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Tag Archives: Dangerous goods
They’re smuggling pregnant women
Dear friends,
 Thousands of East Africans have been kidnapped by sadistic gangs, and tortured in Egypt’s Sinai until their families pay huge ransoms for their freedom. If we show Egypt’s leaders that this dirty secret is out and damaging the Sinai’s tourism reputation, we can force them to end the horror. Sign now:  |
Nine months pregnant and in chains, Haben’s* torturers beat her ruthlessly demanding a $35,000 ransom from her husband. She gave birth in shackles, beside other terrified captives, with only rusty metal to cut the umbilical cord. It’s unbelievable that this is happening in 2014!
Amazingly Haben survived — but she is one of thousands of East Africans who have been abducted by criminal trafficking rings, and tortured in Egypt’s Sinai until their desperate families pay huge ransoms for their freedom. If we can show Egypt’s leaders that this dirty secret is out and damaging the Sinai’s tourism reputation as the ‘Red Sea Riviera’, they could break the trafficking rings, and free these slaves.
Every hour these men, women and children are in captivity is an hour too long. Sign the urgent petition now and forward it to everyone. When we reach 1 million signers, Avaaz will raise a massive media storm to pressure Egypt to act:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/Interim_Egyptian_President_Adly_Mansour_Torture_camps_in_the_desert_stop_the_horror_2/?biEWLbb&v=35815
If we can stop human smuggling in the Sinai — one of the most notorious routes for human trafficking in the world — we can strike a blow against a trade that imprisons nearly one million people a year.
And it’s possible. The Egyptian government has the power and the local resources already deployed to shut the traffickers down for good. Here are a few of the ways we could help:
- Join with elected officials from Egypt’s major donor countries to press Egypt to act;
- Run hard-hitting ads targeting Egypt’s prized tourism industry;
- Expose the names of the key traffickers in a series of national Avaaz campaigns in the region;
- Help journalists get access to torture camps to investigate which officials are complicit.
Let’s start it all with a million person movement to end this horrific trade in human suffering. Sign now and share with others:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/Interim_Egyptian_President_Adly_Mansour_Torture_camps_in_the_desert_stop_the_horror_2/?biEWLbb&v=35815
Our community has stepped in repeatedly to help those trapped in terrible conditions. Last year, we helped rescue migrant Indian labourers trapped in Bahrain. And we’ve helped provide food and medicine to those trapped in Syria. Now let’s help liberate those being tortured in Egypt.
With hope and determination, Ian, Nick, Ari, Bissan, Alice, Wissam, Ricken and the entire Avaaz team
*Haben is a pseudonym, but her story is real.
SOURCES
Egypt/Sudan: Traffickers Who Torture (Human Rights Watch) http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/02/11/egyptsudan-traffickers-who-torture
Extortionists, smugglers preying on Eritrean refugees, report says (Globe and Mail) http://m.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/extortionists-smugglers-preying-on-eritrean-refugees-report-…
Egypt/Sudan: Refugees face kidnapping for ransom, brutal treatment and human trafficking (Amnesty International) http://www.amnestyusa.org/research/reports/egyptsudan-refugees-face-kidnapping-for-ransom-brutal-tre…
The Human Trafficking Cycle: Sinai and Beyond (EEPA Report) http://www.eepa.be/wcm/dmdocuments/Small_HumanTrafficking-Sinai2-web-3.pdf
Thousands of Eritreans ‘abducted to Sinai for ransom’ (BBC) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25222336
Egypt’s Sinai: Trafficking, torture and fear (Al Jazeera) http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/12/egypt-sinai-trafficking-torture-fear-201312682516380563.html
Human Trafficking Statistics (Polaris Project) http://www.cicatelli.org/titlex/downloadable/human%20trafficking%20statistics.pdf
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Charlie Birnbaum with Institute for Justice via Change.org ~~ Stop New Jersey
New Jersey is trying to bulldoze my family’s Atlantic City home as part of a development plan for an already bankrupt casino. I’m fighting back.
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Ali Lapp, House Majority PAC
| Tuesday night was hard for Democrats to stomach. there were some big successes. Thanks to you were were able to win some of the closest races around. Of the races we invested in, we won sixteen races — two of those were pick-ups for Democrats. The Cook Political Report said it best when they talked about why Democrats were able to win these tight races:“As bad as Election Night seemed, it really could have been worse, and the DCCC and House Majority PAC deserve plenty of credit for shifting their resources to defense early and saving those who could be saved.” Bottom line iswecouldn’t of done it without you. So THANK YOU!!
Now we’re turning our focus to 2016. We’ve got a historic opportunity to roll back these giant Republican gains – and put an end to the GOP’s majority. We can only keep making history with your support. Can you click here to say you are in for 2016? Thank you so much for all you did for us in 2014. Now let’s focus on the future and ensuring that all Americans have representatives that fight for them not the ultra-wealthy. Ali Ali Lapp | Executive Director House Majority PAC is the only super PAC dedicated to electing a Democratic Majority. We’re fueled by you, and we’re the people’s PAC. Click here to chip in and help fuel our efforts. |
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Overtime
The Right To Overtime Pay No Longer Exists For The Middle Class
Here’s a story we all know: Americans are working hard but earning less. But there’s a policy we don’t often talk about that has had a substantial effect on this trend: overtime pay. In 1975, more than 65 percent of salaried workers earned time-and-a-half pay for every hour worked over 40 hours per week. Today, just 11 percent do.
Overtime is still the law, but it has been allowed to erode for decades. Now, by definition, it no longer covers the middle class. Only workers earning less than $23,660 per year — below the poverty line for a family of four — qualify for mandatory overtime pay.
We would describe why that hurts middle class families and hurts the economy overall, but we think billionaire venture capitalist and champion for middle-out economic policies Nick Hanauer says it better in a new piece for Politico Magazine:
In the absence of a law requiring me to pay you overtime if you earn under a certain amount, you end up working harder—and the harder you work, the fewer employees I need. The fewer employees I need, the higher the unemployment rate. The higher the unemployment rate, the more leverage I have to “encourage” you to “do what it takes” to keep your job. And so you work even more hours, pushing unemployment up and wages down. And that, my friends, is one of the little tricks that keeps you poor and me rich.
There’s a solution to this problem — and it’s something that President Obama can do with or without help from Republicans in Congress. The President has the power to raise the income threshold for overtime on his own. If he restored federal overtime standards to where they were at their 1975 peak, that would cover workers earning up to $69,000. That comes out to 10.4 million more working Americans who would have more money in their pockets or more time to spend with friends and family.
BOTTOM LINE: Americans are working harder and longer to stretch their earnings just to keep up with the cost of living. Meanwhile, overtime pay has been allowed to erode to the point where it no longer covers anyone in the middle class. President Obama has the power to change that by strengthening overtime protections and giving the middle class and our economy a boost it needs and deserves.
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