Talking With Kathryn Bolkovac About Her Experience as The Whistleblower

Posted: 08/16/11 07:48 PM ET

 

After seeing (and reviewing) The Whistleblower, I contacted Kathryn Bolkovac, whose story is the basis of the movie, and interviewed her. Her answers speak for themselves, but also give such a sense of her persona, grit and determination.

FOSTER: You were faced with a situation where the people you worked with were engaged in something very shocking. Do you have any insight as to how or why they got involved with trafficking?

I really do not think there is clear cut answer for this. Everyone is an individual and is accountable to their individual behavior and potential illegal actions they committed and continue to commit in current missions. I think most people are truly just plain complicit in their thinking and tend to not get involved or look the other way to avoid any form of accountability, especially if they think that something does not directly affect them for their position. Then there is the group of people who can easily be swayed to join in on a pack mentality, who are morally and mentally weak or ignorant. When conditions are right as they have been and still are in many overseas missions around the world, or if they think they will not be caught or judged then it is easy for them to engage in illegal and corrupt behavior. They try to justify and minimize their actions. Finally, there are individuals who are just plain evil and corrupt, they see the money making potential of preying on the helpless and needy, and exploit every opportunity they can to make a buck, especially in an industry that involves sex. They are very good at dehumanizing, denial, and lying about what is going on.

FOSTER: What do you think needs to be done to address the trafficking issue? What can government do?

The trafficking issue at large is too complex to tackle with sweeping reform. There are so many different types of human trafficking each with different dynamics of funding the corruption. Obviously, many adults choose to be trafficked... or illegally transported across many borders to escape horrendous conditions in their own countries. These issues cannot be convoluted with organized criminal syndicates who are providing services to internationals all over the world, in the form of trafficking for forced prostitution. They are involved in the recruitment, abuse, desensitization, and sale of human flesh, into international missions as sex workers. This is what I want to discuss and what I think we can make a huge impact on based on my experiences as a former law enforcement officer, former UN employee, former representative of our U.S. government overseas, and as a former employee of one of the largest private government contractors in the world DynCorp.

FOSTER: What can our government do?

First, in the short term, the United States needs to take a serious look at why we are willing to allow private companies to engage in the profession of law enforcement. Government contractors are a needed and viable means to get many logistical and re-construction efforts accomplished. They are not a viable means for a protection force or as a mechanism for the use in training law enforcement officers in emerging democracies. Law enforcement is not a business. Policing is a calling. Does anyone really believe that private corporations are in this policing and operational mission business for anything but the money? We need to set an example with our own federal police selection units, perhaps via the Department of Justice as an example, why can we not recruit and most importantly train our own community police officers before we send them into these missions? My book accurately describes the pathetic training offered by the private company who sent me overseas, which I am sure was heavily subsidized with my tax dollars. It was a disgrace; none of us had even the minimum knowledge or idea of what we were supposed to be doing once we got into Bosnia.

If we are to continue to send "rent a cops " overseas with inadequate knowledge and inadequate protections from corrupt private companies, some of whom had serious questionable policing backgrounds we might want to stop and think about how this damages our reputation and our goals. The private company who fired me had free reign to treat me however they saw fit, no one was in authority to stop them. They were exempt from all U.S. government accountability and have never been held accountable for what they did to me to this day. How has this changed? It has not.

Second, get the Civilian Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (CEJA) out of committee and get it passed. It has been more than 12 years overdue. [NOTE: CEJA would allow the U.S. Justice Department to prosecute government contractors and employees for certain crimes committed overseas. It would complement the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA), which provides similar criminal jurisdiction over Department of Defense employees and contractors but does not clearly apply to U.S. contractors working overseas for other federal agencies.]

Third, make government contractors accountable for their employee actions, by putting a clause in their contracts that require them to facilitate and allow oversight of both external and internal investigations by outside government agencies, when probable cause exists that employees are suspected, or implicated in criminal offenses. They must cooperate in the facilitation of prosecutions. They can no longer just fire people, and hope the problem goes away, which automatically curtails any further investigation.

Fourth, set examples by having the means available to prosecute and convict with meaningful sentences.

FOSTER: What can individuals do?

Learn, read, report, and stop burying your heads in the sand. Many of the people involved in these crimes could be your next door neighbor.

Get local law enforcement initiatives started, and ask your police chiefs this question. What kind of training is being offered to your new recruits and officers on the streets to recognize and investigate all forms of human trafficking?

Do you think a local police chief in the hills of Northern New Mexico, or in the farming community of southern Illinois, is even going to know what we are talking about? Does the local hotel have young female Hispanics working in the housekeeping department? They do not speak English, they have no documents, does he know what wage they are being paid and in what form? Think about it. I have been in these places have you?

 FOSTER: Many of the women and girls who are trafficked are promised jobs that don't materialize. What do you think would be effective to get the word out to them so that fewer of them fall prey to these types of promises?

The only effect we can have on this is to stop the demand.

FOSTER: How did you sustain yourself?

Continued faith in our justice system, lots of hard workouts and sweat, many tears and my husband would make me a strong gin tonic with lots of lemon and ice once in a while.
 



 

 Follow Stephenie Foster on Twitter: www.twitter.com/StephenieFoster

豁免权（immunity）不是免罪权（impunity），联合国是在奥斯维辛集中营的尸骨上建立起来的，要维护尊严必须要做的是不使联合国因强暴那些我们必须保护的人而遗臭万年。
这些事情老实讲在天朝每天都有发生，法律不能惩治恶棍歹徒，反而成为了好人的枷锁，所以我一直认为如果有一天真的司法效率和能力堕落到谷底，那么私力救济就是义务。

去年加拿大和德国合拍了一部 The Whistleblower。讲波黑地区妇女被贩卖和遭受性暴力问题。实际上这些贩卖和暴力的活动却由美国官方以及与美政府合作的私人公司背后操作。

其实影片最后表达的还是这场抗争以失败告终，这个世界还是男权的社会。尽管有那么一些人被开除了，尽管katie最后把证据拿出来公布于众了，不要告诉我在波黑那些地方女孩们已经不再饱受欺凌。

有战争的地方就有军队，有军队的地方就需要军妓。可是，有哪一些人自愿来作军妓的，于是产生了贩卖和暴力。美国一向以维护世界和平为幌子践踏他国主权，把军队开到那里，产生直接的种族拼杀，衍生出各种复杂的社会问题。

由真实事件改编的好片子， 蕾切尔·薇兹 和 莫妮卡·贝鲁奇两大美女的演出，也透露了她们不只是利用身体来博得演出的机会，证明她们也在思考作为有影响力的女性应该传播的信息和价值应该是什么。

隐藏在世界某些角落的晦垢，只有用作为女性的眼能够看到。

让我想掐死你。

一帮中学毕业只经过狗屎训练的人应承包公司所聘来到了一个满目疮痍的国家做联合国高级人。

于是，为了体现自己的高级，就践踏别人。为了自己感觉良好，为了满足自己的变态，为了钱。

呵呵呵呵呵呵

女主角在raid那个oasis酒吧的时候，正准备带走那些女孩子的时候，突然来了一帮人，一个人五人六的小伙子，面带得意的贱笑站在那里。

那是个什么心理？是不是真的觉得自己好高级啊！！

在解雇女主的时候，右边那个黑人警卫脸上的贱笑，也挺到位。

虽然这都是演的，但是这是根据真实事件改编的电影，所以我相信当时那些人的贱笑也是很到位的。

因为人嘛，不管你是黑红黄白，都是一个德行。






由于被数位高端深刻的社会精英抱怨看我写的这些话是浪费时间，所以我不得不不加一句：我写的都是废话，请“高端”“深刻”的人不要看，谢谢！！！书包背背好，不要再掉了。

http://news.sina.com.cn/w/278297.html
一名前联合国工作人员透露 国际警察竟是妓院常客
http://www.sina.com.cn 2001年06月15日19:09 北京晚报
　　近日，联合国一名被解雇的国际警察工作队成员向外界披露，部署在波黑的联合国国际警察部队(IPTF)官员本应该恪尽职守，为社会树立典范，却率先违法逛妓院。事件公布后，引起国际关注。

　　博尔科娃被激怒了

　　凯瑟琳·博尔科娃原本是美国内布拉斯加州一名资深警官。两年前，她辞去工作，加入联合国国际警察工作队，并被派往波黑地区调查当地的地下卖淫业。

　　随着工作的深入，博尔科娃开始接触到一些资料，得知她的一些联合国同事竟是这些卖淫妇女的常客，有些甚至卷得更深。她收集到越来越多这方面的资料，也就更加心寒。她在一份报告中讲述了一些外籍军官的所作所为：为被拐卖的卖淫妇女制造假证件，协助她们通过边境检查站入境以及在警察部队的突袭检查前向非法俱乐部的老板通风报信等。

　　去年年初，博尔科娃被降职。同年4月，她被解雇，解聘书上列出的理由是有人控告她伪造工作时间卡。博尔科娃被激怒了，她说，上面根本不想知道事情的真相，他们宁愿对这些证据充耳不闻，视而不见。

　　博尔科娃的故事并不是一个偶然事件。戴维·兰姆在过去两年间曾任联合国人权委员会调查员，在波斯尼亚中部地区进行工作。他说，在工作期间，他与同事定期向上级递交部分国际驻员在波黑犯下不良行径的证据，但得到的却是“不要再深入调查下去”的警告。

　　逛妓院至多被解雇

　　联合国有关官员表示，多数IPTF成员都很好的完成了自己的使命，树立了值得效仿的榜样，但同时也不得不承认，在2000名警察部队中曾有20多人因犯有从收受贿赂到不恰当性行为等过错被解雇。

　　美国国务院发言人查尔斯·亨特承认，在美籍警察工作队成员中就“偶有纪律问题发生”，但是事情通常能得到“迅速、合理并且恰当”的解决。另有美国高级官员承认，美在挑选和训练派驻波黑警察的工作中存在严重问题，因为美国务院把这项工作交给得克萨斯州的一家私人公司经办，这家公司每年可得到美国政府1500万美元的资金。

　　驻波黑的国际警察都享有外交豁免权，对于那些犯罪的国际警察，除非他们本国政府放弃豁免权，否则联合国能够给予他们的最重处罚只不过是将他们遣送回国。

　　国际警察形象何在

　　去年11月，波黑警察在IPTF的协助下，扫荡了波斯尼亚北部一个城镇的三个夜总会，共抓获33名卖淫妇女，其中包括只有14岁的小女孩。第二天，夜总会老板向外界宣称，IPTF此前曾向他索取1万美元保护费遭到拒绝，IPTF恼羞成怒，才发动了这次袭击。

　　卖淫在波黑属非法行为。波黑目前共有两万多名北约维和部队和数千名各种国际援助机构与工作小组成员，卖淫业的繁荣也许与此不无关系。据联合国有关统计数字，各种夜总会和妓院的顾客中有30%是外国人。

　　这些卖淫的妇女来自一些东欧国家。她们抱着做女招待或保姆的幻想来到波黑，但随后被交到妓院老板手里，护照被没收，只好被迫进行性交易。

   假设有这样的一个系统，有生命，且环环相扣。它的外部就像一个巨大的玻璃罩，或者大气层一样，它的运作靠着最基本的生命物体活动来维持，这是我们的群体，区域，国家，社会运作的单程模式。人类的部分活动可以提供这个玻璃罩运行所要的供养，然后它提供给我们保护、维持社会运作，提供发展所要的环境、平台和机会。这样而来即为一个相互依存的关系。同时，它是我们应需而创造的，有生命的机制，运行的体制。
  像人类的活动，能动性导致这种活动必然的结果是进步的，推动历史前进的，但是，这个过程所吞噬的旧事物，会产生消极的，类似社会，道德和法律在倒退现象。像一个个体的人，要生存，然后要成长，就要进食，然后是消化，最后排泄。
  所以。。。我想说的，一切都是必然，都是必须，都是不可避免，无可奈何的。对于时代来说，对于整个我们赖以生存的系统来说，对于个体力量来讲，谁都不能拆除掉自己的免疫系统，我们无能为力。