Victory for Human Rights

72 Thai garment workers were liberated on Augst 2, 1995 as part of a pre-dawn multi-agency raid of the slavery compound in El Monte, California that included Thai CDC, the federal marshals, the State of CA Labor Commission, the CA Occupational Safety and Hazards Administration, the State of CA Employment Development Department, the US Department of Labor, and the El Monte Police. 
- photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Times

 

Thai CDC played a pivotal role in over half a dozen major human rights cases involving 2,000 Thais and over 400 direct victims of human trafficking and modern day slavery in the United States, including the famed El Monte Case, that brought Thai CDC international media attention.  As a result of our campaign for redress and restitution on behalf of the victims, we were instrumental in transforming victims into agents for social change and in influencing legislation to reform the garment industry and to provide adequate protections and legal status for victims of trafficking.  Our unwavering pursuit of justice in these cases won us much acclaim and recognition.  However, there still remain too many men, women and children around the world victimized by human trafficking every day.  Los Angeles, California continues to be a major hub for human traffickers.  We hope the following resources will aid your knowledge and understanding of  human trafficking and we can all stand up for human rights together.

 

News:
  • This summer, from July 8th through Aug 8th, Company of Angels in association with Thai CDC will present "Fabric", a play by award-winning local playwright Henry Ong, that is inspired by the experiences of the El Monte Thai garment workers

  • LA Daily News: Survivors of slavery 'still fighting', Feb. 11, 2010

  • LA Times: Human Trafficking Case Ends for 48 Thai Welders, Dec. 8, 2006 (Thai welders case)
  • LA Times: Program to Fight Human Trafficking is Underused, Dec. 19, 2005 (Thai domestic workers case)
  • LA Times: From Virtual Slavery to Being Boss, Oct. 25, 2001 (El Monte slavery case)
  • PBS: Slavery in America, March 8, 2001 (Thai domestic workers case)
  • LA Times: Speaking Up for the Silent, Aug. 23, 1995 (El Monte slavery case)
   The El Monte slavery victims were forced to work producing            
 garments between seventeen and twenty-two hours a day in            
a two-story apartment complex consisting of seven units,            
surrounded by a ring of razor wire and iron guardrails with            
sharp ends pointing inward.  They were intimidated with            
threats that their family would be harmed and their home in            
Thailand burned down if they attempted to escape.           
Resources:
  • Asian and Latino Immigrants in a Restructuring Economy: The Metamorphosis of Southern California Edited by Marta Lopez-Garza and David R. Diaz
  • Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy by Kevin Bales 
  • Nobodies: Modern American Slave Labor and the Dark Side of the New Global Economy by John Bowe
  • Sweatshop Slaves: Asian Americans in the Garment Industry Edited by Kent Wong and Julie Monroe
  • Sweatshop Warriors: Immigrant Women Workers Take on the Global Factory by Miriam Ching Louie

 

       

       Our Projects

Small Business Program
Affordable Housing
Victory for Human Rights
Live Work & Play in East Hollywood
Thai Town Development
Research

 

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