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Edited on Tue Apr-08-08 09:23 PM by marmar
from Democracy Now!: In Their First Joint Interview, Two Ex-KBR Employees Say They Were Raped by Co-Workers in IraqAnother female employee of the military contractor KBR has come forward with allegations of rape in Iraq. The woman, identified by the pseudonym “Lisa Smith,” says two colleagues raped her at a southern Iraqi military base in January. She says a supervisor told her to “keep quiet” or face danger. “Lisa Smith” will be testifying publicly tomorrow before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Last year, former KBR employee Jamie Leigh Jones sued KBR and its former parent company Halliburton after she says she was drugged and gang-raped by employees of the company in Baghdad. Today, in their first joint interview, we speak to both of these women, who have bravely come forward with their stories. We also speak with journalist Karen Houppert, who broke the story of “Lisa Smith” in The Nation magazine.
Guests:
"Lisa Smith", former employee of the military contractor KBR. She has come forward with allegations of rape by her co-workers in Iraq.
Jamie Leigh Jones, has filed a civil suit against Halliburton and its former subsidiary KBR for an alleged drugging and gang rape by employees of the company in Baghdad. No charges have been filed in her case so far, and she has accused both KBR and the Justice Department of a cover-up. She is founder of the Jamie Leigh Foundation, which aims to help US citizens victimized by government contractors or other corporations working overseas.
Karen Houppert, she broke the story of Lisa Smith’s rape allegations for The Nation magazine. The article is called “Another
KBR Rape Case." Her latest book is Home Fires Burning: Married to the Military for Better or Worse.
AMY GOODMAN: Another female employee of the military contractor KBR has come forward with allegations of rape in Iraq. In an interview with The Nation magazine last week, a woman identified by the pseudonym Lisa Smith says two colleagues raped her at a southern Iraqi military base in January. Smith says a supervisor told her to “keep quiet” or face danger.
Last year, former KBR employee Jamie Leigh Jones sued KBR and its former parent company Halliburton after she says she was drugged and gang-raped by employees of the company in Baghdad. Jones recounted that after she was raped, the company put her in a shipping container without food or water for at least twenty-four hours. She was also warned that if she left Iraq for medical treatment, she’d be out of a job.
Jones has said that thirty-eight other female contractors have privately come forward with their own stories of sexual harassment and abuse in Iraq and other countries. A criminal probe into Jones’s case has lasted more than two-and-a-half years. No charges have been filed.
Today, in their first joint interview, we speak to both of these women who have bravely come forward with their stories. Lisa Smith, as we’ll call her to protect her privacy, will be testifying publicly tomorrow—that’s Wednesday—before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in D.C. She joins us on the phone from Texas. Jamie Leigh Jones joins us on the line from San Diego. She is the founder and director of the Jamie Leigh Foundation, which assists US citizens victimized by government contractors or other corporations while working abroad. She has testified twice before Congress and spoken out in the media about her case.
I’m also joined on the line by their attorneys: for Lisa Smith, Dan Ross; for Jamie Leigh Jones, Todd Kelly. And joining us from Baltimore is Karen Houppert. She broke the story of Lisa Smith’s rape allegations for The Nation magazine. The article is called “Another KBR Rape Case,” posted at thenation.com. Karen’s latest book is Home Fires Burning: Married to the Military for Better or Worse.
We welcome you all to Democracy Now! I want to begin with Jamie Leigh Jones. Tell us—
JAMIE LEIGH JONES: Hi.
AMY GOODMAN: —for those who haven’t heard your story—hi, Jamie—when you were in Iraq and what happened.
JAMIE LEIGH JONES: Well, I went to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and I worked for Halliburton, KBR, and I went there as an IT tech. And on the fourth day in Iraq, I was socializing with some fellow American contractors and was handed a drink—I was offered a drink, and I took two sips from the drink and don’t remember anything after that. I woke up to my body brutally raped and beaten, and the injuries I sustained were so severe which required me to have a reconstructive surgery on my chest.
I then, later on, I decided to start the Jamie Leigh Foundation because not only could I not pursue my case against my assailants criminally, I failed to be able to pursue a case civilly because of the arbitration provisions in my employee contract. So I decided to start the Jamie Leigh Foundation to make sure that other victims have an avenue for justice so that I could stand up in front of Congress and try and get some laws changed to protect these women that are also coming forward. But currently, right now, there’s actually forty women who have sought help through this foundation.
AMY GOODMAN: Now, we’re also joined by a woman we’ll call Lisa Smith. Jamie Leigh Jones has been going through this for several years now, first what happened to her, Iraq, and then how she is trying to get redress, to get justice. Lisa, first tell us why you don’t want to use your real name, and then tell us what happened to you and when it happened.
LISA SMITH: Good morning.
AMY GOODMAN: Hi.
LISA SMITH: The main reason, at this point, why I do not want to use my real name is that hopefully there will be some charges pressed in my case. It’s currently still under investigation both by the military and the government. So I’m trying to keep some sense of confidentiality. ..........(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.democracynow.org/2008/4/8/exclusivein_their_first_joint_interview_two
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