Wages / benefits / not ~ or / abandoned as / was not sitting / a most

Dear teachers,

I would have some questions related to the script of 60 minutes as follows:

[1]

Today the Twin Falls plant has 1,000 employees with above average wages and generous benefits. It pumps more than $2 billion-a-year into the regional economy, which is now running at close to full employment. It’s allowed Hamdi to hire fellow immigrants and refugees, not instead of American workers but alongside them.

=> Could you please let me know the difference between wages and benefits?

My understanding - when I look up the dictionary - is that wages are in the form of money while benefits are not necessarily in the form of money.

[2]

We met two of them in Twin Falls, sisters, and agreed not to use their names or disclose the Middle Eastern country they fled because they fear reprisals from the human traffickers that separated them from their family then abandoned them as young girls on the street corner in Eastern Europe.

=> Can I say "We met two of them in Twin Falls, sisters, and agreed not to use their names nor disclose the Middle Eastern country"? I think it should be in the form of "not" A "nor" B.

=> Could you please explain the meaning of the sentence below to me?

the human traffickers that separated them from their family then abandoned them as young girls on the street corner in Eastern Europe.

Does it mean that the human traffickers kidnapped the sisters and throw away them when they are young on the street corner?

[3]

Sister 1: Yeah. Definitely. I was not sitting here alive if I was not leaving.

=> Is the sentence above "subjunctive past"?

My understanding is that the "subjunctive past" implies that the actions are opposed to the "present tense."

With this, I guess it should mean: I am not sitting here alive if I am not leaving.

I think the sentence would rather be stated: I was not sitting here alive if I had not been leaving.

[4]

Hamdi Ulukaya: They got here legally. They’ve gone through a most dangerous journey. They lost their family members. They lost everything they have. And here they are. They are either going to be a part of society or they are going to lose it again. The number one thing that you can do is provide them jobs. The minute they get a job that’s the minute they stop being a refugee.

=> They’ve gone through a most dangerous journey. Is this correct?

I thought nouns with "the superlative degree" always come with "the."

Hope to have your kind help.

Thanks and best regards,

David Kim

Sources: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/chobani-yogurt-billionaire-founder-on-creating-jobs-in-america/