As you may know, P2P has been monitoring human trafficking in Fiji for over a year and is pleased to report that Fiji has successfully prosecuted its first case regarding human trafficking on November 10, 2010. At the Suva High Court, assessors delivered a unanimous guilty verdict against Kadali Murti – who was charged with one count of trafficking in person(s) and seven counts of obtaining property by deception.
Two members of P2P’s board of directors, Gar Myers and Grant McNiff, met face-to-face with the Prime Minister of Fiji - Commodore Frank Bainimarama - to discuss initiatives to improve law enforcement, governance and anti-trafficking in Fiji in 2010.
Under the direction of Mr. Myers, Dean Williams, a Professor in the Harvard School of Government has also met with Mr. Bainimarama - and met with the U.S. and U.N. Ambassadors from Fiji - to discuss the application of Dr. Williams’ assessment and intervention strategies in Fiji earlier this year.
One of P2P’s advisory board members, Sheila McNiff, is a Catholic nun with over 10 years of experience in international humanitarian work including leadership and direct service to girls and women harmed by sexual exploitation and human trafficking.
Although Dr. Drew, the President of Pathway to Prosperity, has not met with Mr. Bainimarama, Dr. Drew is encouraged by the improvements taking place in Fiji. Dr. Drew is an award-winning author, trainer and consultant who has provided training to improve the productivity and effectiveness of government officials and NGO leaders in Afghanistan (2010), China (2002), Egypt (2008) and the Philippines (2005). Dr. Drew has also served on the Board of Directors of Health Development International (HID) which has provided management training – including exposure to human trafficking issues - to hospital CEOs in Brazil, China, Guatemala, India, Philippines and South Africa in conjunction with the International Hospital Federation (IHF).
The P2P team has experience in the management and successful implementation of federal grants. Mr. McNiff, for example, has successfully implemented one of California’s most effective Drug-Free Communities grants involving collaboration, data-collection and training with representatives from law enforcement, government, schools, universities, non-profit organizations and treatment providers in Orange County, CA. Recently, Dr. Drew has served as the outside evaluator for a $2.6 million Title V grant conducted as a collaborative project between Rio Hondo College and Whittier College. In addition, Mr. Myers has recently visited Fiji to investigate the conditions on the ground in Fiji.
Fiji is a source country for children trafficked for purposes of labor and commercial sexual exploitation, and a destination country for women from the People's Republic of China, Thailand, and India trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation. Pathway to Prosperity’s Fiji Forward Project will implement the Fiji-specific recommendations listed in the country narratives of the 2010 G/TIP Report as a diagnostic tool and to guide anti-trafficking programming.
