Abramoff Scandal Takes Us to the Northern Mariana Islands
Living in Tennessee, I have had plenty of opportunities to rant about political corruption. But I haven't, because political corruption just doesn't excite me. Unfortunately, I don't think that anyone is surprised to learn that favors from elected officials are up for sale. So I was planning on avoiding entirely the controversy surrounding lobbyist Jack Abramoff. (Abramoff pleaded guilty today to charges of conspiracy and fraud.) But, as I read up on the situation, I learned of some disturbing dealings in the tiny Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI).
CNMI is an American Commonwealth located near the Philippines in the South Pacific. According to Wikipedia:
CNMI's unique economic position allows it to operate sweatshops, employing underpaid immigrants from China and the Philippines. The clothing produced at such sweatshops arrives at trendy stores, such as The Gap and Old Navy, with "Made in the USA" tags sewn into the garments. While a lower cost of living in CNMI may justify a lower minimum wage than in the United States proper, U.S. Representative George Miller (the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Resources, which has jurisdiction over the Northern Marianas) reports that "some in the garment industry lived in barracks with no running water and a hot plate for a kitchen."
More disturbing is the sex trade on Saipan, the territory's primary island. Asian girls are contracted to come to CNMI to work seemingly legitimate jobs, but arrive to find themselves forced into sexual slavery. According to an article last spring in The Galveston County Daily News:
Where does Abramoff come in? CNMI political and economic leaders paid Abramoff $1.36 million to convince his friends in Congress "to stop legislation aimed at cracking down on sweatshops and sex shop." (From an April 2005 ABC News investigation.) Among Abramoff's friends were, of course, Texas House Republican Tom DeLay. DeLay and several other members of Congress enjoyed lavish vacations to the Northern Marianas (a popular tourist destination in eastern Asia), and successfully blocked all attempts at serious reform.
Native American Casinos have been the focus of the Abramoff investigation; and I think it is safe to call Abramoff's dealings with Indian tribes he has represented both illegal and immoral. (I am also bothered by Abramoff's enlisting of former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed to protect his casino-operating clients. Why is a conservative fundamentalist like Reed defending, even supporting, gambling operations?) But protecting sweatshops and an illegal sex trade that targets young, immigrant girls is entirely reprehensible.
Write your U.S. Representative and Senator and ask them to support reform in the Northern Mariana Islands and a full investigation into Abramoff's efforts to bribe members of Congress to block reform in CNMI.
CNMI is an American Commonwealth located near the Philippines in the South Pacific. According to Wikipedia:The Northern Marina Islands had successfully exploited its position of being in a free trade area with the United States, while at the same time not being subject to the same labor laws as it. This means that the minimum wage in the Commonwealth is lower than in the US, and some other worker protections are weaker leading to lower production costs. In addition, a different immigration régime meant that a large number of Chinese migrant workers were employed in the Islands' garment trade.
CNMI's unique economic position allows it to operate sweatshops, employing underpaid immigrants from China and the Philippines. The clothing produced at such sweatshops arrives at trendy stores, such as The Gap and Old Navy, with "Made in the USA" tags sewn into the garments. While a lower cost of living in CNMI may justify a lower minimum wage than in the United States proper, U.S. Representative George Miller (the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Resources, which has jurisdiction over the Northern Marianas) reports that "some in the garment industry lived in barracks with no running water and a hot plate for a kitchen."
More disturbing is the sex trade on Saipan, the territory's primary island. Asian girls are contracted to come to CNMI to work seemingly legitimate jobs, but arrive to find themselves forced into sexual slavery. According to an article last spring in The Galveston County Daily News:
But the U.S. Justice Department did find proof of sex slavery.
In 1999, Soon Oh Kwon, president of Kwon Enterprises, and his wife pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to violating federal laws against involuntary servitude.
The two admitted to bringing Chinese women to Saipan in 1996 and 1997 on contracts to work as waitresses. Instead, they were forced to work as “bargirls” at Kwon Enterprises’ karaoke club, K’s Hideaway. The women were forced to have sex with the patrons, Kwon said.
If the Chinese women said they wanted to return home, they were told they could not leave until they repaid their debt for coming to Saipan. In case they had any thoughts of leaving any way, they were told they would be killed if they tried, Kwon said.
Where does Abramoff come in? CNMI political and economic leaders paid Abramoff $1.36 million to convince his friends in Congress "to stop legislation aimed at cracking down on sweatshops and sex shop." (From an April 2005 ABC News investigation.) Among Abramoff's friends were, of course, Texas House Republican Tom DeLay. DeLay and several other members of Congress enjoyed lavish vacations to the Northern Marianas (a popular tourist destination in eastern Asia), and successfully blocked all attempts at serious reform.
Native American Casinos have been the focus of the Abramoff investigation; and I think it is safe to call Abramoff's dealings with Indian tribes he has represented both illegal and immoral. (I am also bothered by Abramoff's enlisting of former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed to protect his casino-operating clients. Why is a conservative fundamentalist like Reed defending, even supporting, gambling operations?) But protecting sweatshops and an illegal sex trade that targets young, immigrant girls is entirely reprehensible.
Write your U.S. Representative and Senator and ask them to support reform in the Northern Mariana Islands and a full investigation into Abramoff's efforts to bribe members of Congress to block reform in CNMI.
posted by Tinley | 7:53 PM
4 Comments:
Josh,
Great job on this one. You point to the hypocrisy of Ralph Reed, who I understand used a public anti-gambling stance to actually benefit the Indian Casinos supported by Abramhoff. Reed worked to get out the vote to prevent competitors of Abramhoff's clients from getting the opportunity to profit from gambling. And how about Tom Delay--doesn't Delay claim to be a devout Christian--hasn't he been a hero of the Christian Right Wing?
Very good article Josh. I think it is important to encourage people to remove their politically colored glasses whether they be tinted blue or red. The moral imperitives of this case go beyond that. Just as the Tennessee Waltz investigation has turned up wide-spread corruption among its legislative body I won't be surprised to see it happen at the federal level. And whether it falls hardest on republicans or democrats does not matter, period. In Tennesse it has been mostly democrats scandalized but enough republicans have also been involved that most everyone realizes that it isn't a partisan issue. Thankfully most party players have avoided the tempting opportunity to capitalize on the events.
Part of the problem brought to light by Abramhoffs turning states evidence is a core civil trust issue - inflence peddaling is a criminal activity no matter what the ends are. That should be kept square in the middle of the controversy that will boil over. The second part is equally important, and that is to see of government protections of the people were compromised as a result. Your article brings up good information of where this might likely have occurred.
I have been a strong supporter of and apologist for the republican platform in the context of the last five years. There are many agendas on that platform that I still support and would hate to see derailed because of further scandal. However, the possibility that there is wide-spread influence peddaling is more important than those issues and has to be dealt with swiftly and harshly - for the sake of national security. I hope the president doesn't take a passive stance on this one and realizes the need to clean house from within his party even if for the appearance of impropiety. The damage from coerced resignations internally will be far less than the damage of standing by those who are likely guilty while trust in our government is severely damaged. That would even extend to the president himself if he has been substantially involved in influence pedaling. We certainly do not need another Watergate or anything else at this critical time in World history.
Having said that, I think the role that popular religious figures have played in all of this is equally damaging to the Kingdom of God. I think it serves all Christians and their governing bodies well to remember their limited role in worldly affairs like secular government. We do have a role to play but it must never become a stumbling block for the Body of Christ. I think most of mainstream religious bodies, including the UMCs GBCS, have put themself in the position where temptation can wreak havoc for the larger body through the lobbying efforts they undertake. Frankly, I don't think Christians should be "lobbyist" in the context of modern American politics. That would be the line that separates the Church from the State, in my opinion. When a religious component or spokesperson does cross that line then it is inevitable that values will be compromised, i.e. gambling, fornication, and slavery. There are many other values which have been or are in jeopardy of being compromised than just those three.
Good job, Joshua.
thanks for posting this. here's to hoping that this story gets more run nationally, especially if it's laid out as intelligently as this post.
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