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Title: VIDEO: Jamie Leigh Jones takes her Halliburton gang rape account to the House Judiciary Committee
Source:
Raw Story
URL Source: http://rawstory.com/news/2007/VIDEO ... h_Jones_testifies_to_1220.html
Published: Dec 20, 2007
Author: Filed by Nick Langewis
Post Date: 2007-12-22 13:43:40 by robin
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Keywords: None
Views: 154
Comments: 9
Jamie Leigh Jones, former KBR employee and founder of the Jamie Leigh Foundation, testified to the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday about the events, and the aftermath, of a 2005 assault that she charges took place at the hands of her coworkers while she was working in Iraq. Documented evidence of the drugging and gang rape by fellow KBR contractors, as obtained directly from KBR, a division of Halliburton, and the U.S. Army, was offered to the Committee along with her testimony. A private arbitration agreement threatens to block legal recourse against Jones' assailants and significantly limit damages recoverable from Halliburton. Video of Jones' testimony, along with transcript, appear below. TRANSCRIPT: --And Brianna Morgan (?), my mother. I went to support Operation Iraqi Freedom in the Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq on July 25, 2005. Upon arrival at Camp Hope, I was assigned to an all-male barrack. I complained about the living conditions, but Halliburton did nothing to help. I was subject to repeated catcalls, and men who were partially dressed in their underwear, while I was working, walking, to the restroom on a separate floor from me. The EEOC reviewed Halliburton's comments, found them unbelievable, and credited my testimony about what happened. The committee has this finding as an exhibit. On the fourth day in-country, I stepped outside my barracks to take a call. Afterwards, some co-workers called me over and invited me to join them for a drink. The men identified only as "Halliburton/KBR firefighters" told me that one of them made really good drinks, so I accepted the drink from them. He handed me the drink and said, "Don't worry—I saved all my roofies for Dubai" or words very similar to that. I thought he was joking and felt safe with my co-workers. I believed that we were all on the same team. I took two sips from the drink and don't remember anything after that. The next morning, I was extremely sore between my legs and in my chest. I was groggy and confused. I went to the restroom and realized I had bruises between my legs and on my wrist and was bleeding--and was bleeding between my legs. When I returned to my room, a man was laying in the bottom bunk of my bed. It wasn't the same man who gave me the drink. I asked him if he had had sex with me, and he said that he did. I asked if it had been protected, and he said no. I was still feeling the effects of the drug from the drink. I was now very upset at the confirmation of my rape. My heart sank that day. I reported this incident to a KBR worker, who took me to the KBR clinic. The clinic called KBR security, who took me to the Army CASH. Dr. Dodi Schultz (?) performed a rape kit analysis, including photographs and a form that indicated all the bruises. She also took swabs, vaginal combings, and scrapings from under my fingernails, as well as my panties and bra, and put the entire kit together in a small, white box. I watched her give this box to the KBR security personnel as I was again turned over to these men. During the exam, Dr. Schultz confirmed that I had been penetrated both vaginally and anally, and that I was, quote, quite torn up down there. She indicated that, based upon the physical damages to my genitalia, that it was apparent that I had been raped. …Sorry. The KBR security then took me to a trailer, and then locked me in a room with two armed guards outside my door. I was imprisoned in the trailer for approximately a day. One of the guards finally had mercy and let me use a phone. I called my dad, who contacted Congressman Ted Poe, who took actions to get me out of the country. I believe he saved my life. I was later interviewed by Halliburton/KBR supervisors, and it was made clear to me that I had essentially two choices: 1. Stay and get over it; or 2. Go home with no guarantee of a job, either in Iraq or in Houston. Because of the severity of my injuries, I elected to go home, despite the obvious threat of being fired. Once I returned home, I sought medical attention, both psychiatric and physical. I was originally sent to a psychiatrist of Halliburton's choosing; the first question asked was, "Are you going to sue Halliburton?" So my mother and I walked out. Sometime around May 2007, a State Department agent called and said that she was not aware of a rape kit or any pictures of my injuries. I insisted that the rape kit existed and forwarded a copy of KBR's own EEOC response to prove that the Army doctor handed it over to KBR employee at the hospital the night of the rape. It was a few days later that I received a call from the agent stating she had found the rape kit, but the pictures were missing and so were the doctor's notes [skip in tape] top of the rape kit. I have had reconstructive surgery on my breasts and pectoral muscles do to the disfigurement caused by the brutal attack. I am still waiting for a follow-up surgery, because I am still not back to normal. I have to sleep with a sports bra because of the pain. I still continue to go to counseling three times per week. It seems that nothing happens in my criminal case unless there is media attention. Right after I was interviewed with 20/20, I was flown to Florida to meet with the Assistant United States Attorney. I asked the AUSA, "Where should I refer victims who contact me through the Jamie Leigh Foundation?" and she responded, quote, "Don't refer them to my office, but you may want to refer them to the Office of Victims of Crime." This problem goes way beyond just me. Through the Jamie Leigh Foundation, numerous other women have contacted me, who were assaulted and raped and were then retaliated against for reporting those attacks. There are at least eleven others that my attorneys are aware of, not including those filed by [skip in tape] and those who have come to me through my foundation. As indicated by the sworn affidavit, an HR representative from Halliburton, it is clear that sexual harassment was an overwhelming problem in Iraq, and this was known to Halliburton and KBR, but they hide it from unsuspecting victims like myself. There has been no prosecution after two and a half years. My attorney, Stephanie Morris, wrote a letter to the ombudsman of the Office of Victims of Crime. Also enclosed with the letter: "Hopefully the next victim will not have to wait so long." The arbitration laws are so abusive that Halliburton is trying to force this into a secret proceeding, which will do nothing to prevent continued abuse of this nature. What is there to stop these companies from victimizing women in the future? The United States government has to provide people with their day in court when they have been raped and assaulted by other American citizens. Otherwise, we are not only deprived of our justice in the criminal courts, but in the civil courts as well. [?] the laws have left us nowhere to turn. Thank you, Chairman, and members of the committee, for inviting me to be here today.
VIDEO: Jamie Leigh Jones takes her Halliburton gang rape account to the House Judiciary Committee
12/20/2007 @ 8:42 pm
Filed by Nick Langewis
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#1. To: robin (#0)
Jamie had better cool it...she is messing with Cheney's meal ticket...he is liable to shoot her in the face or something.
Whoever thought that having women serving in the military, or in war zones, would be a swell idea should be summarily executed.
LOD, I was a Drill Sgt at Ft Jackson SC when they sent a "pilot" group of females to integrate with males at company level for Basic Training. After the first cycle we had to fill out critique sheets and submit them...to a man, we all stated that the program was a disaster. Six months later we were called in to the auditorium, seated and thanked for making the program so successful, and told how our commitment to duty had proven that co-ed basic would work. go figger...
Some ideas are so inherently wrong that one cannot begin to conceive how they were ever brought forward for serious consideration, much less implementation. Even Israel soon found out what a bad thing was co-ed troops. And had the good sense to stop it. Unlike US.
Yeah. When I got back in the field, at Ft. Riley Ks, we had ONE female in the S2...which meant that someone had to dig an additional latrine everywhere we set up...and it wasn't her.
As with most things PC, people want all the 'rights,' with none of the 'responsibilities' that should go with said 'rights.'
If that is true, I don't know where Halliburton finds all those creeps. I realize a few men will rape, but almost all men I know will protect women.
There is more to her story, about why she was even in Iraq here (she dared to complain): According to Jones' suit, she began working for KBR as an administrative assistant in Houston. After complaints of being forced into a sexual relationship with her supervisor, Jones was transferred to Camp Hope in Iraq. On July 28, 2005, within a week of her arrival in the Green Zone and one day after complaining to supervisors about sexually hostile living conditions, according to the lawsuit, she was drugged, gang-raped by KBR employees and suffered severe physical and emotional injuries. It gets worse. The suit alleges that: *the U.S. State Department was notified after the alleged assault and a rape kit was administered at the combat area surgical hospital run by the U.S. Army; the examination confirmed the rape, her suit states, but documentation from the examination was turned over to KBR and "lost." *After the assault, the suit claims, Jones was detained in a trailer, without food, water or access to phones, where KBR supervisors gave her two options: stay and "get over it" or return home without guarantee of a job on return. Thanks to a military guard who loaned her a cell phone to use, she was able to contact her father in Houston, worked through Poe's office to get pressure applied to secure her release.
Ron Paul for President - Join a Ron Paul Meetup group today! Support the troops Ping.
"Satan / Cheney in "08"
#2. To: Sodie Pop, robin, all (#1)
#3. To: lodwick (#2)
#4. To: Sodie Pop (#3)
#5. To: lodwick (#4)
Even Israel soon found out what a bad thing was co-ed troops. And had the good sense to stop it.
#6. To: Sodie Pop. sane people here (#5)
When I got back in the field, at Ft. Riley Ks, we had ONE female in the S2...which meant that someone had to dig an additional latrine everywhere we set up...and it wasn't her.
#7. To: robin (#0)
#8. To: DWornock (#7)
The Revolution will not be televised!
#9. To: robin (#0)
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