A Voice For the Voiceless

MISSION

The Advocacy Project seeks to help community-based advocates produce, disseminate and use information, and so become more effective advocates for human rights and social justice

Julie Lee and TAMPEP

Julie Lee is studying for a Master of Science in Foreign Service at eorgetown’s School of Foreign Service. Prior to Georgetown she taught English at the Sichuan International Studies University in China (1995), and worked as an English teacher for the Peace Corps in Zimbabwe (1997-1999). In the summer of 2002, she interned in the US State Department (Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor).

Julie spoke Italian, was interested in women’s rights, and had worked in Africa. These were good qualifications to work with the Turin branch of TAMPEP. Under the direction of Rosanna Paradiso, its director, TAMPEP helps immigrant women who are illegally trafficked and coerced into prostitution. Almost all come from Nigeria or East Europe (mainly Moldava and Albania.)


Julie Lee in Turin.

Once TAMPEP has identified a client, TAMPEP staff try to persuade her to denounce their traffickers and escape from the trade. This is done by a team of "cultural mediators," who include former prostitutes. It is incredibly sensitive work. The women are often terrified of being denounced to the police, or intimidated by pimps, which means that the TAMPEP mediators have to be gentle and understanding. They get to know the women on the streets, and provide them with information about their rights, safe sex and hygiene. When women show interest in escaping from their traffickers, they are encouraged to come to the TAMPEP office, where the full range of options are explained.

Under a 1998 Italian law, prostitutes are granted a residency permit and a new identity if they agree to denounce their traffickers. Turin's regional and city governments take the problem more seriously that other cities, but even in Turin it is slow going. According to Rosanna, 34 women agreed to denounce their traffickers in 2000, but only one prosecution took place. It is also difficult to find new work for the women who decide to remain in Italy instead of returning to Nigeria.

Rosanna Paradiso, Director of TAMPEP-Turin.

Rosanna and her team have shown great imagination in trying to get around these difficulties. TAMPEP-Turin has always been clear that it needs to go back to the source of the problem, in Nigeria. Rosanna and her colleagues have been working on an extensive program of information in the villages of Edo State, which will inform Nigerian women about the risks of trafficking. This information campaign would use the media (particularly radio) and hopefully co-opt traditional rulers (Oba).

Back in Italy, TAMPEP also informs the Italian public about the abuse and violence that is directed against the Nigerian women on the streets of Italy, and lobbies Turin legislators. In September 2001, Rosanna took a TAMPEP-Turin delegation to Nigeria to establish contact with civil leaders, and spread the word about the Turnaround project.

In 2003, TAMPEP raised funds for a new project, ALNIMA, which seeks to improve the lives of foreigner prostitutes once they are deported back to Nigeria, Morocco and Albania. It also tries to identify women who might be at risk from trafficking, because of their age or family circumstances. ALNIMA would start by providing them with training in micro-credit.

Working with Rosanna and the other TAMPEP staff, Julie drew up a work plan at the outset of her internship. It contained three major components: research and recommendations for a micro-finance project in Nigeria, grant proposals, and web site development. It was also agreed that Julie would support TAMPEP in any area as needed. She concluded that the first two goals were met. “I conducted research in micro-finance in Nigeria and made preliminary recommendations for the micro credit program in TAMPEP’s ALNIMA project. Most of it was conducted via Internet to keep costs to an absolute minimum---TAMPEP suffers from severe budgetary constraints. But by limiting research primarily to the Internet, information of some micro-finance institutions was limited.

“I wrote three grant proposals, translated TAMPEP project materials in English, edited content, and attempted to bring a more critical and problem-solving approach to the work. This was missing, particularly in the project plan/proposal for the ALNIMA project. The material was put together to advertise TAMPEP to potential donors, but also to use them in a future media kits, or for TAMPEP’s future web site.”

She found the atmosphere at TAMPEP relaxed, hard-working and friendly. “Colleagues were open and very willing to help me understand the nature of their work better. I accompanied social workers and cultural mediators during street outreach work and their accompaniment of clients to health services and to the police station. I met clients. The knowledge and understanding gained I used for content for blogs and grant proposals. The head of TAMPEP was very receptive to my ideas and opinion. Within the organization, the head treated me as a normal colleague, not as a temporary intern. I was able to contribute directly to the development of the ALNIMA Project, particularly in micro credit.”

Julie’s blogs were well-written and descriptive. In the course of her work, she also helped TAMPEP draft a press release on the 2003 State Department report on trafficking. Many campaigners view this as an exercise in US hypocrisy, because it involves ranking the anti-trafficking efforts of all governments in the world – except the US. But TAMPEP welcomed the US report, and felt that it would give civil society groups a real incentive to assess the efforts of their own governments. TAMPEP has worked closely and well with the Turin authorities, which is committed to stamping out the violence and illegality associated with trafficking. But other government authorities in Italy are less engaged, and TAMPEP felt that some criticism was definitely appropriate.

“Many campaigners view the US annual report on trafficking as an exercise in US hypocrisy, because it involves ranking the efforts of all governments in the world – except the US. But TAMPEP welcomed the US report, and felt that it would give civil society groups a real incentive to assess the efforts of their own governments.”

Towards the end of her internship, Julie was invited by the United Nations to visit Nigeria as part of a TAMPEP training team. She helped to develop the work and material for training of trainers in and led some training. She felt that the sessions were well-received by participants.

She managed to meet with the director of an organization that Julie felt would be a good microfinance partner for TAMPEP, but a week was too short to develop links to civil society in Nigeria, or meet with staff from the Women’s Consortium (WOCON). The Advocacy project had hoped that our two interns in Lagos and Turin would, at some stage, work together on trafficking.

Julie’s final assessment contains much good advice for TAMPEP and the Advocacy Project, which will be carefully reviewed. She felt that a better knowledge of Italian would have helped, although she does speak passable Italian. She found it reassuring that an intern coordinator (Richard Blane) was always available at the Advocacy Project to help troubleshoot. She felt that writing regular blogs had been very useful in helping her to produce a record of her work, although photographs should have been posted more often. There was much more good advice.

Julie ended with four recommendations, which could apply to any interns:

• 1. Set clear work and time parameters for the internship period. Allow for flexibility, but avoid taking on more tasks than one feels justified.
• 2. Set the web site as a top priority from the beginning of one’s internship. Many demands on one’s time will be encountered during the internship, but time must be carved out, and support for the project identified or nurtured among staff members. Encourage input by entire staff.
• 3. At end of internship, leave behind a clear document trail of the work that you completed or began, so that other staff members know the exact status of the projects or tasks.
• 4. Tread carefully around possible staff tensions and divisions.

• Read Julie's blog
• Email Julie
  
• Email Rosanna Paradiso at TAMPEP
• For AP’s coverage of TAMPEP visit the Italy and Nigeria connect page.