www.witness.org
"WITNESS
Rights Alert" Focuses on Sweatshops in New York City
Call to Action Urges Support of Trafficking Victims Act 2000 New York, June 7, 2000—This month’s WITNESS RIGHTS ALERT feature, "The Empire’s New Clothes," highlights sweatshops in New York City, where thousands of immigrant women, many from the Chinese and Latino communities, are sewing garments under dangerous and unfair labor conditions. The video, narrated by Susan Sarandon, describes how many workers in New York City have been threatened with "blacklisting" and losing their jobs if they speak out about their exploitation, and focuses on the vulnerability of undocumented workers. The $20 billion apparel industry is the city’s largest—employing more than 200,000 people in manufacturing, wholesale, and related business. The U.S. government conservatively estimates that over 60% of the city’s 7,000 garment factories are sweatshops. The feature’s "Act Now" section calls on U.S. Senators to support the Bill S. 2449 introduced by Senator Paul Wellstone (D-MN) to combat trafficking of women and children. This section also targets a Donna Karan factory based on a recent report of the Center for Economic and Social Rights and a campaign of the National Mobilization Against Sweatshops (NMASS). "WITNESS Rights Alert" (http://www.witness.org) is a bi-weekly series of human rights videos introduced by celebrities and produced by advocates from around the world. The site, which was awarded "The Best of the Net" by About.com, receives up to 15,000 hits daily. Last month’s features include: "In the Name of Safety," introduced by musician Laurie Anderson, about the practice of "Safe Custody" in Bangladesh whereby women and children can be ordered into custody—although they have committed no crime—to ensure their safety, and "A Massacre Remembered," narrated by REM musician Michael Stipe, which tells the story of Jesus Tecu Osorio, one of the sole survivors to the Rio Negro massacre in Guatemala on March 13, 1982. Other issues recently covered include police brutality, trafficking of women, and child soldiers. Founded in 1992 by Peter Gabriel in partnership with Human Rights First and the Reebok Foundation, WITNESS has provided 125 human rights groups in 47 countries with video cameras and helped them to expose the crimes, right the wrongs, and end impunity for human rights violators. WITNESS, a project of Human Rights First, advances human rights through the use of video and related communications technologies. |
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