of Chef's Apprentice: My Journey Through Hell's Kitchens, America House, 2002.

    Author of The Oklahoma City Bombing and the Politics of Terror, (Feral House, 1998), 24 good reviews, including Gannett Newspapers, Booklist, Independent Publisher, New York Press Books & Publishing, Steamshovel Press, and others. Cited as best book on the case by many, including famous author, political commentator and critic Gore Vidal in Vanity Fair, September, 2001.

    Investigative Reporter, Americans for Responsible Media. Investigated the Oklahoma City bombing for non-profit government watchdog group, Oklahoma City, 1996-2000.

    Editor & Publisher, Haight Ashbury Free Press, San Francisco, CA, 1994-1996. Founded 36-page, 20,000 circulation city-wide alternative and on-line newspaper featuring news, art & entertainment, and original color graphics. Responsible for production, design and layout, developing and writing investigative news and feature stories. Organized and supervised approximately 50 writers and artists.

    Freelance Photojournalist, San Francisco & New York City, 1985-1991.

    Head Photographer, Daily Record Newspaper, Baltimore, MD, 1983-1985.

    Staff Photographer, Towson Times & Messenger newspapers, Baltimore, MD, 1981-1983.

    Staff Photographer, Jewish Times magazine, Baltimore, MD, 1981-1983.

    Training & Skills

    Investigative Journalism. Creative writing and editing. Computer-assisted reporting. Experienced with Freedom of Information Act and FOIA lawsuits.

    Desktop publishing using Macintosh computers. Microsoft Word, Pagemaker, Quark, Photoshop, Typestyler, etc. Ability to do elaborate, complicated layouts using all types of graphics. Obviously, ability to shoot (photograph) and retouch pictures as well for incorporation into publication. Qualified proofreader. Knowledge of HTML code.

    Advertising, Corporate and Fashion photographer in New York City. Highly skilled in the use of strobe, mixed-lighting, color applications, coordinating large productions, photographing annual reports and people for corporations and institutions.

    Publications, Freelance

    Forbes, Media Bypass, Globe, U.S. News & World Report.

    Broadcasting

    Hosted American Freedom Radio Network (KHNC, Denver), March to May, 1997.

    Teaching

    University of Oklahoma, guest lecturer, Broadcast Journalism, Spring, 1998.

    The Oklahoma City Bombing and the Politics of Terror used as course material for Communications class, University of Iowa, Fall, 1998.

    Special Recognition

    Four-page biography published in Nikon World magazine, Spring, 1991.

    Haight Ashbury Free Press web site featured in Editor & Publisher magazine, March, 1996 as their very first “Cool Site of the Month.”

    Special appearance on ABC-TV, NBC-TV News, CBS-TV News, BBC World News (TV), Associated Press Radio, and numerous other radio shows to discuss the Oklahoma City bombing. Articles about my investigation have appeared in approximately 75 major newspapers and magazines, including the Washington Post, Washington Times, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Boston Globe, Baltimore Sun, Chicago Tribune, Village Voice, Salon, Dallas Morning News, USA Today, CNN, FOX and many others.

    Famous Poets Society Poet of the Year, 2002.

    Community Involvement

    Youth Counselor, Covenant House/Under 21, New York City, 1991.

    Total Life Counseling (Oklahoma State Department of Health), Rape Prevention Program Coordinator/Counselor, 1999.

    Hobbies

    Electric bass, cooking, motorcycling, Tae Kwon Do.

    Portfolio & Clips

    Available for review.

    References

    Attached.





    November 5, 2002


    James M Rothstein

    Retired Detective New York City Police Department
    P.O. Box 217
    St. Martin, Mn 56376
    Tel. # 320-548-3647


    To Whom it May Concern,


    My background is that I am a retired Detective Shield # 3257, of the New York City Police Department. I worked Vice and related matters. Much of my work involved male and female prostitution, pedophilia, pornography, etc. I have testified as an expert on many occassions.


    I worked with David Hoffman during our investigation of the Oklahoma City bombing, and other criminally related matters. I have known David for the past six years, and can attest to his dedication, truthfulness, and trustworthiness. He is willing to investigate dangerous cases that most journalists wouldn't touch, and is not afraid of anything. I believe he is the type of person who would make a sacrifice to protect someone, and think he would be a great person to investigate trafficking and help those who have been abused. I am aware that he has done some work such as this in the past.


    Sincerely,

    James Rothstein




    [*] Around 2 million juveniles worldwide fall victim to people-smugglers every year.
    [†] For example, last year 250 girls managed to escape from their exploiters and seek assistance from the Italian state.
    [1]. “6,000 children smuggled to the west each year for sex,” Guardian Newspapers, 7/12/02.
    [2]. Source: UNDP Human Development Report 2000.
    [3]. Source: Human Rights Watch.
    [4]. The European Union's Report on Gender Equality 1996-2000.
    [5]. IOM website.
    [6]. The Observer on Sunday, 11/12/02.
    [7]. Anti-Trafficking Programme website.
    [8]. Olivia Ward, “Post-war Kosovo the latest hotspot for sexual slavery,” Toronto Star European Bureau, 5/7/00.
    [9]. Guardian Op. Cit.
    [10]. Amy O’Neill Richard, “DCI Exceptional Intelligence Analyst Program An Intelligence Monograph International Trafficking in Women to the United States: A Contemporary Manifestation of Slavery and Organized Crime,” prepared for the Central Intelligence Agency, November, 1999; Hana Snajdrová, e-mail to author.