Alleged Human Traffickers Released In Hawaii

For about 44 Thai immigrants to Hawaii, life was not a paradise. They had been allegedly brought to the islands on false claims, and their case was the subject of a federal investigation. Earlier this month, however, the human trafficking case against Alec and Mike Sou of Aloun Farms was finally dismissed. The trial itself started in June, and was expected to last until at least September. However, the charges were dropped in early August, with prosecutors citing “new evidence.”

The claims against the Sous were:

The Sou brothers and Thailand labor recruiters targeted poor workers in 2003 to work on the farm, promising them three years of work for six days a week at $9.60 an hour, according to prosecutors’ trial brief filed last week. The workers paid about $20,000 in recruiting fees — some of which went to the Sous — but they learned after arriving in Hawaii they would be paid much less, and their visas would only last for a few months, the brief said.

The workers were told if they complained about wages or living conditions, they’d be deported to Thailand with no way to repay their debts, prosecutors wrote. The result would be they’d lose their family land and homes, their attorneys have said.

“Having paid the recruitment fees, they had no other option but to continue working,” said Melissa Vincenty, who represents 34 of the workers. “It’s forced labor when you put someone in a position of indentured servitude.”

The Sou brothers would have faced up to 20 years in prison, had they been found guilty.

Despite the press coverage of this case (for which a mainland lawyer was flown in), there were no interviews with the Thai workers who must have felt exploited. There is no mention of what they will do now, as many were on short-term visas. There is no mention of how they feel, as what may have been their only chance of retribution is gone. Despite the constant barrage against illegal workers, these workers did think that they would be in the US legally.

It’s sad to see that not only are Asians (and potentially new Asian Americans) being exploited, they are being exploited by other Asian Americans. This is a far cry from the “Hawaii is such a melting pot, and so accepting!” view which has prevailed over the past years. Maybe this is just a small blotch in the record, but what if it signals that something deeper is amiss? I guess I’ll just have to keep watching the news–and hope that this is not where the case ends.