Since the google cache will eventually be gone, let's paste it here:
An Investigation into Modern Religious White Slavery in the USA
Religion Sponsored White Slavery: A New Form of Human Trafficking
On Oct. 19, 1995 an article appeared in the
Tampa Tribune (
Florida, USA) that reported a case of coerced slavery of a young Mexican woman who was offered free classes if she joined a
local Church. Instead, she was put to work remodeling the former Clearwater Bank building into church offices. Reportedly, she worked from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. each day at the church’s headquarters in
Clearwater, Florida. She was never given her free classes up until the time she was able to escape her captors. The church in question was the
Church of Scientology.[1] This story about Ms. Perez is one of many stories about victims of the Church of Scientology but this story and many others, until now are not considered as human trafficking or modern white slavery.
Quoting an April 8, 1993 article in
Far Eastern Economic Review, the author noted that the US would remain “vulnerable” to human trafficking unless it is stopped at the sending state.[2] In August 1998, the
US Government made such a decision by stopping the issuance of R-1 religious worker visas to members of the Church of Scientology located throughout Eastern Europe and countries of the former Soviet Union.[3] It is my belief that this decision was the result of an April 1998 interview, given to the head of the visa section of the US Consulate in
St. Petersburg, Russia by a Russian Scientologist that had recently returned from visiting the Church of Scientology in Clearwater, Florida, the same church visited by Ms. Perez in 1995.
During my recent travels to St. Petersburg, my interviews included attempts to gain insight into the religious white slavery trade, and, particularly in regards to the Church of Scientology. My interviewees had little or no knowledge on this subject, other than what they had read in The Moscow Times and St. Petersburg Times newspapers. None of these articles included information on members of the Church traveling to the
USA. Of the interviews, previously noted in Part I, I did have the opportunity to discuss the Church of Scientology with the Cultural Attaché of the US Department of State. Mr. Siefkin was personally aware that the Church of Scientology offices in St. Petersburg invited Russians to travel abroad and personally new of one individual who had been invited to Crimea in the mid-90s. The trip was organized for non-Scientologists to visit a Scientology center to learn about the Church. The woman who went to the Crimea did not join the Church and returned to Russia. According to Mr. Siefkin, her reasons for going were an excuse to visit the Crimea. I discussed details of my two case studies, to be presented in this section, and he said he intended to contact Chris Misciagno, the current visa consul in the US Consulate in St. Petersburg, to learn more about this issue.
US Government: Unknowing Sponsor of Religious White Slavery?
The US Government repeatedly approved the issuance of R1 religious worker visas (or R2 for children under 21 and spouses related to the R1 recipients) to unknowing Russian Scientologists in the mid to late 90’s. In the case of the Russians who went to the Church of Scientology, the US Government in essence made possible a transnational crime that would inevitably take place each time one of their unknowing victims would arrive at the Clearwater Church. I will discuss the legal ramifications of the R-1 and R-2 religious visas issued by the US Government and focus on the relative issues concerning slavery and human trafficking used by the Church of Scientology. The most important fact is that the religious workers that have visited the Church of Scientology have been used as janitors and for other menial labor positions, a clear violation of their R1 visas. I will present two main case studies called “Nadezhda” and “Araxia”, two adult women who were coerced to visit Clearwater, Florida in early 1998. Both women have told me their stories that are included in this ARP.
At this time no investigations have begun to understand what happened to these women but Nadezhda granted an interview, in the presence of representatives of the US Consulate in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1998, which appear to have resulted in the unofficial stoppage of R1 visas, as mentioned above.
R-1 Religious Worker Visas
The R-1 classification applies to a religious worker. This refers to an alien coming to the US temporarily to work as a minister of religion, as a professional in a religious vocation or occupation or for a bona fide nonprofit religious organization and at the request of the organization in a religious occupation, which relates to a traditional religious function. Dependents (spouses and unmarried children under 21 years of age) of R-1 workers are entitled to R-2 status with the same restrictions and privileges as the principal. According to the description of religious occupation, as prescribed by the US Department of Justice, both the R-1 and R-2 visas do not include janitors, maintenance workers, clerks, fundraisers, and solicitors of donations or similar occupations.
Case Study 1: “Nadezhda”[4]
Nadezhda was a divorced 43-year-old mother of a 20-year-old college girl. With
the collapse of the Soviet Union, she lost her job, her career, and found herself officially unemployed. To pay her bills she offered private services as a clinical cosmetologist. With certification she received during Soviet times, she was able to work as a pediatric nurse but in 1997, she would earn no more than 50 rubles per month working in a Government hospital
[5]. A friend of hers introduced her to the new St. Petersburg Church in 1994 and she studied at the Church offices and tutored others on the teachings of
L. Ron Hubbard until the end of 1997. To become a true Scientologist she was told would require her to go to the Flagship of the Church of Scientology located in Clearwater, Florida. This would be her first (and apparently last) trip to the USA.[6]
Although she had no use of the
English language, she accepted an invitation to work as a religious worker in Clearwater for one year. She was told that she would be given a two-week intensive English language course and then study for her certification as an auditor. Following her one-year education in Clearwater she would then return to Russia as a Scientologist with certification allowing her to offer auditing (treatments) to visitors to the Russian Center at the cost of $200 – $1000 per client. She considered this a very promising economic future.[7]
Nadezhda was introduced to an American Scientologist in the fall of 1997 who was visiting Russia explicitly to find candidates to attend the Church’s
school in Clearwater. Steven Dreyfus (his real name) told her that the US Flagship would take care of all visa paperwork and would even meet with US Consular officials to assure her visa approval. By US Immigration law, the consulates had a difficult time denying such invitations since the Church of Scientology was an officially recognized religion in the United States. Although the Church agreed to take care of the invitation, they told her that she would have to pay for her ticket to Miami where they would arrange to meet her and escort her to Clearwater. For a recently unemployed Soviet era worker she did not have the money available for such an expense but under pressure from Steven, she found the means to borrow the necessary funds. If she had purchased the tickets three weeks, in advance it would have been possible to purchase a roundtrip for approximately $675. Steven would not hear of waiting and told her she would have to leave the following week with him. Nadezhda bought the only available priced ticket she could find in such a short time. The cost was over $1500.[8] As is required in applications for religious worker visas she was given a contract by the Church of Scientology, which said that during her visit to the United States she would receive free room and board along with a financial stipend of $50/week for her personal expenses, hygiene supplies and social expenses.
Secret Society
Once Nadezhda arrived at the Flagship compound, she was given a room in a luxury hotel on the grounds of the Church in Clearwater. Shortly after she checked in and changed her clothes she attended a grand welcome session where she and the other new arrivals were told they would need to sign several documents before their new lives could begin at the Church. One of the documents was a detailed contract that included a line, which she was required to initial, stating that she would commit herself to the Church for the remainder of her days on earth, also called the “billion year contract.” Since she had no money and no ability to communicate in English she was coerced to sign this life-long contract, since the alternative was to be dumped on the streets of America. Part of the contract further stipulated that during her stay at the Flagship she would need to make arrangements to sell her home in Russia since she would be working for the Church after receiving her certification and that the Church would provide her room and board for the rest of her life depending on where she would be sent to work. The proceeds from the sale of her house would be considered a personal donation to her new family, the Church of Scientology.[9]
Day 2: Boot Camp
The new arrivals, once they completed all necessary forms were then told that the first two weeks of their time at the Flagship would be a military style boot camp initiation program. All arrivals were then immediately checked out of their rooms at the hotel and relocated to barracks located at the rear of the compound. Her barracks were only for women, which included a number of young girls, under the age of 18. The barracks had one bathroom that included a single shower. There were 25 occupants in her barracks.
At 5 AM, the following morning reveille was sounded and they were told to dress quickly and come out to formation, which took place with the men and young men from other barracks buildings. They had all been given prison camp style uniforms the night before that they would be wearing during this period of boot camp. As they formed up, they met their drill instructor Major Engelhard (his real name) who wore a very spiffy white military styled uniform. Nadezhda thought it looked like uniforms worn in the Russian Navy but was clearly of much finer quality. Major Engelhard read the rules of boot camp to all the new arrivals during formation. Although few of the people in formation were able to speak English, he only used English when speaking.
The rules included, but were not limited to: 5:30 AM reveille followed by formation at 6 AM. The standard workday started each morning at 6 a.m. and finished at 10 p.m. Recruits were given a maximum of 2 minutes to use the bathroom each day. A total allowance of 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the evening were granted to the residents of her dormitory for personal hygiene. In a second interview, Nadezhda clarified that she and other residents did not have opportunities to bathe daily due to their being delayed in their return to their barracks in the evening. The morning formations always included organized drilled exercise routines followed by chores.
Nadezhda asked Major Engelhard when they would receive their intensive two-week program in English and begin their training as Scientologists. She was told that it was not her right to ask questions and that she was not to speak unless spoken to.
The two-week boot camp extended to eight weeks. The chores given these recruits included many forms of janitorial, maintenance and other menial and occasional hard labor. The labor consisted of grounds keeping, industrial painting and carpentry, kitchen work, cleaning of rooms and toilets in the hotel and office buildings and extensive garment repair work for the clothes worn by officers of the Church. There did not appear to be any hired staff at the compound to do this work. She soon began to realize that she and her fellow recruits were brought to Clearwater to be low cost labor replacing a non-existent staff.[10]
The daily formations and chores were done together by both the men/boys and women/girls. What is most important about the residents of the men’s barracks is that there were underage children not related to the other men in the barracks. Socializing was forbidden between members of the opposite sex, even if related to one another, as was the case with one of the boys and his mother.
Child Labor
During her 8-week ordeal, she befriended a Georgian woman named Araxia who was similar in age to Nadezhda. Araxia had come to Clearwater with her two children, a 14-year-old son and 17-year-old daughter and her sister. Her husband remained in Georgia. Her son was taken from her when she moved to the barracks the night before. He was forbidden to socialize with his mother during boot camp. Children were treated as adults in boot camp and were expected to complete all the same chores, regardless of age. According to an article entitled “Scientology’s Children” in the
St. Petersburg (Florida)
Times, November 1991, “Scientologists believe children are adults in small bodies.”
An Attempt to Evade Her Captors
At the end of the 8th week, Nadezhda was given an opportunity to call home to her daughter. This was the second time she was allowed to call home. The first call took place the night she arrived. With no greater wish, than to escape the “hell” she found herself in, she told Major Engelhard that problems developed regarding the sale of her home, which required her immediate presence. Major Engelhard told her she would remain in the USA and that the Church would arrange to have someone go to Russia to take care of the problems. Once she explained that her home was part of a communal apartment,[11] he understood that she would have to return herself. He became very agitated and more aggressive toward her after this moment.
The Military Tribunal
Before her departure from the compound, she had to appear in an elaborate military tribunal with five senior officers of the Church. She was drilled for more than 4 hours being reminded of her contractual obligations (the familiar Socratic method commonly used by Scientologists). Most importantly, she was told never to discuss any details of her visit to Clearwater with persons other than officers of the Church. She was repeatedly told that speaking to her own family was an act of disparaging the Church and considered the greatest moral sin.
Since her return airline ticket was scheduled for the following year, and could not be changed, the only option available was for the Church to pay for her return ticket home. Major Engelhard told her that she must work additional hours over a 3-week period to compensate the Church for the cost of her ticket. Her 16-hour workdays were now increased to 20 hours per day. The style of her work also intensified including scrubbing floors. During the conversation where Major Engelhard told her, she would need to work for three more weeks she attempted to remind Major Engelhard that according to her agreement with the Church, included with her R1 visa invitation, that she had earned $400. He told her that this was not enough to pay for her return ticket home and besides which the Church was not required to give her these moneys until she completed her 1-year agreement to work in Clearwater. Upon completion of this 3-week period, she was taken to the Miami International Airport and placed on a plane to Budapest, Hungary. She was given $100 cash to use to purchase a ticket from Budapest to St. Petersburg. Since the cost of the ticket was $100, she was given no extra money to pay for expenses she would have for the layover in Budapest. She was fortunate to meet a friendly Russian Hungarian businessman on the flight to Budapest who offered her his assistance once they arrived in Budapest.
Her daughter met her at the airport upon her arrival back in Russia. She was 25 pounds lighter than she had been when she left Russia 11 weeks earlier. According to interviews with her daughter, she claimed that her mother looked almost skeletal and that most of her body fat had disappeared. Nadezhda was a former member of the Russian Olympic bobsled team and always kept in good physical shape. At 5’4” in height, she weighed less than 100 pounds when she returned to Russia in April 1998.
In July 1998, Nadezhda paid a visit to the US Consulate Commercial Section, which was then located within the Grand Europe Hotel in downtown St. Petersburg. The head of the Visa Section came to meet her there. Nadezhda offered a complete detailed account of what she had experienced at the Church of Scientology in Clearwater. The interview was conducted in the Russian language and was tape-recorded by the Visa Consul. In August 1998, there was an abrupt stoppage of new R1 visas for Scientologists wishing to visit the USA. This stoppage was evident in Russia and throughout the rest of Eastern Europe. [12]
Follow-up Interview
I had an opportunity to interview Nadezhda by telephone on 9 April 2003 to review my notes and to ask her additional questions that would shed more light on the demographics of the other Scientologists that went to the Church in Clearwater. She confirmed that she joined the St. Petersburg Church of Scientology in 1994 and was a member until she departed from Clearwater in 1997. During the time she was with the Church, she recollects that approximately 25 members of the St. Petersburg Church went to Clearwater on R1 religious worker visas. Of the 25, she specifically recalls that eight of these were men and the rest were women. Of these 25 people, none of them returned to the St. Petersburg Church after their departure to America. She does not recall if any of the people who traveled from St. Petersburg went with their children. She confirmed that the Directors of the St. Petersburg Church were very active in convincing their members to raise money and to accept the invitations to go to Clearwater.
I asked her additional questions regarding her memories of her 11-week stay in Clearwater. The other Scientologists she met came from Poland, France, Hungary, Russia and Mexico. There were approximately 100 adults in the group and as many as 75 children between the ages of 12 and 17. She reconfirmed that all male children were separated from their mothers and girls were separated from their fathers, forced to live amongst adults of their own sex. The children were treated as adults and expected to accomplish the same tasks.
The daily work schedule consisted of a 16-hour shift. One hour per day was devoted to English language skills but these skills were designed only to understand commands given to them as laborers at the Church. What she recalls most vividly were words relative to how to march, stand up in formation and the names of items that they encountered in their daily work, i.e. forward march, stop, left face, right face, and so on. Of the Russians about 80% did not speak English; overall approximately 10% of all the people had some level of command of the English language. None of those people who were in the labor area left this area during the time she was there. Their daily chores were explained to them each morning at formation. There was no social program made available to these workers.
Case Study 2: “Araxia”
(Translated from an email dated 25 June 2000 sent by Araxia (Perm, Russia) to the author (St. Petersburg, Russia)
I, together with my sister, and with my two adolescent children (daughter, aged 17 and son, aged 14) was in Clearwater, Florida at the Church of Scientology, February – March 1998. More than two years have passed but we still cannot forget the horror we experienced there. We are only just starting to release the memories of the terror.
It has taken almost two years but I can now discuss what happened and I would like to go to the American Consulate to meet with the American consul to bring charges against the Church of Scientology for payment on moral grounds. Even though that we understand there is no amount of money or any help that can help to recreate all of our physical power and health that were broken by hard labor in the Church, I decided to apply in court for one reason, to make them stop to recruit people.
We worked for free the only thing we got was food and bed, from 7 am to 11 pm at night without weekends off. Then they took us to dormitory where we were living in 8-16 people in the room. In addition, they only allowed us 2 minutes for shower after that they turned off lights. Cleaning of rooms also was our responsibilities, the church did not have working persons and all our work was repairing, and cleaning rooms, offices and the hotels for the public was our job. The cleaning of kitchens and washing dishes in the kitchens were also our responsibilities. However, the most horrible thing was that they forced my 14-year-old son to work during two weeks at nights building a stage for a concert hall and then he was engaged in painting pipes with very smelly paint underground without any air conditioning. During the day, he and other men were allowed only 3 hours to sleep and then they were taken away for work. I could not recognize my son; he did not understand what was happening at the rare moments when I saw him. He had a dazed look and did not seem to care. Before our departure, his temperature rose and he could not understand where I was taking him. All 15 hours of our transatlantic flight, my children did not eat and could only sleep because of their exhaustion.
When the Church recruited us in Ekaterinburg they told us that we would live together, the whole family, and they will pay each of us $50 per week and what we will have weekends, holidays and at anytime we would be allowed to leave back to Russia. But what happened in reality until the end of my days, by the laws of the Church’s organization I did not have the right to visit the room of my son and other men, and vice-a-versa. They did not pay us what they promised for the time we were there. I received $23. They did not give me money for the trip back to Russia. Our friend from Perm asked his American friend, a professor living in Clearwater, to lend us money and that man brought us money to the Church about 12 midnight and the next morning we left.
Practically no one has the opportunity to leave from there, because nobody has money. Besides that, they force you to pay for the courses, which you take in exchange for hard labor. Each course cost more than $1000 and to take into consideration that one person takes one course per week then nobody from the newly arrived group could not possibly pay the price. Because every one of us sold out already everything, they had just to come to America to be at the Church.
Therefore, the human being is trapped but the most horrible is that happened to the soul and spirit. Because just before leaving I had been working in my city in the L Ron Hubbard Center for three years and I believed with all of my heart and soul that I was doing the most generous business on earth. Then they told me that they need me at Flag and what I could help all people on the planet with my contribution as a Scientologist. I was ready to make a commitment. The result was a horrible disappointment.
To make my leave less painful I had to go and lie and tell them that I had to leave for sometime because the father of my children did not approve that the children would leave and now he insists that they return to Russia. The Church staff locked me in a special room with security and they forced me to sign a statement in writing what I had committed sins against the Church. I was very scared, horrified because I was separated at that moment from the rest of the world and they could hide me for a couple of years in a punitive detachment center (known as RPF) and my children would never leave the Church. At that moment, I was ready to write and sign anything they wanted. They gave me to sign 15 or 20 pages of documents where I had been told I would never ever be able to talk publicly against the Church of Scientology. Moreover, if I would break that promise then against me they will bring legal action and require monetary payment in return.
Dear Steven, I do not know how better to go to the Consul to speak about this, and if it is possible to do it in Russian language or can, I do this through Internet? If you can help me, I will be very thankful. Goodbye. Sincerely, Araxia 25th of June 2000.
(Translated from an email dated 3 July 2000 sent by Araxia (Perm, Russia) to the author (St. Petersburg, Russia)
Good day to you Steven. I just found out that you are going to the US Consulate for a meeting with the Consul and I want you to let him know, or ask his personnel, to contact me. I also ask you please give me the email address of the Consul in St. Petersburg because I am going to correspond with him to discuss the terms of bringing legal actions against the Church of Scientology. Tomorrow I will wait for you a detailed letter of your visit to the Consul and about what actions I have to make. If there is the opportunity to bring charges in the USA from my name just to make the process faster then I would be very glad and thankful. I do not want that the crime done against my family, and me especially against my 14-year-old son David would be left unpunished. When recruiters, recruited us they trained my children how my children could answer the questions correctly at the US Consulate interview and what to say if asked what they would be doing in America.
They promised that there would be good schools and that the children will study there. They knew that I wanted to leave David with my mother because I wanted him to finish school in Russia. My mother was crying a lot and she asked me to leave him with her but the recruiters knew that if I would leave him at home then I would come back, which they could not allow and therefore they told me that the school in the United States is better than in Russia. We believed them and for the Consul’s question as to what the children would do in the United Sates, they answered that they will study. However, when we arrived at that place he did not study even one day at school. And when I asked why he is not studying at school they retorted that school in the USA is not necessary because he will study special courses of L Ron Hubbard, also like every adult. Nevertheless, even there he did not study, he only worked. In addition, he worked 18-20 hours per day. In addition, other children who were engaged in this labor were much younger than 14 years. For example, “Andrew” and his little sister “Paisy” who were from the USA.
I already wrote to you that a mother has no right to visit a son’s room, this was written in an instruction letter of Hubbard, and we did not see each other for many days. The only chance we had to see each other was when we came together for meals. About leaving the place and going somewhere else was forbidden. Everything was done according to schedule and my son and I had our own separate schedules. Each thing we did was watched by security. The circumstances of this horror are obvious. David became reclusive, touchy and dexterous. We lost job, money, respect from our family and friends, a desire for work, belief in our future and health. We received a visa in Ekaterinburg on 2 February 1998, control # —————- (contact the author) Visa R-1 and R-2 ————-.
Therefore dear Steven we need your help. You can send me correspondence through fax or email. That is all. Good luck. I wait for your answer. Sincerely, Araxia 3 July 2000.
Child Abuse as Forced Labor at the Church of Scientology
The story of Araxia’s son David and his sister are not the only known reports of child abuse at the Church of Scientology. In the International Religious Freedom Report (October 7, 2002) they quote a report from FACT Net (Fight Against Coercive Tactics Network) about two sisters Beth and Kristi, daughters of Scientologists who entered the Church at the ages of 9 and 8, respectively. The report reviewed an interview with Beth, then 25 and a former member of the Church who described what it was like as a child member of the Church of Scientology. A number of things noted in the interview are shared in the comments made in Araxia’s two emails mentioned above.
Beth was 11-years-old when she signed her first “billion year contract”. She recalled that when she was in her early teens she worked every night until at least 10:30 pm including school nights. She noted that when she first went to Clearwater she lived in the same room as her father at the Fort Harrison Hotel (on the Flagship compound). The room itself was very small and infested by cockroaches. Soon after moving to Clearwater she was separated from her father and moved into a larger room with 20 other girls, also under 18 years old. She said that a typical weekly schedule required her to work Sundays from 8 am until 10:30 pm, Monday through Friday from after school until 10:30 pm and noon to 10:30 pm on Saturdays. She figured that her work hours came to at least 50 hours per week in addition to the time she spent in school.[13]
Part III: An Analytical Comparative of Russian Human Trafficking and Religious White Slavery at the Church of Scientology
Global Human Smuggling speaks of trafficking humans, mainly women and children, between countries without going through official immigration processes. Where visas were required to enter countries, all of the cases noted in this paper used official immigration processes.
GHS refers to illegal border crossings, which did occur in one of the cases, that of Masha, who was smuggled across the Egyptian-Israeli border. With more than 1 million Russian immigrants in Israel, it is an easy task for smugglers to bring Russians into Israel illegally.
The Sponsors
Like the transnational organized crime groups that pay receptionists in St. Petersburg to find unknowing victims in Russia’s countryside, Scientologist recruiter Steven Dreyfuss coerces his victims by promising a new life on the other side. In both cases, they make promises to their victims, which they do not keep once they have transported their victims overseas. The only clear difference between the solicitors of sex slaves and the Church of Scientology is that the sex trade pays all expenses for their victims including their visas, travel and miscellaneous expenses. As mentioned in the case about Nadezhda, the Church of Scientology takes care of the visa invitation but all expenses are the responsibility of the person making the trip to Clearwater.
One case, of the 50-year-old woman who went to Spain, was different in that she was invited by a
familiar, someone she apparently knew. Steven Dreyfus is also seen in the same light since he is a fellow member of the same Church and is immediately considered a trusted familiar by the Russian Scientologists. There is a definite difference between the characteristics of the agencies that invite girls for jobs versus the familiar approach, but they are still all guilty of coercion.
Confiscation of Documents
In all cases discussed in this ARP, documents are confiscated by the hosts once the victims arrive in the destination country. This would appear to be the strongest and immediate way to control the victim. Nadezhda and Araxia both reported that their documents were taken once they arrived at the Church. Lack of documents, added to the apparent lack of foreign language ability makes the victims almost entirely vulnerable to the whims of their new captors.
Scare Tactics / Threats
In the event that confiscation of documents is not enough to contain the victims, both sets of captors have established methods to convince their victims to cooperate. The bordello owners use violence as a means to convince their victims as well as threats against members of their families back in Russia or their home countries. The Church of Scientology was not reported to have used violence but they did force their victims to sign supposed legal documents including the “billion year contract” which was a brainwashing technique to convince their victims that they must do as they were told.
Transnational Crime
The perpetrators of these crimes are both Russian and foreigners. There are always parties on both sides of the border. Each criminal entity has an exporter and an importer. The Church of Scientology officers in St. Petersburg acted as the exporters in this case and the Clearwater Church (Steven) were the importers. Steven was the receptionist in this case selling the idea to naïve unknowing Scientologists to take his invitation and go to the USA. The owners of the bordellos, which buy the girls from Russia, are usually licensed businesses in their home countries. Certainly, the act of slavery and forced prostitution is a crime in any country. The Church of Scientology is a legally registered and acknowledged religion in the USA. If the INS were aware that they are abusing their R-1 visa privileges, this would be considered a crime. It would be taken in different context since religion is looked upon differently than the adult-entertainment industry but the one thing they both have in common is that they are supporting, promoting and inviting the act of slavery in their establishments.
Further Investigations on R-1 Visas
On repeated occasions, I have attempted to interview officers of the US Immigration and Naturalization Service, US Department of Justice and the US Department of State (in Washington DC). I have never able to speak to anyone who would discuss the subject of the Church of Scientology nor have I been able to obtain a copy of the interview given by Nadezhda in July 1998. According to the State Department Personnel Directory[14], the Consul that interviewed her is no longer working for the Foreign Service nor is he listed anywhere in their files. Attempts have been made to get lists of personnel working in St. Petersburg at the time but all such requests have been denied, by all agencies involved, as not being part of FOIA records.[15]
[1] Naxielly Sofia Perez-Morales told police that the church threatened her for trying to leave. At the time of the article both the Florida State Attorney’s Office and the Immigration and Naturalization Service were investigating the Sept. 28 incident when she fled the church.
[2]
Global Human Smuggling: Comparative Perspectives, p. 8 (Kyle & Koslowski, 2001)
[3] When questioned on the validity of this assumption the US Consulate in St. Petersburg denied that a “decision” not to issue visas for Scientologists was made. There response was that applications received did not meet the requirements made by the US Department of State for R-1 visas.
[4] Nadezhda’s full name will not be used since she is convinced the Church will seek vengeance on her if they knew where she was.
[5] In 1997, 1 US dollar equaled five Russian rubles.
[6] For a brief history of Scientology see Wages of Crime (RT Naylor 2002, p. 175)
[7] GHS, p. 49
[8] GHS, p. 38 speaks of Ecuadorian villagers who would pay between $6000 and $10,000 to smugglers for their services in arranging passage.
[9] GHS, pp. 18/19. Speaks about obligations imposed upon victims of trafficking once they arrive at their receiver states that were not discussed before their departure from their home states.
[10] GHS, p. 21 refers to “demand for cheap of free labor”. GHS, p. 52 refers to enslaved garment works in NY and LA.
[11] Communal apartments are those where different families live together and share common baths and kitchen facilities.
[12] In a personal attempt to learn more about her ordeal, I attempted to contact Major Engelhard in late 1997. I failed to reach him on repeated phone calls to Clearwater. In early 1998, the Church contacted me. A meeting was offered and arranged. Two American scientologists met with me for 45 minutes in a coffee shop in St. Petersburg. They were extremely well trained not to take questions and to control the conversations. They appeared to be lawyers but would not confirm this. They attempted to have me admit that I was aware of conversations Nadezhda may have had with the US Government and suggested that she was perhaps personally responsible for the problems they began to have following the abrupt halt of approvals of R1 visas following July 1998. Nadezhda has moved from her former home and is no longer a public citizen. She lives in constant fear of the Church of Scientology. She has attempted to visit the USA on three separate occasions since this event but has been refused all 3 times.
[13] F.A.C.T. Net, Inc. is a non-profit computer bulletin board and electronic library. (Golden, Colorado)
[14] Located on the US Department of State Website
[15] Freedom of Information Act
