This article posted by CBC reports on the horrible case of human trafficking of a Pilipino women who was lead to Canada with the promise of a caregiver job. The suspect arrested was a man named Franco Yiu Kwan Orr. Orr was living in Vancouver, B.C. with his wife Oi Long Nicole Huen and their three children. The woman only referred to as L.S. was told she would be taking care of the children, but in turn she was treated like a slave. She was forced to work unbearably long hours with no breaks and was faced with humiliation and violent treatment. L.S. finally had enough of the treatment and called 911 one frightful night. Orr was found guilty of illegally employing a foreign national and misrepresenting the situation to immigration officials. He was also found guilty on a charge of human trafficking.
According to the Vancouver RCMP “there have been 45 convictions in Canada for human trafficking or related crimes, involving 69 people, but Orr's is the first for human trafficking under the Immigration Act.” L.S. calls this as a personal victory and is thrilled to be free from the treatment of Orr and his family.
The Orr cases made me think to the readings we had in class by Belleau (2003) and Romero (2013). These women are promised the dream life in a dream country and are sadly, often taken advantaged of. They are sent into human trafficking rings, sexually and psychically abused, treated like property and many more horrible things. In relation to the Romero reading, immigrant nannies are also expected to dive into a motherly performance role. They are expected to fulfill the household duties, take care of the children all when being almost invisible. It’s important to highlight these issues to understand what these women are going through and to look at this as a feminist issue. . It’s also important to understand the power dynamic that goes on in these situations. Women are no longer property, thus shouldn’t be treated like such
Keywords: CBC, Human trafficking, RCMP
Author: Purple
I agree with your rationale as the combination of the articles read in class resonates well with this 2013 article. I am appalled to know that in the lower mainland, there is has been several human trafficking or related crimes. As a person who grew up in Canada, I did not expect to see human trafficking exist in western society, especially within the same races. Additionally, to see that even in a western society where strict policies are enforced, people hide behind doors and commit this crime. Power dynamics is crucial to understand as culturally it is not talked about and quite restricted amongst many racialized communities. For instance, the class readings and this article illustrate many similarities of caregivers…