Fishermen who fled slavery in San Francisco sue boat owner

[webfact]

Fishermen who fled slavery in San Francisco sue boat owner

By MARTHA MENDOZA

 

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Two Indonesian fishermen who escaped slavery aboard a Honolulu-based tuna and swordfish vessel when it docked at San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf are suing the boat's owner for tricking them into accepting dangerous jobs they say they weren't allowed to leave.

 

Attorneys for Abdul Fatah and Sorihin, who uses one name, say in a lawsuit filed in federal court Thursday that they were recruited in Indonesia seven years ago to work in Hawaii's commercial fishing fleet without realizing they would never be allowed onshore. They have since been issued visas for victims of human trafficking and are living in the San Francisco area.

 

The lawsuit alleges that San Jose, California, resident Thoai Nguyen, owner and captain of the Sea Queen II, forced Sorihin and Fatah to work up to 20-hour shifts, denied them medical treatment and demanded thousands of dollars if they wanted to leave before their contracts expired. Nguyen did not return calls seeking comment.

 

The lawsuit seeks payment for debts the men incurred, fees they paid and compensation promised without specifying a dollar amount, and asks for unspecified damages for "mental anguish and pain."

 

"I want to be compensated because of the suffering I felt on the boat and all the suffering I have endured after I got off the boat," Sorihin said Thursday through a translator at his lawyer's San Francisco office. "And I hope no one will suffer what I have suffered."

 

The lawsuit comes two weeks after an Associated Press investigation found around 140 fishing boats based in Honolulu, including Sea Queen II, were crewed by hundreds of men from impoverished Southeast Asia and Pacific Island nations. The seafood is sold at markets and upscale restaurants across the U.S. A legal loophole allows them to work without visas as long as they don't set foot on shore. The system is facilitated by the U.S. Coast Guard, as well as Customs and Border Protection who require boat owners to hold workers' passports.

 

AP found some men are paid as little as 70 cents an hour. Others had to use buckets instead of toilets, suffered running sores from bed bugs or sometimes lacked sufficient food.

 

In response, the Hawaii Longline Association representing fishing boat owners has created a universal crew contract that will be required on any boat wanting to sell fish in the state's seafood auction starting Oct. 1. The group says it deplores human trafficking, and that the contract will protect workers.

 

The contracts let owners continue to set their own minimum salaries, allow workers to spend the entire year at sea (15 trips, 10 to 40 days each), and reiterate that they must remain on board with passports held by owners.

 

Cornell University law professor Stephen Yale-Loehr said the new contract "reinforces the current deplorable situation by emphasizing that the crew members have no real rights."

 

"Congress should repeal the loophole that exempts U.S. fishing captains from having to provide basic labor protections to their crew," he said.

Here's what Sorihin and Fatah say happened to them.

 

They signed contracts promising $350 a month plus bonuses. They borrowed about $300 to pay an agent in Jakarta. They flew from Jakarta to Singapore, then Sydney, on to Fiji and Pago Pago, American Samoa, an exhausting, 12,500-mile trip.

 

Because docking is inconvenient and potentially costly, the fishermen had to swim from one boat to another before sailing to Honolulu to begin fishing.

 

Then it got worse.

 

One day as Sorihin wrestled a shark onto the Sea Queen, a fishing line got wrapped around his finger, nearly breaking it off. He said his captain set it straight with a chopstick, rubbing ginger and honey on it.

 

Another time a winch cable snapped, cracking Sorihin in his shoulder; swollen and sore, he was allowed a two-hour rest. A swordfish sliced his face as he pulled it aboard, according to the lawsuit.

 

They say the captain was verbally abusive and gave them only torn and worn-out gear. There was new protective gear on the boat but the captain said they would have to pay for it. Both men asked to see a doctor at various times but were told there was no health insurance.

 

"I knew if I stayed on that boat I was going to die," said Sorihin in an interview.

 

They worked from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. without a food break. Then, after a meal and a few hours' rest, they'd fish some more. After a few trips, three relatives of the captain's joined them as crew.

 

"The captain's nephew kicked me with his feet to wake me up. I never felt safe working on that boat," Fatah said in an interview.

 

Although there was a toilet on board, they had to go to the bathroom in plastic buckets and baggies on deck. And the money, a few hundred dollars a month, just wasn't worth it.

 

After a few 20-day trips out of Hawaii, they began docking in San Francisco about once a month. They would gaze from Fisherman's Wharf dock over to Scoma's, a classic San Francisco seafood restaurant where diners enjoyed the freshest catch.

 

Then they'd head out to sea again. One day Fatah got washed onto a railing by a huge wave. He shivered, cried and cramped up. "I thought, 'This is probably the end,'" he said.

 

They asked to go home, but were told they would have to reimburse the captain the $6,000 he spent to bring them there.

 

Finally, they decided to run. It was before dawn, six years ago, when the skipper was gone and drunken crewmembers slept. Sorihin and Fatah sneaked into a private room and grabbed their passports. They dashed through San Francisco's historic waterfront and eventually boarded a southbound train toward San Jose, where they sought help from an Indonesian man they knew of.

 

"I didn't think I'd have another chance to survive at sea," said Fatah. "I was really afraid."

 

The man took them in and found them help, through the Catholic Church, a shelter, social workers and eventually immigration attorneys.

 

Today they both work two jobs. They clerk at a liquor store, and Sorihin also drives a car for hire. Fatah takes inventory at a department store. Neither goes anywhere near Fisherman's Wharf.

 

Earlier this year, before filing their lawsuit, they looked at photos of the Sea Queen II and their former captain.

 

"That's him," said Sorihin, shaking his head when asked if he would take a short walk to see the boat. "I'm afraid of this man."

____

Associated Press writers Margie Mason in Honolulu and Sudhin Thanawala in San Francisco contributed to this report.

____

Follow Martha Mendoza and Margie Mason on Twitter at: @mendozamartha and @MargieMasonAP

 

-- © Associated Press 2016-09-23

[ClutchClark]

They escaped 6 years ago?

 

No doubt this is a terrible practice and the US condones it if the article is true.

 

The Skipper sounds like a Vietnamese...send him back to his country after confiscating his boat...the man is pure scum.

[Scott]

I think you will find that the US does not condone this.   That is why there are laws against it.   I think you will find out that if the captain is found guilty he will be doing a long stretch in prison.   Human trafficking is right up there with child sexual abuse charges as far as the judicial system is concerned.  

 

If he is returned to Vietnam, it will probably be in an urn.

[stevenl]

4 minutes ago, Scott said:

I think you will find that the US does not condone this.   That is why there are laws against it.   I think you will find out that if the captain is found guilty he will be doing a long stretch in prison.   Human trafficking is right up there with child sexual abuse charges as far as the judicial system is concerned.  

 

If he is returned to Vietnam, it will probably be in an urn.

Why does the main contract not protect the workers?

[Scott]

No, idea, but any attempt to hold people against their will or pay them less than the minimum wage will having nothing to do with a contract.   The laws supersede any contract.   

[ClutchClark]

10 minutes ago, Scott said:

I think you will find that the US does not condone this.   That is why there are laws against it.   I think you will find out that if the captain is found guilty he will be doing a long stretch in prison.   Human trafficking is right up there with child sexual abuse charges as far as the judicial system is concerned.  

 

If he is returned to Vietnam, it will probably be in an urn.

 

Scott, 

The Skipper said he had a right to have his original investment of travel expenses properly compensated for and I think this is true. 

 

The crew admitted to receiving some compensation each week but decided it was not enough. The article does not explicitly state whether it was the amount promised by contract but if it was then this was not slavery.

 

The article states some crew make as little as 70 cents an hour and this is no different from American college kids fishing in AK--crew allotments can be based on catch size.

 

The article states these two crew were taken to an organization that provided assistance yetthis was 6 years ago. Such an orgsnization sure seems like it would have brought criminal charges against the skipper six years ago IF they had a case. 

 

These two crew waited six years and now file a lawsuit for compensation so their testimony of events have to be verified since they could be fabricated for financial gain. 

 

Right now, what crimes has the Vietnamese Skipper clearly committed?

[stevenl]

17 minutes ago, Scott said:

No, idea, but any attempt to hold people against their will or pay them less than the minimum wage will having nothing to do with a contract.   The laws supersede any contract.   

Yes, but difficult to get your rights if you're kept on board without passport.

[Scott]

The owner may have a right to his original investment, however, he cannot hold people against their will in order to get it.  If someone owes you money, do you think you can take one of his children and hold them captive until they are paid?

 

Admitting to receiving some compensation and receiving the agreed amount of compensation or the amount that is determined by law are separate issues.   Do you think that if you hire someone to paint your house and agree to pay $1,000, you can then simply decide you don't like the paint job and pay $500?   Do you think that you can do this arbitrarily?  

 

 

[bark]

2 hours ago, stevenl said:

Yes, but difficult to get your rights if you're kept on board without passport.

Minimum wage, included room and board.

All American  fishermen are paid a percentage from the profits of the catch. Just watch any of the TV shows about fishing.

Catch nothing, get paid nothing.

[jaaaason]

Interesting points in this story are that the Hawaiian legislation was passed several years ago , and uses the rules to not allow workers ashore . There is a copy of the law online makes an interesting read. It also brings to light that under "U.S." law this form of servitude was made legal by the local government and enforced by federal officers(Coast Guard) with full knowledge of the conditions. So based upon information that has come to light for all to read , sad to say but the U.S. is also involved in a legal form of what could be termed "slavery". Hawaii was given the right to govern it's own fishing industry and apparently has taken advantage of workers for many years. But as the majority are "foreign"...Malaysian,Indonesian , etc.....n one really cared about what was going on. Especially the captains and the seafood industry

[stevenl]

59 minutes ago, bark said:

Minimum wage, included room and board.

All American  fishermen are paid a percentage from the profits of the catch. Just watch any of the TV shows about fishing.

Catch nothing, get paid nothing.

So reality TV shows portray daily life reality?

 

And you're missing my point. How does somebody get what is owed when he is kept on a boat without passport.

[Credo]

11 minutes ago, jaaaason said:

Interesting points in this story are that the Hawaiian legislation was passed several years ago , and uses the rules to not allow workers ashore . There is a copy of the law online makes an interesting read. It also brings to light that under "U.S." law this form of servitude was made legal by the local government and enforced by federal officers(Coast Guard) with full knowledge of the conditions. So based upon information that has come to light for all to read , sad to say but the U.S. is also involved in a legal form of what could be termed "slavery". Hawaii was given the right to govern it's own fishing industry and apparently has taken advantage of workers for many years. But as the majority are "foreign"...Malaysian,Indonesian , etc.....n one really cared about what was going on. Especially the captains and the seafood industry

Well, it seems that California, where the men deboarded, may feel differently about it.   

 

Maritime laws about who is allowed ashore are similar to those who fly.   You may get to transit a country, but you may not enter it without a visa.   That has been the situation for many years.   

 

[Yann55]

3 hours ago, Scott said:

I think you will find that the US does not condone this.   That is why there are laws against it.   I think you will find out that if the captain is found guilty he will be doing a long stretch in prison.   Human trafficking is right up there with child sexual abuse charges as far as the judicial system is concerned.  

 

If he is returned to Vietnam, it will probably be in an urn.

 

Quote : They have since been issued visas for victims of human trafficking and are living in the San Francisco area.

 

Yes, sometimes the US do the right thing, and not only the righteous posturing. So let's not be negative about it and when I read that phrase about the visas I think to myself : there are still a lot of things and people to love in that country (racist Trump not being one of them).

 

[impulse]

1 hour ago, Yann55 said:

 

Quote : They have since been issued visas for victims of human trafficking and are living in the San Francisco area.

 

Yes, sometimes the US do the right thing, and not only the righteous posturing. So let's not be negative about it and when I read that phrase about the visas I think to myself : there are still a lot of things and people to love in that country (racist Trump not being one of them). 

 

Wonder what reception they would have received if they hadn't claimed to be trafficked.  Probably a one way ticket back home.  

 

Which casts a question about the veracity of their stories.  Could just be a Green Card ploy.

 

If they were held against their will as they claim, may the perpetrators rot in jail.  But let's get both sides of the story before we consign him (them?) to prison.

 

Still, interesting that the vessel's owner hasn't filed a defamation case against them...  On a couple of levels.

 

Edited September 23, 2016 by impulse

[bark]

4 hours ago, stevenl said:

So reality TV shows portray daily life reality?

 

And you're missing my point. How does somebody get what is owed when he is kept on a boat without passport.

I'm not missing your point. I understand what you are saying. But these guys sold their story for cash money.

[stevenl]

10 minutes ago, bark said:

I'm not missing your point. I understand what you are saying. But these guys sold their story for cash money.

Ok, your comment has nothing to do with what I said, so you clearly are missing the point.

 

Never mind.

[bark]

11 minutes ago, stevenl said:

Ok, your comment has nothing to do with what I said, so you clearly are missing the point.

 

Never mind.

Point Taken