Human Trafficking

slavery : long

Contrary to popular belief, slavery is not dead. It is the third largest global crime, close behind drugs and arms trafficking. Inadequate laws and political apathy means slavery will grow and grow unless urgent action is taken.

Page Contents

• Summary put simply
• Introduction to Human Trafficking
  • Why is there human trafficking?
  • Is human trafficking a big problem?
  • How do victims become slaves?
  • How are they kept enslaved?
• Learn More (Useful Articles)
• The Lasting Solution
• Actions Being Taken
• Petition
• Sample Letter
• Links to Political Representatives

(Summary put simply) - Vulnerable people, usually poor, are deceived or forced into working abroad with promises of a better life. When they get there their passports are taken off them, they are forced to work behind locked doors and beaten or starved if they refuse. Sometimes they are killed and the threat of murder is always there. Their "masters" or "owners" make money by forcing them to work in sweatshops, dangerous jobs or as prostitutes. If the victim manages to get to the police, she is often not helped because she has no documents or the crime is not taken seriously. Because she is likely to be deported to her own country where she will probably be murdered, she doesn't usually try to contact the authorities and so human trafficking continues to grow.

Trafficking Introduction

What is human trafficking?

Human trafficking is slave trading. Through force or by deception, people are taken from their communities so they can be exploited. Without passports in a foreign country they find they have nowhere to turn. Their "owners" use violence, starvation and murder to maintain their power over them. Victims are trafficked into a range of hazardous working conditions.

Eventually I arrived in a bar in Kosovo, [and was] locked inside and forced into prostitution. In the bar I was never paid, I could not go out by myself, the owner became more and more violent as the weeks went by; he was beating me and raping me and the other girls. We were his "property", he said. By buying us, he had bought the right to beat us, rape us, starve us, force us to have sex with clients." - 21 year old Moldovan woman

Why is there human trafficking?

Human trafficking is a highly profitable route to wealth and power, now ranking alongside drug and weapons trafficking as the largest criminal activities.

Is human trafficking a big problem?

Trafficking is a worldwide phenomenon. According to the US State Department about 900,000 persons, mainly women and children, are being trafficked annually across borders worldwide. The UN believes the real figure is between 5 and 10 million, with 2 million being children used, for example, in domestic service, sweatshops, quarries and factory work. It is estimated to be a $19 billion industry.

How do the victims become slaves?

• Respond to an attractive 'employment opportunity' ad
• Trust the promises of a boyfriend or friend
• Accept a promise of marriage
• Agree to a deal arranged by poverty-stricken parents
• Or they are abducted

How do the traffickers keep them enslaved?

• Take away their documents
• Blackmail them
• Threaten violence to children and family
• Beat, rape and humiliate
• Lock them in and starve them
• Sell and resell them around international networks

Many countries have no specific laws against trafficking, so victims are reluctant to report their experiences for fear of being killed, prosecuted or deported as illegal immigrants. Even in countries with laws, there is little real protection for victims. The one shelter in the UK will only assist if the victim agrees to prosecute their captors. With their horrific history of abuse, the threat of being killed is too real for most to take that risk. So some seek asylum but do not tell the whole truth. This backfires on them as their evidence is found not to be credible in court.

Learn More about Human Trafficking

1. Amnesty International "Sex Traffic"
2. Stop Human Traffic FAQ
3. Sridhar's story
4. Bintou's story
5. Radha's story
6. Human Trafficking Org How You Can Help
7. Anti-Slavery International PDFs
8. Breaking the Silence (video)
9. ICWAD Fact Sheet
10. Trafficking in Human Misery
11. UN Protocol (Heavy)
12. US Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report 2004 (Heavy)
13. Mohamed Mattar lecture (Heavy)
14. Traffic Offense (USA)
15. Enforcing a Good Law (USA)

The Lasting Solution

The only lasting solution is for everyone - victims, perpetrators and everyone else - to realize that no amount of coercion, power or money will ever bring more than temporary fulfillment; to understand that lasting satisfaction dwells within each one of us; and to discover that all we ever wanted costs nothing and is much closer than we ever imagined. Each and every breath brings the possibility of true peace to all of us, no matter how good, bad or deserving we may think we are. Prem Rawat has for many years helped people, irrespective of their social, cultural background or beliefs, discover the real happiness they have within themselves.

Political changes will never fully work unless we all change as well, but some actions are being taken in the hope that they will save some suffering.

Actions Being Taken against Human Trafficking

• Sign the petition below
• Send a letter to your political representative adapting the sample letter below to your needs

(on the web)

1. Join the Fight for Freedom 1807 - 2007
2. Sign the UNICEF petition against child exploitation (UK)
3. Send an Ecard to your friends
4. Email your MP about child trafficking (UK)
5. Sign the Free The Slaves petition
6. Support the Poppy Project
7. Write letters using Amnesty's excellent letter writing guide
8. Visit Unicef End Child Exploitation Campaign
9. Visit Stop Human Traffic Org for further action
10. Visit Human Trafficking Org for front line action
11. Human Rights Watch needs people to sign letters to help women in Africa and this would help with many issues including trafficking
12. Poverty is a major reason for victims becoming enslaved. There are some fast, easy actions that can be taken on the 4-Ever poverty page

Petition against Human Trafficking

(Summary put simply) - This petitions urges governments to do more to stop slavery, now known as human trafficking. This includes: giving heavier penalties to traffickers (slave-drivers); signing United Nations agreements; training more people to spot traffickers; protecting victims of trafficking and helping them as much as possible; not to send victims back to their own country where they may be murdered; not to treat victims as if they are criminals because they are not.

We call on all governments to:

1. Increase efforts to combat trafficking.
2. Give full protection to the victims.
3. Pass laws so that punishments for human trafficking reflect the extremely serious nature of the crime.
4. Sign and ratify the United Nations Protocol on Trafficking in Persons (2000) and the UN Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers (1990).
5. Train professionals to look for the signs that a person is a victim of trafficking.
6. Support victims of trafficking with counselling, legal, medical, financial and practical assistance appropriate to their special needs, ie severe trauma, humiliation and constant threat of death.
7. Provide support regardless of whether the victims co-operate with prosecutions. A trafficked person is not an illegal immigrant or a criminal and their full human rights must be ensured.
8. Provide support from the moment they are recognised until the time they are happily repatriated or given citizenship.
9. Ensure that all anti-trafficking efforts are non-discriminatory and do not adversely affect other vulnerable groups like refugees or migrants
10. Increase public awareness of the hows and whys of trafficking to help prevent vulnerable people becoming victims and to help in identifying possible victims and traffickers

I agree and want to sign this online petition

Letter Writing

Letter writing is an effective way of making politicians take action. This sample letter may help you get started. There is also an excellent letter writing guide at Amnesty International

Sample letter about Human Trafficking

Dear

I wish to express my concern about human trafficking and the treatment of its victims.

Vulnerable people, seeking a better life because of poverty, domestic violence and other pressures they have no control over, are wickedly exploited, often sexually abused, raped, beaten, starved and otherwise humiliated by heartless men who make a god of power and money. But when such a situation is discovered, the trafficker is often not punished appropriately because of slack laws or because the victim is too afraid and traumatized to co-operate with the prosecution. As long as this state of affairs continues, the trafficking will increase because traffickers can make vast profits and get away with it.

I understand that a Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings will shortly come before the European Parliament which will make trafficking a human rights issue. This will give far more support to the victims and I heartily welcome this. However, I believe there is indecision on some points so I urge you to fully support the following measures so the inhumanity and injustice can be drastically reduced as soon as possible:

a) Trafficked people should be granted a minimum reflection period of three months. This would allow them to remain in the country legally while they recover from their ordeal and make an informed decision about their future.

b) During this time, trafficked people should have access to the full range of assistance, protection and support services. As well as the measures already set out in the draft convention, these should include financial support, educational, training and employment opportunities, including the possibility of obtaining a work permit.

c) Trafficked people should be granted residence permits in order to be involved in legal or administrative proceedings, or where they have suffered or are at risk of serious harm or abuse. Permits should be for a period of at least six months and should be renewable, with the possibility of permanent residence being granted, especially to those who remain vulnerable.

These measures are fundamental to the human rights of trafficked people and should be taken regardless of whether a trafficked person co-operates with any prosecution.

Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely

Links to Political Representatives

UK MPs   UK MEPs   USA   Canada   Australia   NZ  

Know of others? Please let me know so I can add them

(Some of the above article, such as the quote, comes from an Amnesty International UK article.)

Posted by Peter