AL ARABIYA NEWS

  Follows UAE law enacted in November

Bahrain king issues human trafficking law

Wednesday, 09 January 2008

MANAMA (Reuters) Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa has issued a law to combat human trafficking, the kingdom's state news agency said on Wednesday.

"The law stipulates that the penalty for a human trafficking crime would be prison and a fine ranging from 2,000 Bahrain dinars ($5,319) to 10,000 dinars," the Bahrain News Agency (BNA) said on its website.

The law also calls for the formation of a committee to combat human trafficking. The BNA did not say whether the law was now in effect.

Like other Gulf Arab states, Bahrain relies heavily on expatriate labor -- about a third of the island's population of 743,000 people are foreign workers -- and has been criticized by rights groups for not doing enough to protect them.

The majority of Bahrain's immigrant workers are from South Asia, and are often lured to the island kingdom with promises of wages or working conditions that are not honored on arrival -- something that would qualify as human trafficking under the new law.

In November, the United Arab Emirates enacted a law to make human trafficking punishable by life imprisonment, and has set up a state body to combat the transfer of people for work by force or under false pretences.

Human trafficking affects virtually every region in the world and U.N. estimates say the trade could be worth some $32 billion in both "sales" of individuals and the value of their exploited labor.

AL ARABIYA NEWS

  They stole my kidneys says one "donor"

Organ trafficking reaches new heights in Egypt

Tuesday, 18 November 2008

CAIRO (Marwa Awad) Increasing demand for donated organs, uncontrolled trafficking and the challenges of transplantation has fuelled an underground market of unscrupulous traffickers who hunt for potential donors willing to sell their body parts for money.

Economically and socially vulnerable Egyptians have resorted to selling their body parts for as little as $1000 to gain financially but instead end up facing ongoing health complications that often result in disease and death.

Organ brokers seek out potential donors from shantytowns like this (Courtesy of COFS)

"They are monstrous," said one donor who sold his kidney in hopes of getting money to start a better life in Libya. "I was approached by one simsar- organ broker—who told me I could sell my kidney and make 12,000 pounds ($2,175). I was desperate to leave Egypt to find work abroad. He assured me it was a risk-free operation and that I would recover quickly and travel. I wish I never listened to him!"

Selim Bekry, who requested his real name not be used, is a 32-year-old laborer from Suhaj who moved to Cairo two years ago to find work. Like many disenfranchised Egyptians, he sought to start a new life abroad but needed money first. Others like him have fallen victims to organ trafficking brokers who target people in vulnerable social and economic states.

Amr Mustafa from the Coalition for Organ-Failure Solutions in Egypt (COFS) told al-Arabiya.net that while organ donors numbers are in the thousands, it is difficult to track these people down because they feel stigmatized.

"Victims of donor trafficking seldom come to us for help, although we offer them free medical follow-up after their operations and other social support,”he told al-Arabiya.net. “They don't believe we offer this service for free. After what they go through, they are not willing to trust anyone with their bodies."

 The Ministry of Health sends out scouts who sit at coffee shops, where brokers target potential donors and seal deals. These scouts have legal right to arrest doctors or donors involved in trafficking 

Abdel Rahman Shahin, Ministry of Health

Because of its clandestine nature, the scale of organ trafficking is difficult to assess. Abdel Rahman Shahin, spokesperson for the Ministry of Health in Egypt noted the ministry has implemented surveillance efforts in collaboration with its Free Treatment Section and the Doctors' Syndicate, including arresting underground traffickers and fighting the black market.

"The MOH works diligently to hunt down organ trafficking centers in Egypt. Organ brokers have shifted their business away from certified hospitals and moved to shady areas in shantytowns and impoverished placed in the outskirts of Cairo,” Shahin told AlArabiya.net.

“The Ministry of Health sends out scouts who sit at coffee shops, where brokers target potential donors and seal deals. These scouts have legal right to arrest doctors or donors involved in trafficking," he said. "They also visit hospitals to monitor the number of transplants to make sure they are medically certified by the ministry, otherwise they are illegal."

But Mustafa said that government surveillance has not been as effective as it should be. "About 20 human rights organizations have filed reports against 20 hospitals who have been involved in trafficking," he said. "We work closely with a few to help them identify victims in the effort to draw up reports and file claims against brokers and hospitals."

According to Egyptian law, organ transplants are legal if done between family members and relatives. Donors and patients must approach certified hospitals and await a match. Donating to foreigners is strictly illegal, Shahin added.

IRIN

  Forced into slave labor, sex work or robbed of organs

Human/child trafficking on the rise in Somalia

 Friday, 02 April 2010

Hargeisa, SOMALIA (IRIN)  Officials in Somalia's self-declared independent state of Somaliland are concerned over a rise in human trafficking in the region. Children are mainly trafficked from south-central Somalia, because of the lack of government there, says a senior government official.

"Human trafficking is increasing in Somaliland. Before, no one believed that human/child trafficking existed in Somaliland but such kinds of crimes occur here…" Fadumo Sudi, the Minister for Family and Social Affairs, said during a recent ceremony to reunite a girl with her family. She had been trafficked to Hargeisa in February from Qardho, in the autonomous northeast region of Puntland.

 Human trafficking is increasing in Somaliland. Before, no one believed that human/child trafficking existed in Somaliland but such kinds of crimes occur here 

Fadumo Sudi, Minister for Family and Social Affairs

"One day, my sister went to school as usual, but she disappeared. We searched for her everywhere but we didn't find her. Finally, we heard from the media that she had been trafficked to Somaliland and by Allah's mercy she was saved. We are happy to have her back," Najib Jama Abdi, the girl's brother, said.

In January, the Somaliland immigration office in the area of Loyada, along the border with Djibouti, sent home more than 60 minors in the company of about 200 illegal immigrants who were hoping to proceed on to Europe via Eritrea, Sudan and Libya.

Ethiopian Oromian children also travel to Somaliland without their parents in search of work; most end up in petty trade or as street children. Older people, claiming to be the children's parents, use them to beg.

"The children are used in different ways ... and are exploited for child labour in Somaliland," Lul Hassan Matan, the director of child protection in Somaliland's National Human Rights Commission, told IRIN. "Whenever you see a child in the street crying and ask him or her why, they respond that they are not with their parents, but that they have been brought in to work." (Since speaking to IRIN, Matan has left this position).

Raising awareness

 With the collaboration of the International Office for Migration (IOM), we are raising awareness by holding forums to discuss the issue of trafficking, as well as debates and seminars 

Khadar Qorane Yusuf, Ministry of Family and Social Affairs

According to Khadar Qorane Yusuf, the victim referral mechanism lead person in the Ministry of Family and Social Affairs, the children are initially enticed with false promises and told not to share the information with anyone, only to be later violated.

"With the collaboration of the International Office for Migration (IOM), we are raising awareness by holding forums to discuss the issue of trafficking, as well as debates and seminars," added Qorane. Information posters have been strategically placed along the borders and airports.

IOM defines trafficking in persons as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.

Exploitation includes the exploitation or the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.

Forced into sex work

 But [a] rapid assessment conducted by IOM indicated [the] existence of international trafficking of Somali women to Djibouti, Kenya, and the Gulf States for sexual and labor exploitation. Moreover, further investigations confirmed the widespread practice of domestic human trafficking of Somali women and children [who are] lured into forced prostitution in some areas of Somalia [Somaliland and Puntland] 

Mayumi Ueno, IOM\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s Somalia Support Office

According to Mayumi Ueno, the counter-trafficking project manager at IOM's Somalia Support Office, the scale of human trafficking in Somalia is not known. "But [a] rapid assessment conducted by IOM indicated [the] existence of international trafficking of Somali women to Djibouti, Kenya, and the Gulf States for sexual and labor exploitation. Moreover, further investigations confirmed the widespread practice of domestic human trafficking of Somali women and children [who are] lured into forced prostitution in some areas of Somalia [Somaliland and Puntland]," Ueno told IRIN.

In 2009, IOM launched a Counter Trafficking Project for Somalia, in Somaliland and Puntland, whose activities include awareness-raising campaigns targeting the local population to inform them of the dangers and risks of being trafficked. It has also supported Somaliland and Puntland in setting up National Counter Trafficking Taskforces.

Challenges remain, however, with the public and authorities not familiar with the concept of human trafficking and the best ways to respond, Mayumi said. "Furthermore, the general lack of social services and issues of culture and social stigma make victims' reintegration extremely difficult."

AL ARABIYA NEWS

Intl criticism remains over UAE’s human trafficking

1st time in UAE women are charged with forced labor

 

DUBAI (Alarabiya.net) Men have always been charged as the heads of human trafficking groups in the UAE but on Monday, the country saw its first case of two women charged of forced labor and sexual exploitation of three other women.

The Public Prosecution referred to the Court of First Instance two women for alleged human trafficking, with the specific charge of forcing someone to work without pay and sexual exploitation, for the first time, upon an order from the Dubai’s Attorney-General, The Khaleej Times reported on Tuesday.

Along with the two charged women, two other escapee Asians, including the son of the prime accused, were found guilty of forcing three women to work in a message center, owned by one of the women.

The case was cracked when one of the victims called the police and reported that she was forced to give sex services and said that she is a victim of human trafficking.

The victim said that she was brought to the UAE in February 2010 to work in a women’s message center, only to find out a month later, that she was forced under threat to give illegal and sexual massage.

The Public Prosecution accused the woman of exploiting the victims to work in her massage center with the help of her son. She was believed to have taken advantage of their financial hardship to force them into obeying her, the newspaper reported.

UAE under fire

International criticism has pushed the UAE to tighten its grip over human trafficking and sexual exploitation.

The UAE had it first law dealing with human trafficking in 2004 after its non-existence leaving no guidelines for its police force when dealing with the reported cases.

“When women came in police stations to report their ordeal, the police did not know how to deal with them, they did not know under which law to categorize these women's mishap, maybe under kidnapping? “ Dr. Mustafa Alani, the director of national security at the Gulf Research Centre in Dubai, told Alarabiya.net.

According to reports the UAE has applied a raft of measures but concerns still loom over how strict these measures are being enforced.

According to The National newspaper, in 2009 the UAE had 43 cases that appeared before court which include 86 trafficking victims and 125 defendants, with three-quarters of cases ending in at least one conviction.

In 2010 an Abu Dhabi court earlier sentenced a Syrian man to life in prison for running the emirate’s largest human-trafficking ring.

The man charged in absentia, received a life sentence along with seven of his countrymen for operating the prostitution ring. The ruling was only the second time a UAE court has imposed the life sentence in a human trafficking case.

Applying severe measures such as life sentence is helping the UAE in reducing human trafficking, added Dr. al-Ani.

peacefmonline

Lawyer Dumps Human Traffickers Date: 25-Jan-2011         The trial of the three sisters who allegedly recruited young girls, mostly porters (kayayei) from some part of the country and transported them to Nigeria for sexual exploitation, was yesterday abruptly adjourned following their lawyer’s decision to withdraw his services. Prosecution was expected to begin its case as scheduled but when the case was called, the accused person’s lawyer, Nii Amartey, informed the court that he was traveling and therefore had withdrawn his services. The trial judge, Mrs. Georgina Mensah Datsa, had no option but to adjourn the case to January 31 for the accused persons to engage the services of a new lawyer. At the last adjourned date, the charge sheet was substituted by ASP Mary Agbozo, the prosecutor, with more simplified locations of where the victims were picked up from. The victims were reportedly recruited from Makola, Ashaiman, Agbogbloshie and Gushiegu by the three sisters under the pretext of securing jobs for them in Nigeria. The new sheet also dropped a charge of procuration against Zinabu Abukari, one of the accused, and replaced it with human trafficking. The case has been adjourned to January 24, 2011 for hearing. The three sisters, Fati Abukari, Memuna Abukari and Zinabu Abukari, according to police investigations, have been practicing the illegal trade for the past ten years. Fati, the ringleader, was charged with seven counts of human trafficking. Memuna had two counts of human trafficking while Zinabu faced two counts of human trafficking. They all had an additional charge of conspiracy to commit crime but pleaded not guilty. Currently, ten victims have been rescued and are in a shelter. All accused persons were granted a GH¢10,000 bail with two sureties after ASP Mary Agbozo did not object to bail because investigations had been completed. The prosecutor revealed that the complainant was a staff of Regional Advocacy Information and Network System (RAINS), an NGO based in Tamale, whilst the accused persons were traders based in Ghana and Nigeria respectively. She said on December 28, 2010, a victim confided in the complainant that about four years ago, she and other girls were recruited from Agbogbloshie and Gushiegu by the accused persons and transported to Lagos in Nigeria, under the pretext of securing them jobs. The victim, according to the prosecutor, said upon arrival, they were made to sell porridge during the day and go into prostitution during the night. However, the accused persons collected all the proceeds and never paid them for their services. The prosecutor said one of the victims was made to abandon her marriage in Nantong for the purpose of practicing prostitution and another made to undergo a series of illegal abortion. The complainant then reported the matter to the police and the accused persons were arrested. ASP Agbozo said the accused vehemently denied the offence during interrogation but admitted to having transported some girls to Nigeria.       Source: D-Guide

New Vision Online

Two held for selling girls into prostitution
Monday, 24th January, 2011	E-mail article   Print article
Mwesigye and Kissekka are paraded at RRUnit headquarters in Kireka By Herbert Ssempogo          UGANDAN women, mainly in their early 20s, are being sold in Asian countries to work as prostitutes. The latest victims were promised jobs in Malaysia but on arrival there, they were locked up in brothels and forced to peddle their bodies, the Police has revealed. The deception, which culminated in the death of two of them, is a chilling tale of how two men in custody and their accomplices took advantage of desperate Ugandan girls. According to the Police spokesperson, Judith Nabakooba, Dalvin Mwesigwa, 25 and Frank Kato alias Ashraf Kisseka connived with a Nigerian woman, Shade Pretty, to dupe the girls. Held at the Rapid Response Unit in Kireka, Kampala, Mwesigwa and Kato reportedly promised the girls job opportunities in the Asian country. Each had to pay a sh500,000 as commission to the two men. Last November, Sofia, Jennifer and Deborah (other names withheld) received tickets from Pretty and Kato and headed to Malaysia, Nabakooba said. “Two weeks later, Kato called Mwesigwa and asked him to look for more girls to work in Malaysia and told him that they would be employed as sex workers in big brothels. “This time, he got three girls aged 20 to 26 from a city suburb and sent them to Malaysia. These were Brenda, Jariah and Shamim, said to be Kato’s sister,” Nabakooba stated yesterday. The girls were sent to Pretty’s brothel. Their accommodation was unfurnished rooms and they had to pay the water, power and food bills in addition to paying back the $6,000 ticket.  “We were told that very soon, we would have ‘customers’…..I was shocked. That’s when I realised that we were brought to sell our bodies,” Jariah said in a statement she recorded in Malaysia. Suzan narrated, “…I would to be given work and shelter. But reaching to (sic), I was told to sell my body to men.” “Surprisingly, I was left in the house. There was no food and we had to beg from neighbours. I could not go anywhere because our passports were confiscated,” she added.  Jariah told the Police that as the pressure to have sex with strangers increased, an unidentified Ugandan girl reportedly committed suicide. The traffickers were uncovered after Jariah telephoned her Kampala boyfriend asking for help. The lover (name withheld) reportedly told her to look for the Ugandan consulate.  Jariah narrated their troubles to Hajah Noraihan Haji Mohamad Adnan, the Ugandan consul to Malyasia. On January 5, Adnan petitioned the country’s director general of immigration.                  “I would like to raise the attention of the authorities of Malyasia that there is a syndicate of human trafficking (sic) bringing ladies from Uganda to come to Malyasia on the pretext of giving them jobs, inclusive of housing,” Adnan wrote.    “….On arrival, the girls found that there were no jobs. They were asked to pay RM1, 000 per week. The girls were informed that the only way to repay all these monies were (sic) to do prostitution.” The letter was copied to the Ugandan authorities. Subsequently, Malaysian police stormed Venice Hill and rescued Jariah and Suzan, who have since returned home. But the girls said some unknown number of young women at the brothel fled. In Kampala, Nabakooba said, a team picked Mwesigwa and Kato from Namasuba, a city suburb. Kato yesterday denied having prior knowledge of trafficking the girls for sex. He insisted they were to work in hotels where they were to make a fortune. Kato disclosed that he met the girls’ employer on the Internet.  Nabakooba yesterday announced that they were working with Malaysian authorities to trace the other victims and arrest the culprits. The Police also said another unidentified Ugandan girl was pushed off the fifth floor of a building amid a row with a brothel owner. Another group based in Kampala is also reportedly dispatching girls abroad, where they become prostitutes.

The Jakarta Post,

Police arrest new suspect in child prostitution ring

Andreas D. Arditya, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 01/21/2011 11:11 AM | City

A | A | A |

Jakarta Police announced they had arrested a new suspect in an alleged case of kidnapping, molesting and trafficking of at least 96 children in the Thousand Islands regency.

The suspect, who was not named, is a resident of Purwakarta, West Java. Police claim he was one of 18 people involved in a children trafficking ring run by the main suspect, Sartono, who was arrested earlier this month.

Sartono told investigators he had committed the acts on at least 96 children. Thousand Islands Police said Sartono’s behavior spanned 17 years.

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Baharudin Djafar said the city police would work with the West Java Police in investigating the latest suspect.

“The suspect will testify as a witness in Sartono’s trial and vice versa,” Djafar said Thursday, adding that the suspect was being held in custody by Purwarkarta Police.

Djafar said the suspect admitted to having molested children on two occasions after paying Sartono Rp 75,000 (US$8.3) and Rp 50,000.

Police identified one of the children, who allegedly ran away from home. Djafar said the child was molested by Sartono before being sold off.

Police arrested Sartono at a motel on Harapan islet early January, rescuing Rul, a 14-year-old boy who was kidnapped by Sartono and had been missing since Nov. 25, 2010. Sartono had allegedly sodomized Rul and forced him into prostitution by selling the boy to other men.

Sartono told police he remembered the names of 16 children he molested and sold. The police claim that in the last two years, Sartono molested 54 children.

Sartono told police that he had kidnapped, molested and sold 42 children prior to 2008, most of whom were street children between the ages of 14 and 17 who lived in the vicinity of Purwakarta train station, Cikampek train station and Kampung Bandan train station.

On Jan. 11, police brought Sartono to the locations of his alleged crimes in Serang, Banten, to reconstruct
the events.

Last year, Jakarta were gripped by reports of the sadistic murder and sexual abuse of dozens of children — mainly street kids — by two pedophiles.

Baekuni, a street vendor, confessed that he had sexually abused his victims before killing them. The man, who was under police investigation primarily for mutilating a 10-year-old boy, admitted to killing 12 children in total. Baekuni said he mutilated his victims in an attempt to cover his tracks.

In a similar case last year, a man known by street children only as “Abang Kaca Mata”, reportedly sodomized 15 children.

Global Human Trafficking Roundup

Friday, January 21, 2011

Global human trafficking roundup ( January 21, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Georgia: An ICE representative says human trafficking is increasing in Atlanta, but the crime is hard to uncover because victims do not come forward. He also pointed out two growing trends; that victims are becoming as young as 14 and that traffickers increasingly use violence to control victims.

North Carolina: Authority says the number of victims for sex trafficking in North Carolina has increased in recent years. Many female victims are lured into coming to North Carolina with a promise of a better job. The Immigration officers therefore work with local and state authority to combat human trafficking in North Carolina.

Massachusetts: A New Hampshire police is searching for a suspect setting up a girl in a Portsmouth hotel room for prostitution. Police arrested a girl earlier this month at a hotel, where she was working as a prostitute. But, police believes that this incident is part of a large human trafficking or child prostitution ring throughout New England.

EUROPE

Finnland: Four Latvians are convicted of human trafficking through Russia and Balkan states. They smuggled 80 people from Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria in 2008 and 2009. The victims also paid $10,000 for smuggling fee. The Latvians received jail sentence ranged between 14 months and 5.5 years. Whether the victims were forced into slavery is unknown.

UK: A female applicant for refuge status is found herself to be in the center of the biggest human trafficking investigation in the north of England. According to the report, she was forced into having sex with men at a massage parlor by gangs members. She was beaten and raped by the gang and forced to work six or seven days a week. Sometimes she was forced to have sex with as many men as 10 a day.

ASIA

Indonesia: Police arrests a new suspect in child prostitution ring. The ring victimized at least 98 children by kidnapping and raping. Police also said that the suspect is one of 18 people who were involved in the child prostitution ring.

Global Human Trafficking Roundup

Monday, January 24, 2011

Global human trafficking roundup ( January 22-24, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Wisconsin: A Milwaukee man was sentenced 14 years in jail for pimping on a 14 year old girl. He admitted in court that he found the victim working the street last May. Though his lawyer argued that the man didn't realized that she was an underage girl and that she was already prostituting herself, the judge wanted to send a warning to other men who might be tempted to follow the man's example.

Washington: Seattle and Portland crack down on child prostitution. Though the two cities are labeled as a hub of sex trafficking, one report states that the actual problem of human trafficking in the two cities are not any worse than other cities. Meanwhile, Seattle has consistently shown the most juveniles rounded up in prostitution crackdowns for three years running now.

Oregon: The major of Portland city says that imperfect data on human trafficking in Portland does not diminish the crime of human trafficking. He also argues that because sex trafficking is hard to track, because victims often are afraid of come forward to report the crime. However, instead of an inaction, he argues that Portland should redouble its effort to fight human trafficking.

Vermont: According to a report released last week, Vermont should join 41 states with anti-human trafficking law. The Vermont Attorney General's office reported that though report suggests small number of human trafficking cases, the problem is likely to be much larger because of lack of awareness among public.

New York: Key federal, state, and local authorities launched anti-human trafficking task force in Westchester last month. According to the founder of task force, there have been major human trafficking cases in Westchester county, and the task force will further shed lights on more human trafficking cases in the area. There are many factors that make Westchester county as a prime location for human trafficking, including high immigration population, living circumstances requiring the presence of all types of workers.

LATIN AMERICA

Haiti: U.S. government announced additional $4.75 million to fight human trafficking in Haiti. The grant was distributed among the US organizations fighting against human trafficking. In 2010, Trafficking in Person estimated that over 200,000 children were enslaved before the massive earthquake

EUROPE

UK: Birmingham is a hub of child prostitution, police says. Children as young as 12 are pimped out of Birmingham by foreign gangs for as little as 10 pounds. A nonprofit representative says that last year, there were 100 girl and five boy victims, but this does not mean that there were only 105 children who were at risk.

ASIA

China: The authority announced that Chinese women are increasingly trafficked for forced marriage or prostitution abroad. Majority of victims are trafficked to Southeast Asia, Europe, and Africa, according to the authority. Also, many victims are lured into leaving China and end up being forced into prostitution by criminal organizations that offer high paying job opportunities to them.

UAE: Prosecutor seeks a life sentence for three people who trafficked a woman from Bangladesh. The female victim came to UAE with a promise of a maid job by her brother. But, upon arrival, she was forced into prostitution.

Global Human Trafficking Roundup

Government and culture, not poverty, cause human trafficking

Earlier this week, one organization made a bold statement that poverty causes human trafficking. The theory is based on the strong correlation between a country's GDP and human trafficking. According to the report, "every $1000 increase in a country's GDP makes the country nearly 10 percent more likely to be a destination for international human trafficking victims." Is poverty the root cause of human trafficking? Or, is it a byproduct of the third factor that also causes human trafficking?

OTHER CASE STUDIES SHOW OTHERWISE

A number of studies on different countries' case suggests that poverty is more than likely a co-existing factor to human trafficking, not the root cause of human trafficking.

Case #1: Myanmar

Take a look at this impoverished country of source, which pushes out many human trafficking victims to its South Asian neighbors. On the surface level, one can argue that poverty pushes many migrant workers to leave Myanmar while traffickers are waiting to prey them on in anyway on the other side of the country's borderline. According to no where else to go, an in-depth report by a nonprofit, the military regime's economic mismanagement and high tax are two driving factors for the Burmese victims to flee the country. The research also states that the victims are hesitant to report cases against police corruption involving human trafficking because the close connection between the military regime and the many NGO representatives would only bring the victims themselves under the accusation of taking part in the human trafficking ring. Therefore, many victims' reports remain unreported. The Burmese military regime, according to the report, is also in charge of a large percentage of aids and social welfare programs. Therefore, government is the reason for any traffickers to flee the country as well as a hindrance to their victim assistance.

Case #2: Kenya

The human trafficking in Kenya, in particular, those of Maasai girls, is another example that caused by government corruption and mismanagement. While some analyst even attempted to blame climate changes in the past, the fact is clear that the draught and climate change has been fact of life for Maasai people. Regardless of the draught and poverty, however, history shows that Maasai found their way of self-sustaining life-style. And, they had good life within the community until the British government stepped in with economic mismanagement and corruption. According to a research, corruption involving blood relationship and personal ambition played significant factors behind mismanagement of the subdivision of the land introduced by the British. Only a few rich people have benefited from the system at the expense of exploiting the rest of the poor Maasai people. In addition, according toone report by Heritage Organization, a policy think thank based in D.C., corruption is highly pervasive in Kenya as the country ranks 147th out of 179 countries in Transparency International's Corruption Index in 2008. Further, the lax property rights and extensive corruption limits the country's overall economic freedom. ( For further information on history of Maasai community in regards to human trafficking click here).

Case #3: South Korea & China

South Korea and China are members of OECD countries. South Korea's GDP, according to World Bank, reached $832.5 billion and China's GDP was 4.985 trillion in 2009. Both countries' GDPs in 2009 were conspicuously higher than that of Switzerland ($491.92) and Demark in the same year. In case of China, its GDP is much higher than Italy ($2.1 trillion), UK($2.18), and even France ($2.65) and even Germany($3.33). Yet, both China and South Korea have been the main sources of sex trafficking victims in the U.S. In particular, according to the Attorney General's office in 2006 report, South Korean women made up 23.5% of human trafficking victims in the U.S., which was the highest percentage of victims among the reported cases followed by Thailand (11.7%) and Mexico (9.6%). Likewise, according to the Coalition Against Trafficking of Women, 5000 Chinese women were prostituted in Los Angles in 2007. In the same year, BBC news reported that Chinese women were being trafficked into the United States in New York and North Carolina. BBC also stated that these women were held in $40,000 debt bondage.

If the analysis that poverty causes human trafficking based on the correlation between a country's GDP and human trafficking data is true, neither Chinese women nor South Korean women would not be enslaved in the US. Rather, one will witness more number of sex trafficking victims from UK, Switzerland, Demark, Italy, and France than those from China in the U.S.

One thing is clear that regardless of their high GDP, both China and South Korea do not have policies supporting women's rights as much as many western countries with the similar economic development status. For instance, in South Korea, it is much more difficult for a woman to take out bank loan than it is for her male counterpart. What's more, today's report on a South Korean celebrity who committed suicide after being forced into prostitution and others for her successful career shows the glimpse of the reality for South Korean women.

CONCLUDING THOUGHT

Above examples show that poverty is a co-existing factor to human trafficking, not a root cause. It is true that many migrants from poor countries flee their countries in order to escape poverty for better job opportunities abroad. It is also true that they often are preyed by human trafficking in one way or the other. However, this does not mean that poverty itself is causing victims to be trafficked. Rather, government's economic mismanagement, corruption, lack of policies on women's rights, and the culture that embraces and even promotes sexual and labor exploitation are to blame the ongoing atrocity of human trafficking around the world. 

http://globalhtnews.blogspot.com

Global human trafficking roundup (January 18, 2011)

 

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Global human trafficking roundup (January 18, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

Georgia: A local news radio station reports sex trafficking in Atlanta Georgia. A victim testifies her experience as a sex slave. In the absence of loving parents, the victim became a runaway in the age of 13. She met her pimp in the age of 18 when she was a homeless and desperate single mother. She was forced to prostitute on the street by her pimp who required her to bring $1000 a night. Her livelihood therefore became dependent upon her pimp.

Guam: U.S. attorney's office hosted a Regional Conference to combat human trafficking and other crimes. More than 300 people attended the event, including military representatives. One of the speakers emphasized the importance of law enforcement training in the area of crimes like human trafficking because of the special needs of the victims.

New York: Attorney General assists a human trafficking victim from the Philippines. The victim was exploited with labor since she arrived in New York city 10 years ago. According to th e report, Attorney General's office vowed to assess whether they can filed a criminal charge against the victim's former employer. The victim said that she was subject to physical and psychological abuse by her employer and lived an isolated life for 10 years.

EUROPE

Ireland: The authority launches a campaign against human trafficking in Ireland. The Blue Blindfold campaign will last until March 28th, and it will involve series of ads placed in the major newspapers. Also, posters and leaflets will be posted in libraries and heath centers across Ireland. Dublin ma who ran a number of brothels in Ireland was sentenced to five years in jail for running a prostitution and other charges. According to the report, prostitution is not a crime, running a brothel to obtain financial gain from other women's sexual services is illegal.

UK: A man who ran a brothel by forcing women into prostitution was sent back to his country, China. The arrest was made after the police in UK raided his brothel last October. Since then, he was sentenced to four months in jail and currently facing deportation. The border agency is also working on returning Chinese female victims to China.

ASIA

Philippines: A Senator pushes for a tougher measure against human trafficking. He argues that approximately 2000 Filipino are still victimized by traffickers annually, which he believes it to be caused by the legislative flaws.

Pakistan: People with disabilities are trafficked into Iran and forced to beg on the street. One victim said that he was trafficked into Iran by human trafficking ring after the traffickers lured him into coming to Iran with a promise of a good job opportunity with a great income six months ago. However, he was forced with other victims with disabilities and turn all of the profits to the traffickers. The victim also stated that some of the victims were minors with disabilities. 

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Global human trafficking roundup (January 7, 2011)

Friday, January 7, 2011

Global human trafficking roundup (January 7, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

California: A man was convicted of keeping a child sex slave. He spent 29 years as a fugitive after being convicted of child molestation in Orange County in the 1970s. He was again convicted in Florida of bringing child across the state lines for sexual purpose. According to the report, he brought a girl from Vietnam and molested on daily basis and even encouraged her to bring her friends so that he can molest them too.

Ohio: Two siblings were charged during the state wide investigation on human trafficking rings in nail salons. Along with two other women, they face multiple charges including, "fraud, submitting false documents and tampering with documents." One state cosmetology board authority stated that human trafficking in nail salons by using fraudulent identities is a multi-million dollar scheme.

South Carolina: Advocates pushes for a bill to make traffickers pay for the crime. On January 11th, the advocates plans to lobby for SC H4522, asset forfeiture laws. If passed, the traffickers will be mandated to turn over all of their assets to the state, which will be used for victim assistance programs.

New Hampshire: Police is investigating online brothel involving child prostitution case. A teen girl was sold as a prostitute at a local hotel by out of state suspects. The police said that the girl was exploited through backpage.com. Because of the ongoing investigation, police said that further details could not be disclosed.

South Dakota: A man was arrested for allegedly pimping on high class call girls. He is charged three counts of pimping and two counts of hiring prostitutes for sexual activity. But, the state's attorney said that he can be charged with fifty additional counts and may qualify for human trafficking.

ASIA

Cambodia: A woman was charged with trafficking her mentally disabled 13 year old daughter after allegedly sending her to Malaysia to work. Police said that the woman was arrested at her residence. The woman allegedly forged documents to indicate that the girl was 19 years old. The investigation began after World Vision informed the police that the girl was only 13 years old and working in Malaysia.

South Korea: A 37 year old man was sentenced to 17 years in jail for killing his Mongolian wife's friend and severely injuring her husband. The crime occurred after the 37 year old visited their residence in search of his wife who ran away from the man's domestic violence. The incident caused public stir over increasing reports of domestic violence and human trafficking.

India: Ten Nepalese women who were trafficked into India were sent back to their country upon rescue. According to the nonprofit advocates who worked with these women stated that these women are lucky to be able to go back to their country. Many of them are left in brothels, shelters, or even in prison instead of finding their ways to go home.

AFRICA

Uganda: Immigration officer testifies against pastors for trafficking a 17 year old girl. According to the report, the two pastors allegedly lured the girl from her hometown into flying to Dubai for a job opportunity. They also allegedly falsified the document stating that the girl is 19 years old to obtain a passport. 

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Global human trafficking roundup (January 5, 2011)

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Global human trafficking roundup (January 5, 2011)

NORTH AMERICA

California: California based anti-human trafficking organization, CAST, will host a National Human Trafficking Awareness Day on Tuesday next week. The executive director of CAST argues that many people are unaware of the problems of human trafficking. Meanwhile, she said that between 12 million and 27 million people are trafficked around the world, and approximately 18000 people are trafficked into the U.S.

Canada: Edmonton cops are overwhelmed by victims of human trafficking, according to the report. After rescuing one Chinese and two Fijian women, police said that they were not ready to deal with the level of trauma and damages experienced by the victims.

Oregon: Multnomah county will launch john school this Saturday for people who were arrested or charged with purchasing sex. According to the report, the program will allow the first time offenders to clear their record if they attend the one day john school and remain arrest free for six months. The program is modeled after those from Seattle and San Francisco.

ASIA

Lebanon: Prostitution and human trafficking is increasing in Lebanon. According to the report, thousands of women from Eastern Europe, Asia, Syria, and Egypt work at sex industry both legally and illegally. One organization providing shelter to the victims says that it receives approximately 80 women every year, but this number is only a tip of the iceberg.

AFRICA

South Africa: A former madam works for child prostitution victims. She says that many children who are in sex industry are often forced into prostitution. She also says that Many children and women in prostitution feel that prostitution is the only way of earning a living they know, which is why they need constant support from community. 

http://globalhtnews.blogspot.com