NCVA eREPORTER
- July 5, 2005
In this NCVA eReporter:
EVENTS
EVENTS
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
JOBS/INTERNSHIPS
TIPS/RESOURCES
NEWS
******************
EVENTS
ATTEND THE CAREER OPPORTUNITY SEMINAR
AND MAKE AN INFORMED DECISION
Job * Benefits * Income
The New York Life Insurance Company Training Allowance Subsidy
Plan can add up to $50,820 (maximum for 3 contract years) which
will help you start your career with confidence.
New York Life cordially invites you to a Career Opportunity
Seminar to help you find out more information about the above
opportunity.
The seminar will be held on:
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
6:00 pm - 8:30 pm
at: Doubletree Hotel Anaheim/Orange County
100 The City Drive
Orange, CA 92868
714-634-4500
Seats are limited. Please call 1-877-NYL-VIET (1-877-695-8438)
to reserve your seat.
Your guests are also welcomed.
(http://www.ncvaonline.org/images/NCVAReporter/NYLIC_RecruitingSeminar_SoCA_072705.pdf)
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FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
CRF OFFERS $500
MINI-GRANTS FOR SERVICE-LEARNING PROJECTS
The Constitutional Rights Foundation, through the The Maurice R.
Robinson Fund of New York City, is offering mini-grants of up to
$500 for K-12 service-learning projects that address serious
community issues. The students’ projects should tackle broad
social needs, like poverty, hunger, the environment, mentoring
children and youth, aging, and/or crime and safety issues.
Students will develop problem-solving skills while learning
about citizenship through hand-on community involvement. More
information about the grants are available at:
http://www.crf-usa.org/network/crf_robin.html. Applications
are due October 14, 2005.
Constitutional Rights Foundation (CRF) is a non-profit,
non-partisan, community-based organization dedicated to
educating America's young people about the importance of civic
participation in a democratic society. CRF’s Robinson Mini-Grant
Program honors the late Maurice R. ("Robbie") Robinson, founder
of Scholastic, Inc., champion of innovative education, and
longtime supporter of effective citizenship education.
(http://www.crf-usa.org/network/crf_robin.html)
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WORLD SUMMIT YOUTH AWARD (EN) PARTICIPANTS SOUGHT
Young people from 16 to 27 years old interested in e-content,
portals and websites are invited to apply for the World Summit
Youth Award international competition. It is the first global
"Youth For Youth" initiative for selecting and promoting best
practice in e-content and technological creativity,
demonstrating young people's potential to create digital
opportunities. To find out how to participate, visit the WSYA
website, and select "The Categories" on the left hand side:
http://www.youthaward.org. Deadline for projects is August
31, 2005.
(http://www.youthaward.org)
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EVALUATION GRANTS FOR INNOVATIVE YOUTH PROGRAMS
Ruddie Memorial Youth Foundation
The Ruddie Memorial Youth Foundation aims to identify and
disseminate innovative and effective practices for helping
underprivileged youth reach their full potential. The Foundation
helps assess the effectiveness of innovative youth programs by
offering Evaluation Grants. These grants are targeted to
innovative programs or innovative components of programs that
provide youth with new opportunities for health, personal growth
and success. Grants range from $5,000 to $20,000 and are
targeted to small or medium nonprofit organizations with budgets
of less than $5,000,000. (The Foundation also offers Replication
Grants and Dissemination Grants for previous grantees.) Grant
applications must be submitted online at the website listed
above by August 1, 2005.
(http://www.rmyf.org/)
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FUNDS FOR
ENHANCING PHYSICAL HEALTH
BALANCE BAR Community Grants
BALANCE BAR Community Grants support nonprofit organizations
that offer programs that enhance people’s physical health while
they pursue a passion that enriches their lives. Grants are
available to nonprofit organizations such as road runners clubs,
trails conferences, parks and recreation departments, athletics
programs and leagues, youth organizations, etc. Eligible
requests include support for equipment, training, education
programs, and events.
Organizations can apply for a grant ranging from a minimum of
$1,000 to a maximum of $25,000. The application deadline is
August 31, 2005.
(http://www.balance.com/)
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FUNDS
FOR EDUCATION, HEALTH
AND ENVIRONMENT
Tellabs Foundation
The Tellabs Foundation focuses its grantmaking in areas of
special interest to the company in furtherance of its mission to
be a "leader in providing innovative solutions to the
telecommunications industry worldwide.” The Foundation supports
education programs with emphasis on local and national programs
and curricula for engineering, science, mathematics and
technology. The Foundation also supports projects involving
health and wellness-related research, education and treatment in
the United States. In the environmental field, grants are made
primarily to institutions which effectively allocate funds to
local and national environmental protection/improvement
programs. Priority is given to organizations where Tellabs has
an employee population. Letters of inquiry may be submitted at
any time.
(http://www.tellabs.com/about/foundation.shtml)
******************
LITERACY
AND TECHNOLOGY ISSUES ADDRESSED
Verizon Foundation
The Verizon Foundation supports nonprofit organizations that
benefit the communities that the company serves within the U.S.
The Foundation concentrates its grantmaking in the following
priority funding areas: Verizon Reads supports a wide variety of
programs to reach illiterate adults and children across America.
Verizon Connects helps local and national nonprofit
organizations enhance their management capabilities through
technology grants, best-in-class training partners, and on-line
resources. Verizon Wireless HopeLine supports local and national
domestic violence prevention organizations. The Foundation
accepts proposals through its online application process from
January 1st through November 30th, annually. For more
information on each of the priority areas, or to check for RFPs
targeting specific issues and geographic locations, visit the
website listed above.
(http://foundation.verizon.com)
******************
FOCUS ON
SOCIAL
AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE
Unitarian Universalist Funding Program: Fund for a Just Society
The Fund for a Just Society, a program of the Unitarian
Universalist Association, makes grants to nonprofit
organizations in the U.S. and Canada that address issues of
social and economic justice. Priority is given to groups of
people organizing to create change in the economic, social, and
political structures that affect their lives. Projects are
welcome that are less likely to receive conventional funding
because of the innovative or challenging nature of the work or
the economic and social status of the constituency. The 2005
fall application deadline is September 15.
(http://www.uua.org/uufp/funds/fjs.html)
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CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING AMERICAN HISTORY
AND CIVICS INITIATIVE
The American History and Civics Initiative of the Corporation
for Public Broadcasting will award $20 million in grants to
forge unique and sustainable partnerships between public
television producers and broadcast outlets, the educational
community, curriculum developers, the high tech industry and
other appropriate partners, to design, test and create
integrated interactive multimedia platforms that improve
learning. The application deadline is September 8, 2005.
(http://www.cpb.org/grants/historyandcivics/cpb_historyandcivics_rfp.pdf)
******************
JOBS/INTERNSHIPS
TACL ACCEPTING ASPIRING INTERNS FOR ITS EXCLUSIVE ENTERTAINMENT
INTERNSHIP PROGRAM
Taiwanese Americans Citizens League is proud to announce the
return of its Entertainment Internship (EI). Sponsored by
TACL's Orange County chapter, the EI is a national initiative
which seeks to place aspiring Taiwanese American students and
professionals into the film and television industry and impact
the intersection of Taiwanese Americans in the media.
"TACL is committed to producing the highest quality, innovative
programs for the advancement of the quality of life and
participation in greater society amongst Taiwanese Americans,"
says TACL National President, Victoria Tseng. "The EI program
is a forum wherein young activists can explore and foster
Taiwanese identity in a meaningful and impacting way that has
long standing effects in the mainstream community and can lead
to career choices not often promoted in the Taiwanese American
community."
The EI will give accepted candidates who express an interest in
the fields of entertainment and media exposure to various roles
in production offices and on-set locations. The EI program will
last 5 weeks from July 18 through August 21, culminating with
the creation of an original video to be presented at the EI
closing ceremony.
"There's no doubt that the media age plays an important part in
our lives," said Howard Jonathan Hong, EI Director. "My hope is
to create a program where Taiwanese Americans can participate
and empower themselves in a positive manner. Interns will have
a first hand experience in the various aspects of how the cycle
of a production begins. By rotating them in the casting
process, production office and finally the location shoots,
interns will see how projects are conceived and brought to their
final implementation. In addition, I hope this gives our youths
the opportunity to pursue non-traditional career paths."
The TACL-EI program will accept 5 interns this summer and
provide on-the-spot training. Interns will be placed in
rotations of casting, production and set location shoots. The
tentative lineup the interns will be working at will be
filmmakers Justin Lin, and Karen Lin, producers Reuben, and a
non-profit media organization, Visual Communications.
The guidelines and restrictions for all applicants are:
• You must be at least 18 years old, and a Taiwanese
American.
• You must have your own reliable transportation in and
around greater Los Angeles.
• You must be prepared to work long hours if necessary.
• You must have an interest in the entertainment industry.
Limited housing will be provided to candidates. While no
knowledge of film/tv production is necessary, any previous
background will be helpful.
Deadline to apply is July 10. Email:
howard.hong@tacl.org for an application or information.
(www.tacl.org)
******************
THE
LEGAL AID SOCIETY – EMPLOYMENT LAW CENTER
Skadden Fellowship Sponsorship Announcement
The Legal Aid Society - Employment Law Center is pleased to
invite applications for sponsorship of a Skadden Fellow for the
two-year period beginning in September 2006. The two year
fellowship offers a recent law graduate the opportunity to
obtain training in litigation as well as many other aspects of a
public interest practice. The Skadden Fellowship Foundation
awards approximately 25 fellowships per year to graduating law
students and outgoing judicial clerks. Skadden Fellows develop
projects that provide legal services to the poor, elderly,
homeless and disabled, and others who are deprived of human or
civil rights.
For the purposes of this announcement, the LAS-ELC seeks an
applicant to work with our National Origin, Immigration, and
Language Rights Program to craft a project proposal targeting
the needs of national origin minority employees, particularly
including immigrant workers and/or those who are subjected to
discrimination because their primary language is one other than
English.
The LAS-ELC seeks to protect and expand the rights of low income
workers, utilizing an array of strategies including impact
litigation, direct services, legislative advocacy, and policy
work. Our docket covers a wide range of law reform and impact
cases in the areas of discrimination on the basis of race,
gender, disability, national origin and citizenship, and our
direct services program provides advice, counsel and limited
representation to hundreds of workers each year on a broad range
of legal issues affecting California workers. Interested
individuals can find more information about LAS-ELC programs and
projects on our website,
www.las-elc.org.
Candidates will be evaluated on the basis of the following:
* Demonstrated commitment to the rights of poor and
working people.
* Established knowledge of and interest in employment,
labor and/or civil rights law.
* Excellent communications skills; strong academic
performance; excellent legal research skills.
* The ability to work independently and cordially with
others.
* Spoken proficiency in Spanish, East Asian, or South
Asian language strongly preferred.
* Membership in the California Bar preferred.
The LAS-ELC will accept applications through Monday, July 25,
2005. Please prepare a detailed cover letter describing your
interest in the organization and the Fellowship. If you have a
project idea falling within the work of the National Origin,
Immigration, and Language Rights Program that interests you,
please describe it in your letter. Send it along with your
résumé, transcript, a list of three references, and a writing
sample to:
Skadden Fellowship Committee
The Legal Aid Society - Employment Law Center
600 Harrison Street, Suite 120
San Francisco, CA 94107
Fax: 415 864-8199
Email:
ctodd@las-elc.org
The Legal Aid Society-Employment Law center is an equal
employment opportunity employer and will not discriminate on the
basis of race, color, religious creed, sex (including
pregnancy), gender, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age,
medical condition including genetic characteristics, mental or
physical disability, veteran status, marital status, sexual
orientation, gender identity (including transgender status),
weight, height, linguistic characteristics (such as accent and
limited English proficiency, where not substantially
job-related), citizenship status, or any other basis prohibited
by law. LAS-ELC also prohibits discrimination based on a
perception that an individual has any of the characteristics of
the protected classes of race, color, religious creed, national
origin, ancestry, sex, age, mental disability, physical
disability, medical condition, marital status, or sexual
orientation, and further prohibits discrimination against an
individual who is associated with a person who has, or is
perceived to have, any of those characteristics. The LAS-ELC
will also make reasonable accommodation for disabled applicants
and employees, unless such accommodation would result in undue
hardship. Applicants with disabilities may request
accommodations by contacting the Vice President for
Administration or her designee. This policy applies to all
aspects of employment, including recruitment, selection,
advancement, compensation, training, discipline, and
termination.
(www.las-elc.org)
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Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center (APALRC)
Position Announcement for AmeriCorps*VISTA Development Assistant
ORGANIZATION BACKGROUND
Founded in 1998, the APALRC is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit
organization dedicated to advancing the legal and civil rights
of Asian Americans in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan
community through direct services, education, and advocacy.
Through its innovative programs and strategic partnerships, the
APALRC's main goals are two-fold: (1) to address the individual
legal needs of low-income and limited-English proficient Asian
Americans, and (2) to advocate for broad-based systemic change
on civil rights issues impacting Asian Americans.
Through a partnership with Korean Churches for Community
Development, the APALRC seeks the placement of one AmeriCorps*VISTA
Member to serve as full-time Development Assistant for 12
months. Individuals with prior experience and proven results in
grant writing, special events planning, project management,
public relations, and funding research are especially encouraged
to apply. The Development Assistant will work under the
supervision of the APALRC\'s Development Associate.
JOB RESPONSIBILITIES
* Write grant proposals specific to the APALRC\'s major
programs, including domestic violence, workers' rights, language
access, and legal outreach to senior citizens;
* Conduct funding and census research, and manage donor
database;
* Develop grant proposal templates for each of our major
program areas and prepare funding reports;
* Work closely with Board Fundraising Committee,
Executive Director, and Development Associate in developing and
implementing fundraising plan related to individual solicitation
campaigns and fundraising events;
* Develop and disseminate public relations materials;
and
* Provide office administrative support as needed.
QUALIFICATIONS
Undergraduate degree or equivalent experience in fundraising,
grant writing, or nonprofit management required. The successful
candidate must be motivated and enthusiastic about meeting
organization\'s fundraising goals; extremely detail-oriented
with good organizational, research and writing skills; and
possess strong interpersonal communication skills to work
independently and as a team player. The successful candidate
must also demonstrate an understanding of and interest in the
Asian American community and/or immigrant issues. Excellent
Microsoft Office skills including Word, Excel, Access, and
Publisher required.
BENEFITS
The AmeriCorps*VISTA Member will receive a modest living
allowance while serving, health insurance, education award of
$4,725 or $1,200 post-service stipend, relocation expenses, and
travel reimbursement. The APALRC will provide skills training,
opportunities to build resume and work portfolio, career
guidance at the end of service, and mentorship throughout the
year of service.
TO APPLY
Interested applications should e-mail a cover letter, resume,
and the AmeriCorps*VISTA application (can be located on the
AmeriCorps recruiting web site at
https://recruit.cns.gov) to Pauline Poh at
pauline.poh@apalrc.org.
Materials can also be mailed to APALRC, 733 15th Street, N.W.,
Suite 315, Washington, D.C. 20005.
The APALRC is an equal opportunity organization. To learn more
about the APALRC, please visit
www.apalrc.org.
(www.apalrc.org)
******************
TIPS/RESOURCES
ACCOUNTABILITY MATTERS: WITHOUT THE PUBLIC TRUST, NONPROFITS
WOULDN’T EXIST
By Liz Marenakos
The New Accountability
Accountability is about being answerable to those who have
invested their trust, faith, and money in you. Nonprofits must
be accountable to multiple stakeholders, including private and
institutional donors; local, state, and federal agencies;
volunteers; program recipients; and the public at large.
Everyone who works for a nonprofit, whether as a paid staff
member or a volunteer, has a role to play in ensuring the
organization is answerable to its constituents.
There are three components to accountability -- financial and
regulatory compliance, stewardship, and donor trust. To
establish accountability across an organization, every
department must both comply with nonprofit financial standards
and demonstrate to key stakeholders that it has put in place the
systems and oversight needed to manage funds. And when problems
arise, nonprofits need to acknowledge them, fix them, and move
on.
Establishing Accountability
There are steps that nonprofits can take to make their financial
processes more effective and their activities more transparent.
These steps, in actionable items, include:
* Establishing an audit committee
* Ensuring auditor communications with the board
* Defining organizational policies and monitoring compliance
* Reporting finances
* Establishing internal controls
* Providing for whistle blowers
* Public disclosure
Here is a brief look at each item.
An organization's audit committee -- made up of several board
members -- should be responsible for monitoring financial
reporting, internal controls, and business risks. In order to do
their jobs, committee members must understand finances and have
a working knowledge of the systems in place to track the
organization's finances. A key component of this process is
sound technology. For example, many nonprofits use both
accounting software and a basic spreadsheet to track finances.
Audit committee members need to understand how these systems are
integrated and be vigilant against the risk of duplicate data
entry, and even fraud.
Audit committees also need to hear directly from auditors -- and
not have the information filtered through the CEO, chief
financial officer, or other key staff members. Once an audit is
complete, the auditor should meet with the board to discuss the
findings, including an assessment of the organization's internal
controls. Nonprofit boards need to make sure that the
organization has written policies and procedures -- and that
they're being followed at all levels of the organization.
Technology can help track compliance, such as allowing a board
member or an auditor to trace invoices from receipt through
approval, posting, and payment. Technology can also reduce the
costs of monitoring, meaning more of the dollars donated to an
organization are used for program activities.
Nonprofit CEOs and CFOs should provide consistent, timely
reports to their boards. Types of reports include a balance
sheet, revenues and expenses, pledged receivables, cash flow,
and utilization. A good software system can make it easier for
organizations to quickly and easily customize reports.
Internal controls must be in place to provide assurances that a
nonprofit's transactions are properly authorized, recorded, and
reported, and that the organization's assets are safeguarded. As
part of this process, staff members need to know how to
configure their software systems to adapt to changing business
environments. Board members, meanwhile, need to understand the
system's built-in controls, and analyze the system to ensure
accountability and transparency.
Although whistle blowers have legal protections, it is also
important that nonprofits encourage people with concerns to come
forward. Nonprofit directors and officers should let staff
members, volunteers, and other stakeholders know how they can
raise concerns. If an organization listens to its whistle
blowers early on, it can save itself a lot of trouble in the
long run.
Finally, nonprofits must disclose financial and governance
information on a regular basis to both donors and the public at
large. An organization's annual report, its tax filing, and its
program activities should be accessible on the Web site,
available to be mailed out, and on hand in case someone walks
into the office and asks for this information. Timely,
consistent reporting to external stakeholders reinforces an
organization's accountability and promotes good stewardship.
Conclusion
The charitable sector is based on public trust. Every nonprofit
should have in place a governance structure, as well as strict
financial controls, in order to assure stakeholders that every
dollar invested in their organization is well spent. Nonprofits
should also put in place technology to help them to be
accountable and to communicate with donors about how their gifts
are being used to carry out the nonprofit's mission.
Equally important, stewardship requires that today's nonprofit
management invests assets wisely and reasonably for the long
term so that those charged with carrying out the mission in the
future have access to the same level of financial resources. In
the end, good stewardship implies that an organization is using
donated dollars wisely. A nonprofit that demonstrates such
accountability is responding to those who have invested their
trust, faith, and money in that organization.
Liz Marenakos is the product line manager for Blackbaud's
financial management and data analysis solutions. She has served
on the boards of several nonprofits, in roles ranging from
treasurer to vice president. She has also served as the
financial manager of a nonprofit organization, managing several
fundraising events and participating in capital campaigns.She
can be reached at
Liz.marenakos@blackbaud.com
******************
HUMAN
RESOURCES – YOUR PERSONNEL POLICY
The hiring and retention of the best people is a given for any
organization. Organizations express their desire to have a
workforce of bright, dedicated individuals, but many never
progress beyond that phase. In her book Human Resource Policies
and Procedures for Nonprofit Organizations, Carol L. Barbeito
maintained that the best practice for getting and keeping good
people begins with a human resource philosophy statement. This
specifically states the values and practices that guide the
development of the organization's human resource management
system.
The elements of the statement are:
* Policy. This should include a listing of the organization's
values, both outside and within. Also, it must include a rundown
of what is to be accomplished by the organization's personnel
policies.
* Recruiting. Identifies what qualities are to be sought in
prospective employees. If the organizations tries to promote
from within, this should be stated clearly. There should be a
policy supporting and encouraging professional development.
* Compensation. States what will be the criteria for setting
compensation and whether employees will be rewarded for
excellence in some way.
* Benefits. If benefits are an important part of the employees'
compensation, this fact should be made clear.
* Performance management and training. If there is a performance
management process, this should be stated, but measures may vary
based on the level or nature of the job.
* Communications. There should be a commitment to open and free
communication.
* Human resources program administration. It should be made
explicit if the organization will have policy guidelines and
what they are.
(http://www.nptimes.com/enews/tips/humanres.html)
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MARKETING – GETTING THE WORD OUT ABOUT YOU
Public relations can be an important part of any nonprofit's
work. It is one thing to have a noble mission and plenty of
vigor. It is another to enlist support in either the local
community or the donor world.
In his book The Public Relations Handbook for Nonprofits, Art
Feinglass writes that the first part of public relations is
having a plan, and he offers eight steps to create a PR plan.
* Know your audience. Be clear about who you want to reach.
Learn about them.
* Know the results you want. What do you want your audience to
do?
* Develop a clear message. Know what you want to communicate to
your target audience in order to achieve the desired results.
Develop key message points.
* Choose the appropriate media. Different media reach different
audiences.
* Target specific individuals within each media outlet. Find out
which reporters cover the area that includes you (geographically
or topically) and cultivate them.
* Develop the tools to reach out to the media and the
individuals you have targeted.
* Develop a plan for using your outreach tools.
* Review, re-evaluate and refine the planning process as
necessary, for maximum results. Set concrete goals and
objectives. To gauge your level of success, you must be able to
measure results.
(http://www.nptimes.com/enews/tips/marketing.html)
******************
VOLUNTEERING VALUES: CONSIDERING WHY YOU ENGAGE THEM
By Susan J. Ellis
One of the hallmarks of a profession is the articulation of
ethical principles based on shared values. When volunteer
resource managers spend time considering the values of
volunteerism, it becomes clear that we are discussing issues
that are fundamental to democracy and are based on our view of
the rights, obligations, and choices of every citizen.
The following is a "starter set" of some volunteerism-specific
values that have evolved from a number of peer discussions on
several continents. There is some evidence that these are
universally held, regardless of the type of volunteering done,
the setting in which it is done, or the country in which it
occurs. Unfortunately, few organizations spend time considering
why they engage volunteers, beyond lack of funds.
1. Voluntary participation is vital to making communities
work.
When Lincoln said our government was "of the people, by the
people, and for the people," he meant it. Though our population
centers have long ago lost the hands-on immediacy of 18th
century town meetings, and many citizens have become cynical of
the political process, it remains true that anyone can make a
difference -- or at least make the attempt -- providing a
willingness to do the hard work involved.
Activists mobilize their neighbors to protest, march, and lobby
for causes as local as the placement of a stop sign or as global
as world hunger. For the even more political-minded, getting on
the ballot as a candidate for office, particularly at the local
level, requires little more than a few signatures (winning,
however, takes organization and money, both of which need
volunteer involvement, too). The best places to live still hold
neighborliness as a functioning concept, from doing errands for
someone who's ill to picking up litter.
2. Equal respect is due to work that is volunteered and work
that is paid.
Despite our society's preoccupation with the status that money
can buy, there is nothing inherent in a salary that elevates an
employee's work above that of a volunteer. Indeed, every skill
in the world is offered for free somewhere, sometime. Payment
does not make an activity legitimate nor effective.
In the same vein, contributing service without pay does not
endow the activity with any aura that lifts volunteers above
employees.
3. Volunteer involvement balances three perspectives and sets
of rights: those of the client/recipient; those of the
volunteer; and those of the agency and its paid staff.
The mission of the organization is the vision to which both paid
and unpaid staff must commit, and is also the goal of the
organization's clients/consumers. Despite this circle of mutual
interests, each stakeholder can be -- and often is -- affected
differently by the organization's policies and practices. So
when decisions must be made, it's important to consider all the
points of view. If volunteers are to be involved in implementing
a decision, their perspective must be actively championed.
Too often, however, volunteers are overlooked. Just examine how
many nonprofit mergers have occurred in recent years in which no
one considered the opinions or feelings of existing loyal
volunteers, despite significant impact on the work contributed
by those volunteers before and after such major changes.
It's important to note that the client is the priority
stakeholder. Neither volunteers nor employees have a greater
interest in the decisions made than those who benefit from the
services of the organization.
4. Ideally, volunteering is an exchange, in which both the
recipient of services and the giver benefit.
The old concept of noblesse oblige, whereby the rich who have so
much, give to the poor who have so little, may be positive in
its outcome but terribly outdated in its approach. It reflects
paternalistic "charity" and is definitely a one-way donation,
often based on the belief that the recipient has nothing to
offer in return.
Volunteers will often speak of how much they get from
volunteering: friendship, fulfillment, skill development, new
perspectives, and many other benefits both tangible and
intangible. This makes volunteering an exchange, a positive
two-way activity in which the direct recipient of services
provides value back. Satisfied volunteers do more enthusiastic
work, so the recipients get the greatest help, and the exchange
grows.
5. Volunteering is an equalizer.
When an employee provides services to a client, both recognize
they each fulfill a role with definite status and rules.
Paradoxically, a salary both elevates the worker into a position
of authority (someone who can give or withhold service) and also
lowers the worker into the position of a servant (someone
required to follow the organization's rules regardless of
personal preference). To clients, the perception is much the
same: they are the "job" of the paid worker.
Volunteers are different precisely because they are unpaid. From
the perception of the client, a nurse has to be nice to someone
with AIDS, while a volunteer chooses to be so; a babysitter is
paid to take a child to the movies, while a Big Brother or
Sister wants to be a friend. The relationship is one of equals.
Further, volunteering can be done by anyone, regardless of
financial status, and so permits generosity by everyone. It is
also true that at times in our lives we all find ourselves in a
position to help others and at other times we become those who
need help. Such mutuality is basic to volunteering.
Finally, volunteering allows someone to contribute to the level
of their ability which, depending on the role, may have nothing
to do with formal credentials. While planting trees in the park,
it doesn't matter whether the volunteer is the bank president or
its custodian, both are equal volunteers for the cause.
6. Volunteers have the right to be mavericks.
One of the remarkable things about volunteering is the freedom
it offers, particularly to those who see things differently.
When one accepts a salary, it means accepting the rules, the
schedule, and the public front of the organization. Volunteers
are independent agents with fewer consequences to "outside the
rules" action. If someone is volunteering formally with an
organization and commits to the requirements, then the person
absolutely ought to abide them or leave.
But nothing says that a volunteer has to join an organization or
always represent it officially. Working independently, or with a
few like-minded people, private citizens can do almost anything:
lobby legislators, write letters to the editor, cross state and
national boundaries to meet with others, and other actions that
have personal, not organizational, consequences.
7. Volunteering is a strategy for getting things done.
Volunteering itself is not always "good" nor on the side of
"right." It's possible to be passionate about a cause and also
be wrong. For that matter, there may be several right sides to
any issue. Both pro and anti forces mobilize their followers in
similar ways: protests, voter turnout drives, public education
campaigns. It's quite amazing to see the diversity of groups who
march on Washington in any given year.
8. Volunteering is, however, a political act.
Volunteers put their bodies where their beliefs are. Some people
may feel compelled to work at paying jobs with employers they do
not like or even do not trust. A person who does not support or
no longer supports an organization or cause will stop
volunteering for it. Even for volunteers who do not articulate a
political agenda, the collective choice to give time on behalf
of a cause demonstrates visible community approval, whether
representing the majority or minority opinion.
Perhaps this column will spark some discussion in your
organization and lead to both personal and organizational values
clarification. What do you believe about volunteering?
Susan J. Ellis is president of Energize, a Philadelphia-based
training, publishing and consulting firm specializing in
volunteerism. She can be reached via email at
susan@energizeinc.com. Her Web site is
www.energizeinc.com
(http://www.nptimes.com/enews/Jun05/news/news-0605_4.html)
******************
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
WEB-BASED TRAINING RESOURCES
WHO: Faith-based and community organizations interested
in receiving training and technical assistance.
WHAT: The U.S. Department of Labor's Center for
Faith-Based and Community Initiatives has made available
web-based video workshops that provide training on how to apply
for Department of Labor funding, manage grants, and look for
private funding. These resources can be accessed on the
Center's website at
http://www.dol.gov/cfbci.
CONTACT INFORMATION: Visit the Department of Labor's
CFBCI website,
http://www.dol.gov/cfbci, to access the web-based resources.
(http://www.dol.gov/cfbci/online_training_explanatory.htm)
******************
NEWS
For Immediate Release
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Contact: Karen Willard
301-587-2781 /
Karen.Willard@navasa.org
NAVASA SELECTS
TEN YOUTH FOR 2005 COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP RECOGNITION
Washington D.C. – The National Alliance of Vietnamese American
Service Agencies (NAVASA) announces the recipients of its
prestigious 2005 National Young Community Leaders Recognition (NYCLR)
award. Now in its third year, the NYCLR award recognizes
emerging community leaders who dedicate themselves to community
service. The NYCLR award promotes community volunteerism among
young Vietnamese Americans and empowers the next generation of
leaders through training, encouragement, and opportunities to
network.
The NYCLR is an annual and well-sought award of recognition
which NAVASA dedicates to young Vietnamese American leaders who
have strongly demonstrated true commitment and passion for
building Vietnamese American communities across the United
States. The recipients of the 2005 NYCLR will be invited to
attend NAVASA’s National Conference, to be held July 15 and 16,
for training and will be formally acknowledged at the
Recognition Banquet that follows the conference.
The ten young leaders to be honored with the 2005 NYCLR are as
follows:
* Ms. Huong Huynh (Virginia)
* Ms. Yen Le (Maryland)
* Ms. Kim Nguyen (Texas)
* Ms. Mila Nguyen (Pennsylvania)
* Ms. Thu-Thao Nguyen (Massachusetts)
* Ms. Tram-Anh Nguyen (Washington State)
* Mr. Thanh Pham (California)
* Ms. Quang Tran (Massachusetts)
* Mr. Peter VanDo (Massachusetts)
* Mr. Khoi Vo (Florida)
NAVASA’s Chairwoman, Ms. Vee Phan Nelson, acknowledges the
importance of the NYCLR. “We have begun raising funds to ensure
that young Vietnamese Americans have opportunities for
leadership in our society, and to secure the well-being of
NAVASA itself. I am glad that we invest in our young leaders,
through such programs as the NYCLR, so that they may carry our
work into the next generation. Together, with your support, we
can make it happen.”
The ten young recipients of the NYCLR join with honorees
previously selected to be recognized at the 2005 banquet,
including Dr. Nguyen Dinh Thang, community service honoree; Ms.
Khuc Minh Tho, humanitarian honoree; and Mr. Shep Lowman and Mr.
Lionel Rosenblatt, lifetime service honorees. In addition,
NAVASA will for the first time recognize organizations that have
been models of community service, including the Vietnamese
Social Services of Minnesota, Most Valuable Member, and the
International Children Assistance Network, Award of Excellence.
The Recognition Banquet will take place on Saturday, July 16, at
the Hilton McLean Tyson’s Corner, Virginia. The Conference will
be held at the same location on Friday, July 15, and until noon
on Saturday, July 16. For more information on this year’s NYCLR
recipients, Recognition Banquet, and National Conference, please
visit NAVASA’s website at
www.navasa.org.
(www.navasa.org)
******************
June 27, 2005
ASIAN
AND AMERICAN LEADERSHIP STYLES: HOW ARE THEY UNIQUE?
by D. Quinn Mills
Editor's note: Political connections and family control are
more common in Asian businesses than in the United States. In
addition, says HBS professor D. Quinn Mills, American CEOs tend
to use one of five leadership styles: directive, participative,
empowering, charismatic, or celebrity. Which styles have Asian
business leaders adopted already, and which styles are likely to
be most successful in the future?
In a talk in Kuala Lumpur on June 15 at the invitation of The
Star/BizWeek publication and the Harvard Club of Malaysia, Mills
explained the differences and similarities between American and
Asian leadership. Below is the transcript of his talk,
"Leadership Styles in the United States: How Different are They
from Asia?"
The rapid economic development of Asia in recent decades is one
of the most important events in history. This development
continues today and there is every reason to anticipate that it
will continue indefinitely unless derailed by possible but
unlikely international conflicts. At the core of Asian economic
development is its business leadership—managers and
entrepreneurs who sustain and create Asian companies. Do they
exhibit the same leadership styles as top executives in the
West?
There are important differences. Are differences attributable to
different cultures or to different stages of corporate
development?
But first, what are we talking about?
Roles in organizations involve more than just leadership. It is
useful, but not yet common in our literature and discussion of
business, to distinguish among leadership, management, and
administration. They are in fact very different; each is
valuable and has its place. Briefly, leadership is about a
vision of the future and the ability to energize others to
pursue it. Management is about getting results and doing so
efficiently so that a financial profit or surplus is created.
Administration is about rules and procedures and whether or not
they are being followed. These distinctions are very important
to clear communications among us about how organizations are
run—when they are not made, we become very confused, as is much
of the discussion around our topic.
Briefly, running an organization effectively involves:
* Leadership:
Vision
Energizing
* Management:
Efficiency
Results
* Administration:
Rules
Procedures
Our focus today is on leadership: how an executive sets
direction and energizes his organization to pursue the
direction. This is appropriate because managerial techniques are
being spread fast by imitation, adoption, and MBA education.
Administrative techniques were generalized around the world
decades ago. So what is much different now is leadership.
Family and political connections
Cultural differences are important, but primarily as a matter of
emphasis. For example, family leadership of business
enterprises, including large companies, occurs in very similar
ways in both [regions], but is more common in Asia.
Li Ka-shing [of the Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa and Cheung
Kong holding group], for example, runs his companies closely and
is planning to pass the leadership of his firms to his two sons.
Similarly, the heads of some of America's largest firms, both
publicly held and private, are the scions of the families that
founded the firms.
There is less freedom of action for executives and boards
in America than in Asia.
But more common in America are firms that are run by
professional managers who are replaced by other professional
managers, either as a consequence of retirement or of
replacement by the board of directors of the firm. The better
companies have sophisticated programs for developing executives
within the firm, and ordinarily choose a next chief executive
officer from among them. American CEOs average about thirty
years with their firms and own less than 4 percent of its
shares. There is a small number of firms, which get a great deal
of publicity and so seem more numerous than they are, that hire
CEOs directly from the outside, with no previous experience with
the firm. These CEOs are driven by a need to excel in a
competitive environment (they want to win), and they insist that
money is less important to them than professional achievement;
but it's hard to credit that given the enormous inflation of top
executive compensation packages in America in the last decade.
Many American firms, especially most of the large ones, are more
dependent on capital markets for their capital (equity and debt)
and so pay much more attention to Wall Street than is yet common
in Asia. Wall Street has strong expectations about the behavior
and performance of executives and about succession. There is
less freedom of action for executives and boards in America than
in Asia.
In Asia, succession usually is passed on to the siblings. In
Li's case, he is handing it to his two sons, while Jack Welch
developed a talent machine to groom CEOs for General Electric.
To a significant degree, large American firms are at a later
stage of development than many Asian firms—they have passed from
founders' family leadership to professional management and to
capital obtained from the capital markets (rather than obtained
from government—directly or indirectly—or from family fortunes).
In this transition they have adopted particular styles of
leadership responsive to boards (often led by outside directors)
and to Wall Street.
It is possible, but not certain, that Asian firms will follow
this evolutionary path. The political connections so important
for top business leaders in Asia, whether in democracies or
one-party states, are not unknown but are much less important in
America. It is a characteristic of Asian top executives that
they have such connections that are important to their
businesses. In America, the chief executive officers of very
large firms often have virtually no direct connections to top
politicians—the government is treated at arm's length and
business is done by business people. There are, of course,
exceptions, and deep political involvement is still a route to
business success in America, but it is much less common than in
Asia.
Leadership styles in America
Leadership styles are more varied in America today than in
Asia. In America there are five:
* Directive
* Participative
* Empowering
* Charismatic
* Celebrity (superstar)
The first four reflect how an executive deals with subordinates
in the company; the final one is directed at people outside the
firm.
Directive leadership is well known in America, but is
declining in frequency. It stresses the direction given by
executives to others in the firms. The leader is very much in
charge. This style is very common in Asia.
Participative leadership, which involves close teamwork
with others, is more common in Europe, where it is sometimes
required by law (as in northern Europe, especially Germany) than
in America. It is also common in a variant colored by national
cultural norms, [as] in Japan.
Empowering leadership is relatively new, and stresses
delegation of responsibility to subordinates. American companies
that operate with largely autonomous divisions employ this style
of leadership. A few younger Asian business leaders now espouse
this style (for example, the CEO of Banyan Tree Resorts).
At the core of empowering leadership is the ability to energize
the people in a company. Jack Welch commented, "You may be a
great manager, but unless you can energize other people, you are
of no value to General Electric as a leader." Energizing others
is the core of the new leadership in America.
Adaptability is ... less common and less valued in Asia
and Europe. It will be needed everywhere soon enough.
Charismatic leadership is the leader who looks like a
leader. People follow such a leader because of who he is, not
because of good management or even business success; nor because
[the people] are offered participation, partnership, or
empowerment. Human magnetism is the thing, and it is very
different in different national cultures. What looks like a
charismatic leader to Americans may appear to be something very
different to people from other societies.
Celebrity leadership is very different. It looks outside
the company to the impact on others—customers and investors. The
CEO becomes a star and is sought after by the media like a
screen star. Ordinarily it requires good looks, a dramatic
style, and an ability to deal effectively with the media. It is
in a bit of a slump in the United States right now due to the
corporate financial reporting scandals, which have focused
attention on CEOs with the ability to get things done right in
the company; but celebrity leadership will make a recovery.
Boards looking for top executives to revitalize a firm look for
superstars; they seek outgoing personalities.
Corporate governance in the West means oversight from
regulators, boards of directors, even institutional
shareholders. While Asia now has most of these institutions,
they are ordinarily not as well established and not as
significant in the minds of top executives. Asia is bedeviled by
official corruption that reaches far into business. America has
less of this, but has in its place considerable financial
reporting fraud. Both are very dangerous to the economic success
of the nations involved. Graft tends to destroy an economy first
by undermining the trust that is required for transactions to
occur, and by distorting the economic calculus that underlies
sensible business decisions. As it continues, graft destroys the
national political entity. Long-established graft is a way of
life that is very hard to root out. Politicians promise to
eliminate it, but are unable or unwilling to do so.
The role models available for business leadership in the
different regions of the world are significant. In America, with
its longstanding experience with professional business
leadership, the most readily available role model for the head
of a company is the corporate CEO. In China and Chinese-related
businesses it is the head of the family. In France it remains
the military general. In Japan it is the consensus builder. In
Germany today it is the coalition builder.
There are nine key qualities that research shows people seek in
a successful leader:
* Passion
* Decisiveness
* Conviction
* Integrity
* Adaptability
* Emotional Toughness
* Emotional Resonance
* Self-Knowledge
* Humility
The emotionalism that goes with passion is more common in
America than elsewhere. Europeans see it as a sort of business
evangelicalism and are very suspicious of it. Decisiveness is
common to effective executives in all countries: In this regard
European and Japanese chief executives are the most
consensus-oriented, and Chinese and American top executives are
more likely to make decisions personally and with their own
accountability.
Conviction is common to all.
Integrity is a complex characteristic very much determined by
national cultures. What is honest in one society is not in
another, and vice versa.
Adaptability is a pronounced characteristic of American
leadership generally. It is less common and less valued in Asia
and Europe. It will be needed everywhere soon enough.
Emotional toughness is common to all top executives; Americans
spend more time trying not to show it.
Deep political involvement is still a route to business
success in America, but it is much less common than in Asia.
Emotional resonance, the ability to grasp what motivates others
and appeal effectively to it, is most important in the United
States and Europe at this point in time. It will become more
important in Asia as living standards improve, knowledge workers
become more important, professional management gets greater
demand, and CEOs have to compete for managerial talent.
Self-knowledge is important in avoiding the sort of over-reach
so common in America; it is less common a virtue in America than
in Asia, and is a strength of the Asian executive.
Humility is a very uncommon trait in the American CEO. It is
sometimes found in Asia. It is often a trait of the most
effective leaders, as it was in the best-respected of all
American political leaders, Abraham Lincoln. Once, when the
Civil War was not going well for the Union side, a high-ranking
general suggested that the nation needed to get rid of Lincoln
and have a dictatorship instead. The comment came to Lincoln's
ears. Lincoln promoted the general to the top command in the
army anyway and told him, "I am appointing you to command
despite, not because, of what you said. Bring us victories, and
I'll risk the dictatorship."
What's next for Asia
The "New Asian Leader"? There are three prototypes:
1) Li Ka-shing of Hutchison Whampoa-Cheung Kong: old Chinese
leadership in transition like Li Ka-shing. Rags-to-riches in one
generation; handing over his business empire to his two sons who
are Western-trained. There are many such examples in Asia. Li
Ka-shing is in different areas of business—telecommunications,
security, and high-end IT—and is very interested in becoming a
contractor in the emerging homeland security construct in
America. With Li Ka-shing, the threat to success is his reliance
on an international concern to be a significant contractor in
the establishment of the U.S. homeland security hierarchy. Li's
personal story is an amazing tale of success. After the death of
his father, Li—at age twelve—went to work in a plastics factory.
Within a decade he started his own plastics company, which he
later leveraged into a real estate and investment concern. It
then was an early entrant into China's telecom and IT wave of
the early 1990s, and became a market leader.
Li is a man who seeks to establish a positive legacy. He created
a foundation in 1980 to help young Chinese students have the
educational and other opportunities he had to make for himself
at age twelve. He also started his own university, Shantou
University, in 1981, with a similar purpose.
2) William and Victor Fung of Li & Fung: old traditional Chinese
family-owned companies now run by the third generation of the
family, Western- and highly-educated, who use Western technology
extensively to face globalization and succeed. Very much
Western-centric in approach yet Asian in practice, the Fungs of
Li & Fung have mastered techniques of getting maximum efficiency
out of the supply chain, taking raw materials and making
low-cost, high-demand consumer goods, particularly clothing,
much more cheaply than in the United States.
What the Fungs have accomplished is similar to what Japanese
automakers accomplished a generation ago. By strictly adhering
to principles of quality control—principles that were espoused
by American business consultant Edward Deming—Nissan and Toyota
made cheaper, better cars than the Americans did, eventually
causing the big three U.S. automakers to follow suit. William
and Victor Fung are interested in being business consultants,
teaching others how to do what they've done. Both men are
Harvard-educated and have a desire to be open and forthcoming
about their business model.
As Asian companies seek access to world capital markets,
they will move toward professional managers who will employ
leadership styles more akin to those now used in the United
States.
The main threats with Li & Fung are these: driving down labor
costs, and concerns about relying on suppliers who potentially
abuse the human rights of workers or pay less than a standard
living wage. Victor and William Fung are the new type of Asian
leaders—will they soon be the only type?
3) New Economy business leaders. Information technology and the
Internet are bringing out a high-tech type of leadership that is
common in America's high-tech sector. Entrepreneurial,
innovative, hard-driving, very flexible, ambitious, optimistic,
visionary in the technology and business aspects, they will play
a good, but not dominant role. N. R. Narayana Murthy of India's
Infosys and Stan Shih of Acer are good examples. They have
adopted an almost entirely Western style of leadership and are
succeeding in Asia.
What is the conclusion? Styles of leadership are currently
different between Asia and America. Culture colors the way
things are done, but less so what is done. The differences in
styles most markedly reflect the stage of development of the
economies and companies of Asia. As Asian companies seek access
to world capital markets, they will move toward professional
managers who will employ leadership styles more akin to those
now used in the United States.
As Asian companies rely more on professional employees of all
sorts, and as professional services become more important in
Asian economies, the less autocratic and more participative and
even empowered style of leadership will emerge. Asian leadership
will come to more resemble that of the West. But significant
cultural differences will remain—economic and geopolitical
rivalries within Asia and between Asian countries and the West
will continue and perhaps grow. Economies will retain
characteristic national features. Convergence in a leadership
style does not guarantee likeness of results nor even peace. We
will continue to have to work for economic progress and peace;
it will not come automatically.
Reprinted with the permission of the author. Copyright © 2005 D.
Quinn Mills. All rights reserved.
D. Quinn Mills is the Alfred J. Weatherhead Jr. Professor of
Business Administration at Harvard Business School.
(http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item.jhtml?id=4869&t=leadership)
******************
June 28, 2005
HARD-TO-GET
POLICY BRIEFINGS FOR CONGRESS ARE NOW ONLINE
Technology Group Opens Access to Research Reports
By Brian Faler
Special to The Washington Post; Page A13
It's a bit like Napster -- but for policy wonks.
A Washington research group has created a Web site where the
public can read, submit and download the difficult-to-find
public policy briefs members of Congress use to get up to speed
on issues.
The Center for Democracy and Technology has created an online
database of Congressional Research Service reports that anyone
with an Internet connection can now tap free of charge.
The often-coveted but elusive reports are produced by CRS, a
public policy research arm of Congress. CRS, which boasts
hundreds of analysts and a $100 million budget, churns out
hundreds of briefs each year on a wide range of topics. It
recently issued one, for example, called "U.S. Treatment of
Prisoners in Iraq: Selected Legal Issues." Another was titled,
"Gasoline Prices: Policies and Proposals." A third was
"Immigration: Policy Considerations Related to Guest Worker
Programs."
The reports have long been praised as nonpartisan, concise and
readable. But they are reserved for members of Congress,
committees and their staffs. A member of the public can get one
generally only if a lawmaker chooses to release it. There is
also at least one company, Penny Hill Press of Damascus, Md.,
that gathers up reports and then sells them for as much as $20
apiece. LexisNexis announced last week that it will also begin
offering the reports through its online service.
The CDT, a technology policy organization, complained that the
reports are paid for with taxpayer money and ought to be readily
available for free to anyone who wants one.
"Taxpayers pay $100 million a year for this resource, yet they
don't have ready access to it," said CDT spokesman David
McGuire. "We don't think they should have to pay twice to get
their hands on it."
McGuire predicted the Web site, http://www.opencrs.com , will
find an audience among academics, reporters, bloggers,
librarians, college students and anyone else looking to bone up
on an issue.
A spokeswoman for the Library of Congress -- the CRS's parent
agency -- said it did not have an opinion of the site. "We
suggest that people get them through their congressional offices
-- that's the way it's supposed to be done," Jill Brett said.
"If [the CDT] can get the reports and put them up, we can't stop
them."
The site includes searchable links to more than 3,300 reports --
and thousands of updates of those reports -- that were gathered
by the center and five other groups: the National Council on
Science and the Environment, the Federation of American
Scientists, the library at the University of Maryland's law
school, a Web site associated with the Franklin Pierce Law
Center in New Hampshire and the National Memorial Institute for
the Prevention of Terrorism. The CDT said it is also trying to
work out a deal with the University of North Texas, which has
built its own online trove of reports, to make those accessible
through the site as well.
The center is also asking the public to help fill out its
collection. The group, which said it has a list of briefs
produced in recent years, is asking users to request specific
reports from their lawmakers and forward copies to the center.
"Take Action!" the Web site says. "Call your members of Congress
and request a PDF copy of the following CRS report. Once you
receive it, submit it to Open CRS." The group estimated it has
collected almost half of the reports the agency has produced in
the past five years.
A number of lawmakers have proposed, over the years, opening the
CRS's work to the public. A few have also posted the reports on
their individual Web sites.
CRS has consistently said it is not designed to serve any sort
of public information function. In past years, it has said that
could create a number of legal and practical problems,
contending, for example, that interest groups and lobbyists
would inundate its office with complaints and comments in hopes
of influencing what CRS analysts wrote. It has also expressed
fears that it could be held liable for what it said in the
reports or be sued for copyright infringement.
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/27/AR2005062701509.html)
******************
June 28, 2005
FORMER ‘BOAT PEOPLE’ PLEAD TO MALAYSIA NOT TO DESTROY BIDONG
MEMORIAL
By Salmy Hashim
Bernama, Malaysian National News Agency
WASHINGTON -- Overseas Vietnamese, who fled the communist regime
after the fall of Saigon in 1975 in boats or "the Boat People"
as they were called, are pleading to the Malaysian government
not to destroy the memorial they set up on Pulau Bidong in
Terengganu to commemorate their comrades who perished in their
quest for freedom.
There is a vigorous online chatter out there among the millions
of overseas Vietnamese calling for a collective action to stop
the move by Malaysia.
Letters have been written to the Malaysian Foreign Affairs
Ministry pleading their case.
Vietnamese Americans in California are threatening a massive
protest in front of the Malaysian Consulate in Los Angeles to
call for a halt to the destruction of the memorial.
There are an estimated 2.6 million to 3.0 million Vietnamese in
the United States.
Derrick Nguyen, 41, who arrived in Pulau Bidong in 1980 with
just his shirt on his back, and now a Civil Litigation lawyer in
Los Angeles, California, said, "the Vietnamese government
pressured the Indonesian government to destroy the memorial set
up in Pulau Galang, which they did, and now they are pressuring
the Malaysian government to do the same with Bidong."
Malaysian Tourism Minister, Datuk Leo Michael Toyad, at a press
conference to promote Malaysia in the US, said in Los Angeles
that the Malaysian government were "good friends with the
Vietnamese government" and "would look for a solution."
Nguyen, now an American citizen, who was in Malaysia in March,
said, "I had goosebumps and I cried with many others when I
revisited Pulau Bidong. The memorial reminded me of the hundreds
of thousands who died at sea in seeking their freedom.
"I was so touched by the warm welcome we received from the
Menteri Besar and the people of Terengganu. We will never forget
their kindness when we needed it then."
"I remember how the Malaysians, especially people in Terengganu
had helped rescued us, and gave a proper burial for those who
died at sea," said Nguyen who himself was rescued by a
Terengganu fisherman.
About 850,000 people died on their voyages in little boats while
traversing the South China Sea in the 70's and 80's in search of
refuge after South Vietnam capitulated to North Vietnam, which
marked the end of Vietnam War in 1975.
Nguyen said, when he returned to Los Angeles, many of his
friends and former boat people who are now part of the
community, asked many questions about Pulau Bidong, the changes
there, and the abandoned refugee camps.
Last year, President George Bush appointed Nguyen, for a
two-year term as Commissioner of the President's Advisory
Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific islanders.
"We go around the US to help poor communities assimilate into
the American mainstream, write a report and advise the president
on the Asian community here," he said.
Meanwhile, Pulau Bidong is an unlikely tourist spot for many,
but overseas Vietnamese are planning yearly "pilgrimages" to the
island they now regard as "sacred" to pay respect to families
and friends who did not make the freedom journey.
An estimated 500 former refugees in the US are planning to visit
the island before the end of the year.
The former boat people who settled and had children in America,
Australia and elsewhere are now taking their children and
grandchildren on a memory trip for them to gain an insight on
the hardship they went through before they were finally settled
in third countries.
"Bidong was our first stop towards freedom and the message from
the minister (Toyad) is very encouraging." said Nguyen.
-- BERNAMA
(http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news.php?id=142280)
******************
June 28, 2005
FREDDIE
MAC ISSUES GRANT TO SHELTER HOMELESS NORTHERN VIRGINIA
FAMILIES
Barton Eckert
Contributing Writer, Washington Business Journal
The Freddie Mac Foundation has granted $550,000 to the Center
for Multicultural Human Services in Falls Church to buy five
additional "transitional housing units," which will be used to
provide 16 more Northern Virginia homeless families with safe
housing and support services.
The Center for Multicultural Human Services (CMHS) and the
foundation say most of the families are recent immigrants.
CMHS, a mental health agency focusing on the growing immigrant
community, provides direct services and training programs to
more than 8,000 individuals, including 1,000 children. Its
Multicultural Family Self-Sufficiency program prepares families
transitioning out of homelessness.
After leaving an emergency shelter, families move to
transitional housing for up to six months to further stabilize
them.
With the new grant, CMHS is able to expand its services as well
as serve up to 40 individuals or 16 families in five units
serving all of Northern Virginia. In addition, by leveraging the
Freddie Mac Foundation's grant, CMHS was able to secure the
donation of a home rent-free from the city of Falls Church. The
home was unveiled Tuesday.
© 2005 American City Business Journals Inc.
(http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2005/06/27/daily14.html)
(http://www.freddiemacfoundation.org/)
(http://www.cmhsweb.org/)
******************
June 29, 2005
FORMER REFUGEES GIVE BACK THROUGH CHARITY
WORK
Community Action Partnership will honor Vietnamese staffers
Friday.
By MICHAEL ORDOÑA
The Orange County Register
GARDEN GROVE – They came from what they described as a shattered
nation and have spent years helping to make their new country
better. This week, they'll be recognized for their efforts.
On Friday, Community Action Partnership of Orange County, the
local branch of a national organization dedicated to helping the
poor, will hold a luncheon to honor its Vietnamese staff
members. Although it is two months after the 30th anniversary of
the fall of Saigon, the organization felt the time was right.
"This is a good start," said Sarah Obaña, CAP's marketing
coordinator. "This is going to be a tradition, to honor our
immigrant workers. We want to show that every worker here is
important."
Jennifer Nguyen, 39, who helps distribute food to the needy,
said she was surprised. "I didn't know that people would care;
now they're calling on us to tell our stories. I was honored."
Like many Vietnamese Americans, several of CAP's workers came to
this country as refugees, some with stories of oppression and
extended confinement back home.
Thomas Tran, 60, has been with CAP for 12 years and is now its
director of human services. In Vietnam, he was the deputy chief
of the Quang Tin province. When the new regime took over after
what Tran called a "long, cruel war," soldiers, high-ranking
civilians and teachers were among those rounded up for
"re-education."
"That was a very fantastic word," said Tran, who was held for 13
years.
Hai Le, 59, was a soldier in the South Vietnamese army who spent
seven years in a prison camp after the war. "Every day I had to
work like a slave" and was given very little to eat, he said.
But after his release, he found that "living in society was like
another big jail. They control everything. I can't do anything
to support my family. They were hungry every day."
Le determined that the only solution was to get to another
country where he could work. Over the next few years, he failed
several times to escape by boat. Finally, he fled by foot over
Cambodian minefields, dodging both Vietnamese soldiers and the
Khmer Rouge on his way to Thailand.
Le was able to sponsor his family's emigration and eventually
they settled in Orange County. He joined CAP with no knowledge
of construction and learned on the job. He is in his 15th year
with CAP's "weatherization" service, upgrading low-income homes.
Intern Diep Tran said CAP's celebration of its staff is not just
because of "the fact that they are Vietnamese, but because of
their refugee experience, having gone through what they've gone
through and coming to America and contributing, giving back to
their community."
A beaming Nguyen said those she helps "really appreciate it.
Some people are even in tears trying to say 'thank you' for
helping them. It really makes you want to go to work."
CONTACT US:
mordona@ocregister.com
Copyright 2005 The Orange County Register
(http://www.ocregister.com/ocr/2005/06/29/sections/local/local/article_577740.php)
******************
June 28, 2005
NEW REALITY SHOW TO EXPLOIT STEREOTYPES FOR SUBURBAN DREAM HOME
By civilrights.org staff
civilrights.org
Update: ABC has announced it will not be airing "Welcome to the
Neighborhood" at this time.
A new ABC reality TV series has sparked outrage from fair
housing advocates, who say the show could give homeowners the
idea they can engage in housing discrimination and stereotyping
without any consequences.
According to ABC's web site, in "Welcome to the Neighborhood,"
seven diverse couples will compete to win a beautiful dream home
on a "perfect" suburban cul-de-sac in Austin, Texas. Each week
of the six-week series, the competing families will participate
in a "challenge" given by three neighborhood families who will
serve as "judges."
ABC's web site states that "the three neighborhood families who
will be judging the competing families all love their quiet,
picturesque community and are used to a certain kind of
neighbor--one who looks and thinks just like them."
The families who will be choosing their neighbors are white. The
competing families include an African American family, a Latino
family, an Asian American family, and a white gay couple who has
adopted an African American baby boy. ABC's web site describes
the other competing families as "a family who blend their Native
American and Caucasian heritages with Pagan spirituality; a
Caucasian family that looks picture-perfect; and "defying all
stereotypes...a Caucasian family...covered in tattoos and are
staunch Republicans."
Fair housing advocates say the show violates the "spirit and
intent of the federal Fair Housing Act, " which prohibits
discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of dwellings,
and in other housing-related transactions, based on race, color,
national origin, religion, sex, familial status, and disability.
According to National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) President
Shanna Smith, "I can't imagine ABC producing a show where a
restaurant owner denies service because of race, religion,
color, national origin or sexual orientation. Would Donald Trump
fire someone because of their race, color, national origin or
religion? Of course not. None of the other TV reality programs
cross the line into civil rights violations."
"In America, residents of neighborhoods or homeowners
associations do not get to choose their new neighbors based on
their race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability or
the fact that they have children," Smith said.
But ABC says that the show's drama will come from how "each
competing family ends up taking the neighborhood judges on an
emotional journey that opens eye and hearts.
The winning family gets a furnished four-bedroom, three-bathroom
house, upgrades and two years' worth of property taxes paid for
them--a prize worth nearly $900,000.
"Welcome to the Neighborhood" is scheduled to debut July 10.
NFHA is urging ABC and its affiliates not to air the show.
(http://www.civilrights.org/issues/housing/details.cfm?id=32788)
******************
For Immediate Release
June 29, 2005
NATIONAL FORUM ON ASIAN PACIFIC ISLANDER AMERICANS IN HOUSTON
Contact:
Debbie Chen, (713) 446-8430 debbiechen@earthlink.net
Irene Garnett, (202) 887-5990, igarnett@livable.com
Daphne Kwok, (202) 296-9200, dkwok@apaics.org
How can cities across America use their civic assets and
diversity to provide leadership for a better tomorrow? How can
the dynamic and growing Asian Pacific Islander American
community collaborate to make this possible? What unlikely city
is already the model of excellence for this vision?
Partners for Livable Communities, The Asian Pacific American
Institute for Congressional Studies, and the City of Houston
will provide the answers at a groundbreaking national forum in
Houston, Texas on September 21-23, 2005. “CITIES IN TRANSITION:
ASIAN PACIFIC ISLANDER AMERICANS….AN ASSET FOR AMERICA’S FUTURE”
will examine the changing needs of the Asian Pacific Islander
American (APIA) population and highlight the tremendous
potential that this unique group brings to our nation.
The forum has three goals: 1) to build national unity amongst
the myriad APIA groups; 2) to explore the role of APIAs in the
context of the multicultural city and in the melting pot of
America; 3) to develop tangible strategies to help local leaders
better understand the issues facing their APIA populations while
also providing a feasible plan for utilizing the resources
offered by the APIA community and increasing their participation
in mainstream civic affairs.
For the first time ever, APIA and non-APIA decision makers at
all levels of government will gather with stakeholders
representing community based organizations, philanthropy,
business, non profit and the media to discuss the opportunities
and barriers for the full participation of Asian Pacific
Islander Americans in building better communities for everyone.
The forum proceedings will be packaged and distributed in “A
Blueprint for Change,” an action plan for cities and
organizations who seek to engage APIAs and are committed to
promoting diversity as a priority in their civic agenda.
Houston's unique vision in cultivating strong relationships with
the APIA population is the inspiration for this important
national forum. The number of APIAs in the Houston area is
growing quickly, and their impact on the economic and cultural
landscape of the city is significant.
Join us in exploring the role of APIAs towards achieving equal
opportunity for all.
For additional forum information or registration materials,
please contact:
Laura Tan, Program Officer, Partners for Livable Communities,
1429 21st Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036, t: (202) 887-5990 x14, f: (202) 466-4845,
e.
ltan@livable.com
w.
www.citiesintransition.org
Partners for Livable Communities is a non-profit leadership
organization that works to improve the livability of communities
by promoting better quality of life, economic development, and
social equity.
The Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies
is dedicated to increasing participation of individuals of Asian
and Pacific Islander heritage at all levels of the political
process, from community service to elected office.
The City of Houston is extremely active in advancing
opportunities for all minorities and is eager to showcase its
city as a best practice model of innovation and success in
utilizing the resources offered by the APIA community and
increasing their participation in mainstream civic affairs.
June 30, 2005
(www.citiesintransition.org)
******************
FOUND IN TRANSLATION
YMCAs, Scouts, after-school groups adapt to influx of Asian
families
By Carolyn Y. Johnson, Globe Staff
QUINCY -- When Cindy Liang first came to the United States from
China three months ago, the 13-year-old, who formerly spent
whole days ''doing homework and nothing else," suddenly had lots
of free time. Math was a cinch, and though she struggled to read
and write in English, she still finished her homework in less
than a third of the time it took in Guangzhou.
But with all that free time came loneliness. Like many new
immigrants, Liang's parents arrived without their extended
families, and both work six days a week, leaving their daughter
with little to do during the day other than watch television.
As Quincy's Asian population grows, so does the number of
children and teenagers who land in Liang's position. Parents who
are new to America and speak little English often don't know
about daycare, after-school programs, camps, or other support
systems that traditionally catered to middle-class, mostly
white, families. That means when school lets out, as it did in
Quincy on Tuesday, many Asian youngsters and teens are set loose
into a world without adults who might have looked after them.
That's where local youth organizations and after-school programs
come in.
The city's burgeoning under-18 Asian population, which according
to the US Census more than doubled from 1,550 in 1990 to 3,158
in 2000, has spurred various youth groups to revamp their image
and programs to fit the language and cultural needs of the new
Americans.
Camp Fire USA, for example, translated its brochure for
sleepaway and day camps into Chinese this year. The South Shore
YMCA has been offering bilingual swim lessons, after-school
English classes, and registration brochures in many languages,
ramping up their efforts over the past three years. And local
Girl Scouts troops now offer posters, brochures, and booklets
translated into many languages, including Chinese and
Vietnamese.
The efforts fit the demographic data, which show that parents,
not children, are the ones who need the most translation.
A study by the Institute for Asian American Studies at the
University of Massachusetts at Boston found that in Quincy in
2000, more than half the Chinese children and teens spoke
English ''very well," while only 30 percent of adults ages 18 to
64 fell in that category. Among Vietnamese, the contrast was
even more striking, with 60 percent of children and teens very
proficient in English, as opposed to 15 percent of adults.
Efforts to integrate the youngest Asians are strongest in
Quincy, where their population ballooned, increasing by 144
percent between 1990 and 2000, but other programs exist in
Sharon, where the Islamic Center of New England works closely
with the Boy Scouts of America.
But success in Quincy has been slow and spotty, revealing other
complications nested within the language barrier, including
cultural differences, as well as a generation gap.
Camp Fire USA, which distributed 150 translated brochures this
winter, will welcome a few new Asian campers this summer, but no
families returned the applications in Chinese. The YMCA's
efforts took a few years to take off, according to Jon Simons,
executive director of community development. Girl Scout troops
in North Quincy are about 40 percent Asian, but none of the
girls' parents are involved in the program.
Tommy Lo, a first-generation immigrant and parent of a Brownie
in Quincy, says the problem is that organizations have only done
part of the job in translating brochures, with no translators or
bilingual troop leaders to help serve the Chinese or Indian
parents of girls in his 9-year-old daughter's troop. One parent
who spoke very little English had to depend on sympathetic
bilingual parents to explain what was happening.
In many cases, communication flows directly through the child.
''When we have to make phone calls to the home, the parent will
usually ask for the child [to take the line], so she's able to
say, 'Mom, this is what's going on,' " said Paula Ruozzi, an
area coordinator for Girl Scouts, who said she's had little
success recruiting Asians to be Scouts leaders.
Some time after arriving in Quincy, Liang became a happy camper
at the Teen-Zone, an after-school program run by the Episcopal
Quincy Chinese Center. The program, held at St. Chrysostom's
Episcopal Church, offers bilingual brochures and caters to new
immigrants, including giving them a chance to practice English
as well as participate in sports and arts projects.
Instructor Iris Chan said the reason a program like hers fills
quickly with Asian teens while other recruitment efforts
struggle to diversify is that it not only translates its
brochures, it also translates much of what goes on in the
childrens' lives for their parents. About 30 sixth- and
seventh-graders spend their afternoons at Teen-Zone.
''It's more about trust. We know about the culture, we
understand what they're looking for, to help them grow
academically and closer to their culture," Chan said. ''Parents
don't want a gap of communication, with kids growing up in
Americanized cultures."
John Brothers, executive director of Quincy Asian Resources, a
nonprofit organization that provides translation and cultural
awareness services to businesses reaching out to the Asian
community, agrees it's not enough just to translate brochures
and materials.
''It's not just the organization's desire" to reach out to a
community, he said. ''It's also their ability to develop
programming that fits different needs."
It's a point many youth organizations take seriously, as they
try to expand.
Camp Fire USA works with Asian volunteers from Quincy High
School, and is attempting to recruit some of the students as
counselors. The YMCA holds an annual Asian New Year celebration,
and has recruited students from its English language program as
lifeguards, instructors, and staff.
''We started focusing on teens, to get the teens to buy in and
feel like the Y is a safe place and an accepting place; then
they'll go home and tell their families," Simons said.
Brothers points to the Teen-Zone program as an example of
cultural competency fully realized. The after-school program
becomes a camp starting July 5, and will focus on teaching
English and strengthening academic skills, alongside the
creative, sports, day trip, and swimming activities that typify
''camp."
The program has served to smooth relationships among parents,
children, and teachers, who may live in very different worlds.
Staff members translate school materials for parents, explain to
teachers and parents what's going on with students, and also
intercede on behalf of parents, tutoring and guiding the
children in their relationships with their families.
Many parents don't understand what is going on in the schools,
or what their increasingly English-speaking children are
thinking; on the flip side, many children do not know exactly
what their parents expect of them, said the Rev. Thomas Pang,
director of Teen-Zone and a separate after-school program for
younger students called Uplift.
''Parents will say a kid just says 'OK, OK, OK.' That's not
communication," Pang said.
''We try to let kids understand and think about and want to
communicate with parents."
Quincy teenager Liang, who speaks English cautiously, as if
she's afraid a sentence might shatter in her mouth, said the
program has helped her escape from the loneliness she first felt
upon arriving in America.
Surrounded by classmates who are also navigating a new culture
and lifestyle, the 13-year-old, who will be an eighth-grader at
Atlantic Middle School in the fall, said her situation is much
brighter.
''I'm so happy. I can do my homework and play with my friends,"
she said. ''It's more dull in China."
Carolyn Y. Johnson can be reached at cjohnson@globe.com.
© Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
(http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/06/30/found_in_translation/)
******************
This Week at APAICS: July 5th, 2005
JUN CHOI WINS DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY FOR MAYOR OF EDISON, NJ
On June 7th, Jun Choi won the Democratic primary for Edison, NJ,
defeating the three-term incumbent Mayor by more than 1000
votes. He captured 56 of 78 voting districts with 5580 votes or
55% of the votes.
His election win followed the inflammatory remarks made on April
25th by a New Jersey radio show. Hosts Craig Carton and Ray
Rossi from "The Jersey Guys," which airs on WKXW New Jersey
101.5FM, made many racially offensive comments towards Asian
Americans, stating "And here's the bottom line.no specific
minority or foreign group should ever ever dictate the outcome
of an American election. I don't care if the Chinese population
in Edison has quadrupled in the last year, Chinese should never
dictate the outcome of an election, Americans should." They
further claimed that Jun Choi was focusing exclusively on the
influx of Asian Americans for votes.
After their broadcast, New Jersey/National Taskforce Against
Hate Media and the New Jersey Coalition for Asian American Civil
Rights demanded an on-air apology and administrative punishment.
Companies such as Hyundai and Cingular pulled advertisements
from the radio station. The issue was resolved on May 27th when
the coalition and Millenium Central NJ, the parent group of the
radio show, came to an agreement, which required an on-air
apology from the host along with long-term procedures such as a
stronger policy against racially derogatory speech.
Jun Choi is 34, a Korean American, and is currently the
Executive Director of the Student Achievement Task Force at the
New Jersey Department of Education. Edison , NJ has a population
of 97,687 with 29% Asian Pacific Americans (US Census 2000).
After winning the Democratic primary, Mr. Choi will be facing
Republican candidate Carl Perlin and Independent candidate
William Stevens this November in the general election.
***
The Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies
(APAICS) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, educational organization
based in Washington, D.C., that seeks to build a politically
empowered APA community, to fill the political pipeline for
Asian Pacific Americans to enter and advance into elected
office, and to be a resource to Congress about the APA
community.
(www.apaics.org)
******************
LOW-INCOME HOUSING AID DRAWS BIPARTISAN HOUSE BACKING
Advocates of federal support for low-income housing are
cautiously cheering bipartisan House votes last week that
rejected Bush administration proposals to slash funds for major
housing and community development programs.
Before passing the fiscal 2006 spending bill that finances
transportation and housing programs (HR 3058), the House adopted
an amendment, 225-194, by Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., that would add
$100 million to the Section 8 voucher program. The money will
prevent the loss of about 15,000 rent-subsidy vouchers.
Also adopted, 231-191, was an amendment by Al Green, D-Texas,
restoring $7.7 million to a pair of fair housing programs, which
the administration sought to cut to $38.8 million.
Subcommittee Chairman Joe Knollenberg, R-Mich., and ranking
member John W. Olver, D-Mass., won voice vote approval of an
amendment to increase Community Development Block Grant funds by
$67.5 million over the committee-approved level. President Bush
sought to shift the program from HUD to the Commerce Department
and roll it into a block grant with 17 other programs.
Also adopted, 248-173, was an amendment by Artur Davis, D-Ala.,
to provide $60 million for the HOPE VI housing program, which
Bush sought to zero out.
(www.cq.com)
******************
July 5, 2005
SLAVERY
SLIPS THROUGH CRACKS IN U.S. POLICY
Part One of Two
By Michelle Chen
Even though Americans are increasingly aware that human
trafficking takes place, an array of circumstances conspire to
protect the trade, and a weak social response leaves freed
victims in need.
Nearly sixty years after the international community declared it
a crime against humanity, slavery today is far from banished.
Involuntary servitude persists in developed and underdeveloped
regions, and the United States remains one of the major
destinations for traffickers and their captives. But according
to activists and researchers, despite recent progress in
anti-trafficking policies and enforcement, what many consider
the basest form of human exploitation continues to thrive in the
US.
Pointing to inadequate enforcement of human rights laws, lagging
community awareness, and a dearth of resources for victims,
anti-slavery advocates say that behind the crime of forced labor
is a societal failure to protect the most deeply subjugated.
According to government estimates, each year, 14,500 to
17,500 people are trafficked into the US.
According to the research and advocacy group Free the Slaves,
forced labor is largely concentrated in illegal or minimally
regulated industries: nearly half of trafficking cases involve
forced prostitution, about 27 percent involve domestic service,
and manufacturing and farm work collectively account for
approximately 15 percent.
Public awareness of the issue has risen slowly with the landmark
federal anti-trafficking law, the Victims of Trafficking and
Violence Protection Act, passed in 2000. The act provides
funding for anti-trafficking programs and offers legal
protections for survivors, including legal resident status. The
legislation defines its target, "severe trafficking," as the
commercial trade of human beings for purposes of labor or sexual
services that involves "force, fraud or coercion."
But grassroots advocates for forced labor victims have a simpler
definition. "We use the word ‘trafficking,’ but that’s really a
euphemism," said Bill Bernstein, deputy director of the
Texas-based social service group Mosaic Family Services. "What
we’re really talking about is modern-day slavery."
Bernstein, whose group handles a constant flow of slavery cases,
listed some typical scenarios: an offer to earn good wages and
study lures a teenage girl abroad, where she is forced to work
eighteen hours a day as a housekeeper. Aided by a smuggler, a
young man’s passage across the US-Mexico border ends with a
crushing debt, to be repaid through captive manual labor.
"There is no such thing as a typical trafficking case," said
Bernstein, but he noted a common thread among victims: "They’ll
be promised something, which ends up being very different when
they end up where they’re going."
According to government estimates, each year, 14,500 to 17,500
people are trafficked into the US. Though more trafficking
victims are being uncovered each year, so far, only about 600
victims have been officially "certified" under the statutes of
the federal anti-trafficking law.
The public’s knowledge of the issue is still too weak to
inspire community vigilance.
To anti-slavery activists, the gap between the official records
and the vague estimates reveals that the slave labor market
continues to defy both the law and efforts to quantify the
problem. According to Jolene Smith, executive director of Free
the Slaves, "We have failed miserably as a country in rooting
out trafficking victims and traffickers."
Intimidation, Lack of Awareness Keep Forced Labor Victims
Shackled
Sometimes, release from captivity comes when a vigilant neighbor
alerts a social service organization. Or police might discover a
victim unexpectedly when they raid an underground operation,
such as a brothel. Service providers say that in any case, for
victims who are stifled by fear and overlooked by the public,
the prospect of escape depends largely on luck.
In Smith’s view, the public’s knowledge of the issue is still
too weak to inspire community vigilance. "We know that people …
are not asking hard questions of what’s going on in their own
communities," she said. "They’re not demanding that there be
investigations, because they don’t know that it could happen in
their community."
Layli Miller-Muro, executive director of the Tahirih Justice
Center, a social service organization serving immigrant women,
finds it alarming that despite the group’s outreach campaigns in
immigrant communities, they currently serve only a few "lucky"
trafficking survivors. Organizations that offer assistance for
survivors, she said, are still unable "to reach the ones who
most need to be reached."
Yet advocates say that in addition to a lack of public awareness
and outreach, walls of fear and cultural repression also stand
between service providers and people in captivity.
Since traffickers often enjoy high social status in their
communities, said Miller-Muro, victims may be "worried about how
they will look if they oppose this powerful person [or] this
well-known diplomat." Service providers have observed that even
some organizations embedded in local ethnic communities are
afraid to publicly advocate for victims, fearing public
backlash.
Class lines have run through several high-profile cases
involving foreign dignitaries or businesspeople charged with
abusing workers they brought into the country. In the case of
Lakireddy Bali Reddy, for example, a wealthy California
businessman was charged in 2000 with importing young girls from
his home village in India, forcing them to work in the buildings
and restaurants he owned, and repeatedly sexually abusing them.
Reddy ultimately received a plea bargain involving $2 million in
restitution and an eight-year prison term. Although activists
decried the sentence as too lenient, the millionaire’s public
image had nearly enabled him to elude law enforcement
completely. The Immigration and Naturalization Service
investigated Reddy’s immigration record in 1997, but, as an
immigration official told reporters after the allegations
finally surfaced, the agency determined only that he was a
"professionally educated gentleman, with widespread corporate
interests, financial interests. There was nothing to indicate
any criminal conduct."
The psychological grip of enslavement is typically
compounded by a terror of government authority that traffickers
seed in their captives.
Service providers point to retaliation, against a survivor or
family members, as one of the major threats that silences
victims. According to Florrie Burke, senior director of
international programs at the New York-based victims’ services
group Safe Horizon, among the cases tracked by the organization,
"We have had family members kidnapped, threatened, harassed, in
many different countries."
A vendetta could easily outlive a prison term; the Department of
Justice reports that sentences for convicted traffickers in 2003
ranged from 33 to 270 months.
Fear of Authority Strengthens Slavery’s Grip
According to researchers and advocates, the psychological grip
of enslavement is typically compounded by a terror of government
authority that traffickers seed in their captives, convincing
them that any attempt to escape would lead to jail or
deportation.
"I [was] afraid of police," recalled "Kim," who was forced to
work in captivity in a sweatshop in American Samoa. She thought
she might be arrested if she left the factory, she said, because
"I don’t have my passport, I don’t have my work permit. … He
keep everything." Her boss, like many other traffickers, had
deterred escape by confiscating the immigration documents of the
more than 250 Vietnamese and Chinese workers enslaved in the
operation.
Complicit local officials helped stoke the workers’ fear of
government, according to an investigation by the advocacy group
Vietnam Labor Watch. The organization reported that the American
Samoan government detained and deported employees who tried to
seek help. Furthermore, during the period of enslavement from
1999 to 2001, government authorities took little action to
enforce labor laws against the factory, even when investigations
by the US Department of Labor uncovered severe mistreatment.
Although in general, government authority might not directly
abet traffickers, as it reportedly did the American Samoa case,
victims’ advocates say that immigrant survivors do face a very
real danger of being treated as criminals by law enforcement.
Amid increasingly aggressive policies against undocumented
immigration, they argue, fear of the law is not unjustified.
Although federal law entitles trafficking victims to special
immigration status, bureaucratic missteps could be leaving an
untold number of victims overlooked. Given the high possibility
that an immigration official could take notice of a victim’s
undocumented status but not the underlying forced labor
situation, Smith speculated that in all likelihood, "there are
trafficking victims being deported every day."
Negotiating with Law Enforcement
The gulf of distrust and uncertainty between government
institutions and people in forced labor situations poses an
obstacle both for law enforcement -- which requires cooperation
from witnesses in order to prosecute traffickers -- and for
survivors -- who must commit to cooperating in order to obtain
their entitlements as victims.
Some victims’ advocates express concern that in the criminal
process, repeated interrogations could be extremely stressful
for victims, who frequently suffer deep psychological scars.
Amid increasingly aggressive policies against undocumented
immigration, fear of the law is not unjustified.
Kavitha Sreeharsha, a staff attorney with the advocacy group
Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach, said that for many
survivors, the investigation process could be "revictimizing …
many of them find it very hard to recount what has happened to
them."
Service providers have also complained that investigators are at
times reluctant to communicate with advocates about developments
in a case, for fear of disclosing legally sensitive information.
Some advocates are urging a more "victim-centered" approach to
anti-trafficking police work, helping train local officers to be
more sensitive to victims’ needs -- for instance, by delaying
the interrogation process to allow survivors time to recover.
To help officers more readily identify and help provide
assistance to victims, the Department of Health and Human
Services has administered trainings in various communities under
the "Operation Rescue and Restore" anti-trafficking program.
"Our task in the trafficking program," said Program Director
Steven Wagner, "is to get any law enforcement official, at the
federal and the local level, to be aware of the phenomenon of
trafficking and to screen for victims." But he conceded:
"Training federal and local law enforcement is not like throwing
on a light switch. … We’re in a long term project, here."
To advocates, the rate of progress seems glacial compared to the
urgency of the problem. "There is still a huge gap in
education," said Smith. "Most local law enforcement officials
have no idea what watch signs to look for, for trafficking
victims."
Freed, but Not Compensated
Although federal aid for trafficking survivors under the
anti-trafficking act is contingent on cooperation with a
criminal investigation, a stark legal reality is that the vast
majority of cases never enter a courtroom.
From fiscal years 2001 to 2004, the federal government launched
340 investigations and charged 162 defendants under federal
trafficking statutes. The State Department reported 32 formal
charges under the anti-trafficking act in 2004.
Namju Cho, policy and communications director of the
California-based social service group Coalition to Abolish
Slavery and Trafficking (CAST), said that after going through
the rigors of a criminal investigation only to have their cases
rejected by prosecutors, "the clients are sometimes devastated.
… They’re wondering what they did wrong."
Critics argue that prosecutors are biased in selecting cases to
prosecute, focusing primarily on cases involving large groups of
victims, or sex trafficking crimes, which tend to capture
greater public attention.
"Prosecutors have a lot on their plate," remarked Miller-Muro of
Tahirih. "And unfortunately they haven’t been considering
trafficking cases that are not as sexy as mass raids on
brothels."
The nature of the informal economy could also undercut the legal
grounding of a trafficking case. Anti-trafficking activists
point out that enslaved domestic workers, like workers in
unregulated industries in general, have difficulty accessing the
legal system because they are not covered by the protections of
the National Labor Relations Act.
Moreover, said Cho, since domestic labor conditions are largely
shielded from public view, "It’s their word against the
trafficker’s word … There are no witnesses."
Absent a full-fledged trial and criminal conviction, recourse
can still be pursued through out-of-court settlements, or
plea-bargains. In addition, the 2003 reauthorization of the
anti-trafficking law established a civil right of action, so
victims whose cases are not heard in criminal court can sue for
monetary restitution and back wages.
Nonetheless, formal compensation does not factor heavily into
the recovery process for many victims: CAST, which has served
hundreds of survivors, has reported that about half of clients
choose not to pursue legal action. Often, said Smith, survivors
"may just want help getting home, or just maybe want some
counseling … And then they move on."
Struggling to Restore Survivors
Federal policy straddles the two pillars of anti-trafficking
work: restitution and relief, and critics cite shortcomings in
both aspects.
Even with federal funding, organizations are challenged by basic
capacity issues, such as providing clients with appropriate
language services or shelters that can accommodate the needs of
people who have endured the trauma and isolation of slavery.
At CAST, which is unique among service providers in its
exclusive focus on forced labor situations, each caseworker
juggles about twenty clients, and the group’s all-female shelter
is consistently packed.
"We’re getting calls almost on a daily basis to receive more
clients," said Cho, "and we’re just not able to."
Miller-Muro said that assistance for victims is often
"unnecessarily delayed or sometimes denied," because the
certification process entangles the work of service providers
with the law enforcement system. According to Free the Slaves,
the certification from law enforcement that is required for
official victim status may take months. The application process
for the T-visa, a special immigration document granted to
trafficking survivors, may take up to a year.
The State Department recently reported that of the 520 T-visa
applications the federal government received in fiscal year
2004, it approved just 136. Another 92 are still pending, but
the rest were denied.
Some advocates are frustrated with the legal conditions attached
to federal assistance under the anti-trafficking law, arguing
that policies against forced labor should not muddle the goal of
punishing traffickers with the relief of victims.
Service providers report that given few other options, many
trafficking survivors eventually agree to endure the criminal
investigation process in order to obtain federal assistance.
However, noting that under the Violence Against Women Act,
immigrant domestic abuse survivors receive immigration relief
with no such restrictions, Cho argued, "We don’t agree that
victims of trafficking should be held at a higher standard than
any other kinds of victims of crime are."
From the perspective of grassroots anti-slavery activists,
justice for those who have endured forced labor and captivity is
not limited to prosecuting wrongdoers; they say survivors need
more than a court verdict to begin to heal.
"Victims need services," said Burke. "And not just to make them
good witnesses, but because they’re human beings, and they’ve
had their human rights violated."
Part II of this series will examine the systemic causes of
modern-day slavery.
© 2005 The NewStandard.
(http://newstandardnews.net/content/?action=show_item&itemid=2032)
Resources on Modern-Day Slavery
(http://www.freetheslaves.net/resources/whitepapers/)
Trafficking in Persons Report 2005
(http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2005/)
******************
About NCVA
Founded in 1986, the National Congress of Vietnamese
Americans is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community advocacy
organization working to advance the cause of Vietnamese
Americans in a plural but united America – e pluribus unum –
by participating actively and fully as civic minded citizens
engaged in the areas of education, culture and civil
liberties.
Copyright material is distributed without profit or payment for
research and educational purposes only, in accordance with Title
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