Post by Blaque on Nov 17, 2006 10:04:55 GMT -5
Nigerian widow, 67, worked in US for 12 yrs without pay
By OUR CORRESPONDENT - 16.11.2006
THE United States government has come to the aid of a 67-year-old
Nigerian widow trafficked into New York to work as a babysitter
without pay for 12 years, Empowered Newswire reported.
Mrs. Marthina Okeke was brought to the United States by a wealthy
Nigerian politician in 1988 and she was one of the several "Nigerian
imported" babysitters tricked on false promises of paying them huge
sums of money in America.
In the case of Okeke, she was lured to the US with the promise of a
$300 per month salary.
The T- visa is a special visa created by the United States Congress
for individuals determined after diligent and thorough investigation
to be victims of trafficking-in-person. But since the law known as
Victim of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act was passed in 2001,
only very few individuals have been able to meet the requirements.
According to a statement issued by `Africans in America', a human
rights group based in New York, Mrs. Okeke, a homeless poor widow,
from Arondizuogu in Imo State, Nigeria, was approached by a wealthy
and prominent Nigerian politician in 1988 with the offer of a
babysitting job in the United States of America.
According to the statement, the politician took the widow to the
United States Embassy in Nigeria on two ocassions until she was
eventually granted a visa.
However, on arrival in New York, Mrs Okeke was made to babysit eight
children everyday, clean inside and outside four-bedroom mansion,
cook and clean for the family for 12 consecutive years and was not
paid at all.
The woman was in this situation until July 2005, when she got to the
office of Africans In America Inc., a human rights organisation
addressing the needs of African immigrants in New York City. After
listening to her predicament, the organisation accepted her case and
began high-level advocacy on her behalf resulting in the T-visa
granted by the U. S. Department of Homeland Security.
Victims granted T-visa enjoy the protection of US law, and that
removes the fear of deportation. Certified victims also get some
social benefits, and freedom to seek monetary compensation for
labour, pain and suffering from their traffickers and captors.
The Executive Director of Africans In America, Inc. and human rights
activist, Bonaventure Ezekwenna, stated that the favourable
resolution of Mrs. Okeke's case would encourage other victims still
held captive to trust the government and come forward to get help.
Forward Ever (by any means necessary)!
Karen C. Aboiralor
By OUR CORRESPONDENT - 16.11.2006
THE United States government has come to the aid of a 67-year-old
Nigerian widow trafficked into New York to work as a babysitter
without pay for 12 years, Empowered Newswire reported.
Mrs. Marthina Okeke was brought to the United States by a wealthy
Nigerian politician in 1988 and she was one of the several "Nigerian
imported" babysitters tricked on false promises of paying them huge
sums of money in America.
In the case of Okeke, she was lured to the US with the promise of a
$300 per month salary.
The T- visa is a special visa created by the United States Congress
for individuals determined after diligent and thorough investigation
to be victims of trafficking-in-person. But since the law known as
Victim of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act was passed in 2001,
only very few individuals have been able to meet the requirements.
According to a statement issued by `Africans in America', a human
rights group based in New York, Mrs. Okeke, a homeless poor widow,
from Arondizuogu in Imo State, Nigeria, was approached by a wealthy
and prominent Nigerian politician in 1988 with the offer of a
babysitting job in the United States of America.
According to the statement, the politician took the widow to the
United States Embassy in Nigeria on two ocassions until she was
eventually granted a visa.
However, on arrival in New York, Mrs Okeke was made to babysit eight
children everyday, clean inside and outside four-bedroom mansion,
cook and clean for the family for 12 consecutive years and was not
paid at all.
The woman was in this situation until July 2005, when she got to the
office of Africans In America Inc., a human rights organisation
addressing the needs of African immigrants in New York City. After
listening to her predicament, the organisation accepted her case and
began high-level advocacy on her behalf resulting in the T-visa
granted by the U. S. Department of Homeland Security.
Victims granted T-visa enjoy the protection of US law, and that
removes the fear of deportation. Certified victims also get some
social benefits, and freedom to seek monetary compensation for
labour, pain and suffering from their traffickers and captors.
The Executive Director of Africans In America, Inc. and human rights
activist, Bonaventure Ezekwenna, stated that the favourable
resolution of Mrs. Okeke's case would encourage other victims still
held captive to trust the government and come forward to get help.
Forward Ever (by any means necessary)!
Karen C. Aboiralor