Ethiopian woman 'exploited in US'

2006-12-01 10:40

Sarah Skidmore

Portland - An Ethiopian woman has filed a $1.1m lawsuit against a family she worked for, saying they lured her to the United States with a promise of a good job and then exploited her.

Mulu Derbew, 32, alleged in her lawsuit filed in the US district court that a Salem-area doctor's family brought her to Oregon in 1996 to care for their two children. They agreed that the job would not exceed 48 hours a week and would pay her $5 to $7.50 an hour.

But, Derbew's lawsuit said the family essentially enslaved her - forcing her to work without pay for seven days a week, with a typical workday more than 13 hours long.

She said Dr Julie Gilbert and her then husband, Peter Kurian, kept her isolated from the outside world and took possession of her work papers. According to the suit, the Kurians forbade her from calling Ethiopia.

Victims of human trafficking

According to the suit, the family let Derbew's immigration paperwork lapsed and later threatened her after their acts were challenged.

Gilbert, her husband Kenneth Gilbert, and ex-husband Peter Kurian didn't return calls seeking comment. FBI officials said on Thursday that they could not confirm whether they had an investigation open in the case.

The complaint stated that Derbew was able to get a visa, which was provided for victims of human trafficking. The $1.1m she wanted in the lawsuit included lost wages and punitive damages.

According to the US department of justice, an estimated 800 000 to 900 000 victims were trafficked globally each year. Of those, about 18 000 were trafficked into the US. Most were women and children.

According to the department, victims were often found in sweatshops, domestic work, restaurant work, agricultural labour, prostitution and sex entertainment. Officials said some might not understand they had been victimised.

Steven Olsen, attorney for Derbew, said his client could not comment further on the case on the recommendation of the FBI.

- AP