Human Trafficking-
say it with me now: “Human Trafficking”. Not to be confused with illegal
migration or smuggling; and definitely not to be confused with being stuck
behind a long line of cars on the way to work (Okay no- this is serious). Human
Trafficking is the buying and selling of people for the purpose of
exploitation. People are seen as commodities that can make money for someone
else at minimal cost. They are used for hard labour, factory work, farm work, as
domestic workers and commonly and most famously- sex workers. “That sounds
familiar” you may say. Why yes- you’re right; such things have been going on
for thousands of years - as Human Trafficking in its essence is modern-day
slavery. But what is not often realised is that this happens now- yes, right
now. Right now it is happening to 20.9 million people according to the United
Nations TIP report- that equates to the population of Mozambique in trafficking
victims. Human trafficking has been reported in almost every country in the
world and is the second biggest international illegal trade - second only to
drugs (yes, that means even the illegal arms trade is not as lucrative).
So Human Trafficking does exist- and it happens in four
clear stages: coercion, transportation, control, and exploitation. Every one of
these stages must be present in order for a case to be categorised as Human
Trafficking. So, this is what a case of Human Trafficking typically looks like:
first, a trafficker will make a promise. They will offer an incredible
opportunity to their potential victim- normally exactly what the victim has
always dreamed of. To the pretty young girl in a poor home they will offer a
modelling contract in Milan; to the school child that dreams of a brighter
future- a scholarship in Switzerland; to the young boy- a position in a
football club in France; and to the hardworking single mother- a well paying
job somewhere far away that could give her enough money to send her children to
school. The people who often fall for these promises are not ignorant or
careless, but are often those who are bright, ambitious and willing to take
risks to succeed.
Then, once the story
is believed and the victim hands over their documents for the trafficker to
process their “transport details”, the second stage has begun. The victim is
now under the control of the trafficker, taken out of her community and is fed further
lies to hold her in bondage. The trafficker will say things like: “now that
you’re here, you need to pay off the debt that you owe me for your transport,
so now you have to work in this factory (or this brothel) until you pay me off”.
The victim will then be forced to work in inhumane conditions and given little
to no pay- making it impossible for them to pay off the debt. This is called
debt bondage - and is a common tool for the trafficker to establish control
over the victim.
So now the victim is trapped- alone and outside of her usual
community; with no travel documents and is unable to speak to the local
language. Also, the victim often believes that what has happened to her is
perfectly legal- and that she is paying off a real debt. To strengthen the hold that the trafficker
has over the victim, the trafficker will tell her that the local authorities will
arrest her if she tries to fight- and if she tries to run away; the traffickers
will hurt her family. The methods of control used by traffickers do not end
here, and the victims are often beaten, raped, or drugged into submission. Then,
the final and more permanent stage of the process is exploitation. The victims
are forced to work for no or very little pay day after day with little chance
of change or escape.
Once a significant
amount of time goes by; then perhaps the saddest thing of all happens: the
victim begins to normalise and accept the situation as reality. They fight
less, need less supervision and control, and may even arrive at a point where
they advocate what happened to them; or begin to see a peculiar type of justice
in bringing other people through the same course that they had to walk. It can
be justified in their minds by thinking: “I’ve paid my dues and gone through
all of this, now it’s somebody else’s turn”. These victims may then become part
of the perpetuation; as after justifying a lifestyle for so long, one then
begins to act as if it really were just. A few years down the line, if somehow
the trafficker releases the victim or if the victim escapes, these victims may be seen working as
prostitutes or get involved in trafficking themselves- the injustice that was
done to them never to be spoken of and for society to be perpetually blind to.
This is the story of millions of people around the world who will never see
justice.
So this is Human Trafficking- a trade based in deception and
exploitation. Just having awareness and understanding does not solve the
problem of Human Trafficking- but nothing will happen before we do have
awareness and understanding. Let us play a role in forming solutions that will give
hope and freedom to victims of modern day slavery.
