Human Trafficking, Human Misery

Human Trafficking, Human Misery Recent Title in Global Crime and Justice Outsmarting the Terrorists Ronald V. Clarke and Graeme R. Newman HUMAN TRAFFICKING, HUMAN MISERY The Global Trade in Human Beings ALEXIS A. ARONOWITZ Global Crime and Justice Graeme R. Newman, Series Editor Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Aronowitz, Alexis A., 1956– Human trafficking, human misery : the global trade in human beings / Alexis A. Aronowitz. p. cm. — (Global crime and justice, ISSN 1931-7239) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-275-99481-5 (alk. paper) 1. Human trafficking. 2. Human smuggling. 3. Human trafficking— Prevention. 4. Human smuggling—Prevention. I. Title. HQ281.A76 2009 364.1037—dc22 2008045310 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available. Copyright ' 2009 by Alexis A. Aronowitz All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, by any process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2008045310 ISBN: 978-0-275-99481-5 ISSN: 1931-7239 First published in 2009 Praeger Publishers, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881 An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. www.praeger.com Printed in the United States of America The paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z39.48-1984). 10987654321 This book is dedicated to the victims of human trafficking and all those who are working to make a difference in their lives. This page intentionally left blank Contents Series Foreword ix Preface xi Acknowledgments xiii Acronyms and Abbreviations xv 1. What Is Human Trafficking? 1 2. Human Trafficking: How Serious Is the Problem? 15 3. Contrasting Perspectives on Human Trafficking 23 4. Victims of Trafficking 31 5. The Traffickers: Their Methods of Operation and Organization Structure 51 6. Regional Trafficking Patterns 77 7. Hidden Forms of Human Trafficking 103 8. New Opportunities for Trafficking 129 9. Ending Human Trafficking 145 Appendix 1. Risk Factors of Child Trafficking 163 Appendix 2. Trafficking Patterns by Region, Subregion, and Country 165 Appendix 3. Human Trafficking Indicators 215 viii CONTENTS Notes 221 References 249 Index 275 Series Foreword HOW FITTING THAT one of the first books in this new Praeger series Global Crime and Justice should be on human trafficking, the global crime of the twenty-first century. Though how disappointing that human trafficking is not recognized as a crime in every part of the world, and that its global nature defies nations that outlaw it and challenges international governmental and nongovernmental efforts to police it. And how shocking it is that slavery—a global enterprise for centuries—still exists, flying in the face of its heralded abolition in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Human trafficking is a very, very old practice, feeding very, very old vices. In this thoroughly researched book, Alexis Aronowitz exposes the human misery of trafficking, examining every nook and cranny of its practice. She shows how innocent families and their children, looking for a better life, are tricked and exploited into the nether world of modern slavery—a world in which they live hidden, yet in plain sight of those who benefit from the services they provide—the indentured sex, domestic, farm, garment, and factory workers. One cannot doubt the authenticity of this book, the best documented exposition on human trafficking available, presented by an author whose years of experience in interviewing stakeholders and victims as she researched human trafficking in many parts of the world shines through. The message is clear enough, repeated on just about every page (and it needs to be): Readers, wake up. Nations and international organizations, do more. Governments and authorities, acknowledge the victim status of trafficked persons, regardless of x SERIES FOREWORD whether they are legal or illegal immigrants, and even if they are the latter, know that they are victims first, offenders last. All those who read this book will be forced to ask themselves: how civil are we? If the question elicits an honest answer, it may be painful; but even then, the pain of honesty is better than the consequences of hypocrisy. Graeme R. Newman Philadelphia, August 2008 Preface FOR A PERIOD of over five years, I worked in various capacities for the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime as a researcher and consultant on human trafficking projects in the Philippines, the Czech Republic, Benin, Nigeria, and Togo. My work for the United Nations brought me to these countries on numerous occasions. I returned to Nigeria while working as a consultant for Winrock International and visited Albania while carrying out an assessment on trafficking for Management Systems International in that country in 2003. All of these missions involved meetings with stakeholders in the country— from high-ranking government officials, to police officers and immigration officials, representatives of local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and international and intergovernmental organizations, and trafficked victims. We heard moving stories from those who were working with the young victims in an NGO in Benin—of how children had died of starvation and hunger while in transit to Gabon and how children on the boat were told to dispose of the corpses. We spoke to two child victims of trafficking and their parents at an NGO in Togo. The parents, poor and uneducated, explained to us how they only wanted to provide their young sons with an education and thought they were doing the right thing when they gave the children to the care of a man who promised to educate them. In Nigeria I spoke with a nine-year-old child who didn’t know which vil- lage or country she had come from. At the age of six, her older sister had left her with a family in Nigeria to become a domestic slave. In Albania, while visiting a shelter run by the International Organization for Migration for repatriated trafficked victims, I sat in the living room and spoke to the young women in English, German, Dutch, and Italian. I could speak those languages because I had lived, xii PREFACE studied, or worked in those countries. They spoke those languages because they, too, had worked in those countries—as prostitutes. After I left, it suddenly dawned on me that perhaps they thought I, too, had been trafficked and that’s why I lived in so many countries to which they had traveled and spoke some of the same languages. How different our lives were. To look into the eyes of a trafficked victim or survivor and to hear their stories is an unforgettable experience—one that should be passed on so that others can become aware of their plight and the plight of millions of others like them around the world. They are terrible, moving stories, yet many people, perhaps most, have difficulty in accepting the clear fact that ‘‘slavery and bondage still exist in the twenty-first century,’’ as U.N. Secretary General Kofi Anan noted in 2006. Ambassador John R. Miller, Ambassador-at-Large on International Slavery in a speech presenting the U.S. State Department’s 2006 Trafficking in Persons Report, further noted: ‘‘Here we are in the twenty-first century and we’re talking about slavery. Wouldn’t this be a shock to our abo- litionist ancestors who thought they finished the job back in the 19th century.’’1 The U.S. State Department estimates that up to 800,000 people, primarily women and children, are trafficked across national borders while millions more are victims of trafficking within their own countries each year.2 This is a crime of violence, and an inconceivable violation of human rights and dignity. We talk of trafficking in terms of the sheer number of persons exploited or the amount of money generated by the trafficking practice. But behind every number and every dollar, pound, euro, ruble, rupee, or yen is a story of human misery. This book combines scientific, academic, and government reports; studies generated by nongovernmental, international, and intergovernmental organizations; popular literature and media; and the author’s experience coordinating research and conducting trafficking assessments in various countries to provide the reader with a deeper understanding of human trafficking. The reader will come to understand why victims are lured into dangerous situations, who is behind the trafficking networks, and why it is so difficult to determine the extent of the crime. Victims and their stories provide an understanding of how and why this crime occurred and the impact it had on their lives. More unusual forms of trafficking—in child soldiers, mail-order brides, and trafficking in human beings for their organs and illegal adoptions—will be exposed. The book examines new markets and opportunities for trafficking as a result of the growth of the Internet, international travel, military operations, sport- ing events, and natural disasters. The last chapter presents good practices— and the role played by various stakeholders in the prevention, enforcement, and victim assistance projects in an unceasing battle to stem the tide of human trafficking. Acknowledgments I WOULD LIKE to thank the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime for the opportunity to work on a number of U.N. trafficking projects and for the invi- tation to attend the UN.GIFT (Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking) Vienna Forum to Fight Human Trafficking. Special gratitude goes to all those with whom I spoke during my years of work on trafficking in various countries. Their knowledge, experiences, and opinions have shaped my understanding of human trafficking and have left a deep impression on me—not only for the horror of victims’ stories, but also for the dedication and commitment shown by those working to help them.

Load more