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Running Head: Human Trafficking

HUMAN TRAFFICKING

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Human Trafficking 1

Introduction

The term human trafficking has remained a subject of discussion for long. Although

it was a common practice in the last centuries, the term has again dominated our news headlines

reminding the policy makers that little has been done to tame the heinous and inhumane act. The

precise definition of human trafficking has been a theme of contest with no universally accepted

definition; a problem that could be an answer to why trafficking has been difficult to measure. It

is until December 2000 when the United Nations came up with a universal definition that was

accepted globally. They defined human trafficking as to forcefully (Frank Laczko & Marco A

Gramegna, 2003) or through coercion, fraudulently, by deception, abduction or through power

abuse recruit, transfer, transport or harbor an individual or accept payments or any other

associated benefits to participate in getting somebody’s in control of the vulnerable person so as

to exploit them. The definition also incorporates the sexual exploitation, exploiting people

through prostitution, removal of people’s organs, servitude and slavery.

Irrespective of the many studies done on human trafficking, the gap on data collection

and recorded statistics still exists. The information on exact number of the victims of this illicit

act is still missing in many governments. Maybe it is because the information is very sensitive

that nobody will give such information freely. However, in their study where they sought to

know the signs or indicators that human trafficking is taking place (Frank Laczko & Marco A

Gramegna, 2003) points out that you can obtain data on this illegal business from the global

agencies that give assistance to victims of trafficking such as International Organization for

Immigration (IOM). Despite the UN efforts to come up with strict laws to combat human

trafficking, the illicit trade is still rampant in what is commonly known as “modern slavery” in

the current days. A report done and compiled by the United states department of states shows

Human Trafficking 2

that an average of 700,000 persons fall prey to trafficking cartels every year. In most cases, the

most affected group is women and children. They are the vulnerable group that is exploited for

sexual servitudes and forced labor. It is estimated that at least 2.4 million (Amy Farrell &

Rebecca Pfeffer, 2014) people among them children and women are subjected to torture and

plight via human trafficking business and they are in sexual exploitation and forced labor

according to International Labor Organization (ILO). The study by ILO in 2005 also indicated

that in the estimated population of about 9.6 million who are in forced labor in Asia, (Feingold,

1998) 10 percent were forced into their situation mainly for sexual servitude. The same report

found that less than half of the world wide’s human trafficking victims are for commercial sexual

exploitation.

Although women and girls form the largest population of human trafficking victims,

dating back in 1500, African’s trafficking mainly targeted men. Energetic men with debts, those

captured in warfare and those had been kidnapped would be sold to Europe where they worked

in plantations (Raphael, 2016) under harsh supervision by the white men. It is so unfortunate that

even in 21

century, human trafficking is also taking place. It is one of the most lucrative

businesses after drug trafficking and weapons smuggling. According to ILO report in 2005,

human trafficking mafias make approximate revenue of $30 million per year. This is a clear

indication that it is a very profitable business implying how hard it is to curb.

Although many academicians have argued that poor law enforcement, inadequate

education (Toman Omar Mahmoud & Christoph Trebesch, 2009) and ethnic discrimination are

some of the causes of human trafficking, my opinion is that these could be just the exacerbates of

the business. However, methinks a strong desire for a better life and the courage to depart to a

foreign state in pursue for that life is one of the main drivers of human trafficking. This is

Human Trafficking 3

because when people go to new countries, they are so desperate for what they want which makes

them prone to the organized groups that carry out the business. My argument can be supported

by what has been reported on media about how many African women who leave to search for

jobs in Middle East get exploited sexually. Many are coerced and deceived with existence of a

job to later end up in forced labor and sexual servitude when they land to the promised country.

According to a study done in Germany, most of girls from East Africa who unfortunately fell

into the traps of smugglers and sold to Middle East were subjected to more than often rape and

even beaten by their employers. According to Gathman (2008), hard economic situations and

desire for better life has led to development of illegal industries claiming to procure illegal jobs

abroad. (Goldman N, Pebley A.R, Creighton, Teruel, Rubalcava & Chung, 2014) Posits that

migrants get into a contract deal with the smugglers and they even agree to lend the migrants

money for air ticket with a promise to pay once they land their job. Such contracts get the

migrants into high risks of exploitation by the smugglers.

According to The New York Times newspaper, ethnic crisis and rampant poverty in

Southeast Asia specifically Myanmar and Bangladesh have forced thousands of people to leave

their countries to Andaman Sea and Malaysia in desperate search for jobs and better life.

Unfortunately, in April 2015 alone, reportedly 8,000 of the migrants fell prey into hands of

smugglers who enticed them for a better life and passed them to their countries. Stories emerged

on the torture, plight and abuse they were going through in Thailand and Malaysia exposing the

intensity of human trafficking business within the whole region. Myanmar has greatly violated

the human rights leading to massive human trafficking business in the bordering countries. It is

estimated (Board, 2015) that over 140,000 Muslims have run from Myanmar due to persecution

exposing them to traffickers who trap them with job promise in Malaysia for money or end up

Human Trafficking 4

kidnapping to trade them in slavery market. This is a very bad vice where one plots to sell his

fellow human in disguise of a better life. The whole exercise is tantamount to killing and the

criminals found culpable should be judged in court without mercies.

Despite all what trafficking victims go through in life, very few countries willingly to

shelter them. Some countries even make their lives worse since they care less about them. In

May 2015, the prime minister of Bangladesh uttered contemptuous words for the trafficking

victims from Bangladesh terming them as “mentally sick persons”. She even warned that the

victims would be punished when they return home (Board, 2015). This even scares the victims

more. With such threats, no victim would go back to Bangladesh. They would rather run from

one country to another, which makes them easy to fall into smuggler’s net. However, there are

few countries that have shown bits of humanity in trafficking victims; countries like Indonesia

and Malaysia agreed to take victims from Myanmar but in a condition that they will be resettled

in one year span. Also, Rwanda announced late in November 2017 that they are willing to shelter

human trafficking victims up to 30,000 of them from Libya. This is good step for such countries.

Human rights should be respected and world leaders and all stakeholders should protect the

victims from exploitation and other associated plight.

Human trafficking seems to be a well-established business in southern Asia. The

discovery of smuggler’s camp in Malaysia that had barbed wires, crude weapons and almost 140

graves is enough reason that the trafficking mafias are making a lot of money in the illegal

business. It is usually difficult to get all the data of the trafficking victims but the few data from

the right sources shows how the trend is alarming.

Human Trafficking 5

United Arab Emirates form one of the largest destinations of persons trafficked from

various countries in the world. According to a report by U.S State department in 2015, most of

the victims of trafficking in United Arab Emirates come from southern, south eastern and central

parts of Asia and Eastern Europe. More than 95 percent of United Arab’s Private sector

workforce is formed by migrants from Iran, Ethiopia, south East Asia, East and South Asia and

Eritrea. The workers are subjected to exploitations such as forced labor, wages nonpayment,

physical and sexual assault (Narative, 2015). Many of the victims of human trafficking in UAE

are women who are lured to false employment contracts into the country to later end up in

serious plight.

In 2014, the reports alleging massive exploitation of migrant workers in Saadiyat Island

based in Abu Dhabi drew both local and international media attention. The report showed that

more than 500 (Narative, 2015) workers had their passports withheld, some detained, abused and

a big portion deported for threatening to strike. This is a clear indication of forced labor that is

practiced on migrants into UAE. Despite these phenomena having hit the world’s media

headlines, the government of UAE seems not doing enough to combat the heinous act. Their

failure to fully comply with minimum thresholds required to eliminate trafficking is a lost hope

to the victims in the country. However, the government is taking some endeavors that though in

slow pace will finally restore hope to the victims. In the year 2014, the government of UAE

ensured prosecution of 15 cases related to sex trafficking. It has also implemented victim

identification procedures that will eventually see many smugglers prosecuted. The government

has additionally reformed its trafficking policies to majorly focus on sex trafficking crimes since

they are the most rampant trafficking in the country. Also, the government’s tireless effort are

seen in their willingness to shelter victims of trafficking as well as implementing many

Human Trafficking 6

campaigns on awareness and several workshops as well as training their police and labor

recruiting agencies. Nevertheless, the government should put more effort to completely combat

this illicit business that has found big market in UAE. Much should be done to implement the

already existing laws (Narative, 2015) on human trafficking as well as workers protection laws.

Many laws like the migration laws and domestic workers laws have just been left as mere paper

work with minimal efforts to implement. Proper implementation of such laws will help a lot in

the war to combat the illicit business. It will also depict the government’s will to combat

trafficking.

Legalization of prostitution is a well-studied driver of human trafficking. As I had stated

earlier, women and girls are the major victims of the trafficking business. When prostitution is

made legal, there is an increase in demand for sex workers. According to State Department

website of the United States, there is always a great demand for women and children in areas

where prostitution is legalized. They are trafficked for commercial sex work exploitation. My

opinion is supported by influx of women and girls trafficked for sex servitude in Netherlands,

Germany and Australia where prostitution is legalized (Feingold, 1998). Also in Thailand where

prostitution is legal, there is a lot of human trafficking. In fact according to their laws, men are

not considered the victims of trafficking. The same case applies to Turkey, Pakistan and China

who form a destination of many trafficking.

In countries like Thailand, abuse of women is so rampant. In fact women are considered

men-owned property in Thai society. This behavior dates back in 15

century. As at now,

prostitution is so much cherished in Thailand such that the women doing the business do not

experience stigmatization just like other women in same industry in the other countries. This

feeling of being comfortable with the act has made the prostitution business in Thailand so

Human Trafficking 7

demanding such that there is a lot of women and children trafficking to Thailand destination.

Most of the sex trafficking victims are majorly found in street prostitution of metropolitan areas

as well as sex clubs where they work as strippers. According to a blog post “End Slavery Now”

by Cazzie Reyes, most of trafficking victims in Thailand were enticed by smugglers who

masqueraded as good Samaritans or they were sold through brokers. She posits that those sold

through brokers were sold at rates of up to $876 per person. Reyes also says that the strategic

location of Thailand makes it the major destination of human trafficking in the area. This is

because the country is within the proximity of Myanmar and Cambodia which are all hotbed of

war. She also suggest the closeness of Thailand with respect to Vietnam which is a war-torn

country and the porous border of Thailand (Reyes, 2015) with respect to china and other

surrounding countries make it easy for human and most specifically sex trafficking. Methinks

that the surrounding countries can get into multilateral agreement with the aim of fighting human

trafficking it they are really willing to do so. It’s also my opinion that the political and economic

disarray of the villages around Thailand are the reason why many women fall prey to the net of

the smugglers. International leaders and human rights activists should take immediate action to

ensure political stability in the concerned countries.

Mexico is another country where human trafficking is taking over; - almost overtaking

the drug trafficking business. Mexican government seems to have concentrated on fight against

drug trafficking leaving human trafficking lawfully unregulated. This has led to rise in the

profitability of this lucrative business. Human trafficking has become a serious business in

Mexico with low media attention. The business accounts to more than 6.6 billion US dollars in

Mexico only. According to a publication by Council on Hemispheric Affairs in 2010, the

business is expected to grow even further by 2018 with an estimate of more than 100,000 women

Human Trafficking 8

(Axel Dreher, Eric Neumayer, 2013) trafficked from Latin America every year for prostitution.

My opinion is that countries across the world have focused on their own issues and specifically

on terrorism attacks leaving human trafficking attacked on global scale. The situation of human

trafficking in Mexico has been left out of media cover as most of media focus on drug issues in

the country neglecting the trafficking business. It is so unfortunate that women and children in

Brothels go through modern day slavery and exploitation where many are raped (State, 2014)

and forced to work in and live in unimaginable conditions. Many factors such as the position of

a woman and girls in Mexico are the contributors of human trafficking. The Mexicans have

neglected Christianity faith of purity and can have sex anytime. Also, the government’s lack of

will to fight prostitution and women abuse makes the country even worse for a woman life. More

than 99 percent of rapists in Mexico go scot free.

Recommendations to both countries of origin and destination to combat trafficking

business in future can be made to help slain the social dragon. The recommendation that tops the

list is for the governments of the concerned country to come up with policies and strategies that

will ensure social, economic and political stability in the country. This will reduce or/and totally

combat human trafficking emanating from migration due to poverty factors. Such policies will

with no doubt enhance both economic development and social inclusion.

It is also proposed that if children’s access to education especially in Africa is improved,

there would be reduction of human trafficking particularly girls who are mostly trafficked for

commercial sex exploitations. Women should be empowered too in order to reduce their

Human Trafficking 9

engagement to prostitution which exposes them to smugglers. This can be done though

facilitating business opportunities and training them on how to carry them out.

In countries of destination, government should invest much on intelligence and monitor

the areas where human trafficking takes place. They should come up with harsh rules aimed at

bettering the situation. Such rules remain as just paper works unless implemented. I am also of

the opinion that if the countries of destination ban prostitution, there can be a positive impact in

combating trafficking. This will reduce the market for sex trafficking which mostly affects

women and young girls.

Also, the government in the country of destination should consider creating more job

opportunities for their people so as to give those who participate in the illicit business and

opportunity to serve their country. Also, International Labor Organization (ILO) should carry out

investigation (IOM, 2013) on illegal and unprotected labor with an aim to balance the increasing

demand for cheap labor and address the associated regular migration. Similarly, countries

associated with human trafficking trade should address the underlying economic adversities that

give rise to trafficking. Specifically, Asian, European and Middle East countries participating in

human trafficking should review their economic situations.

Generally, it is recommended that the countries where human trafficking is practiced to

come up with policies that will ensure social inclusion, employment opportunities for all and

most importantly social protection to their citizens. Government and all the other stakeholders

should also steer the campaign seeking to end discrimination against the minorities in the

society. This will ensure freedom and equal opportunities for everyone. Thus people will be

comfortable in their country and less migration will be realized. It is also recommended that the

Human Trafficking 10

government and non-government organization should encourage programs that seek to educate

children and all citizens at large on the impacts and causes of human trafficking. I would propose

the inclusion of human trafficking in syllabus so as to give prior knowledge to minors in primary

school who are mostly targeted by smugglers. This will help them to know when they are in

danger of being trafficked by suspicious strangers.

Sensitizing members of the society on importance of empowering women and

protecting them from violence will greatly help in reducing women trafficking. The government

is encouraged to come up with strict policies that will protect women and the girl-child from

domestic violence and sexual exploitations. Also, ensuring easy access to credit at low interest as

well as removing barriers to entrepreneurship will help women to uplift their lives and shun

prostitution as their source of income.

Finally, the governments of both origin and destination countries should strike a

bilateral and multilateral deals to curb the increased demand that promotes human exploitation.

This will contribute immensely in fight on human trafficking.

Conclusion

In conclusion, human trafficking is a business that is carried out in many countries across

the global. The biggest destinations of victims are in Europe, Asia and Middle East. However,

most countries of origin are the ones experiencing economic, social and political upheavals

especially in Southeast Asia, Iran, Vietnam, and Africa. Although the specific governments have

shown bits of commitment in combating the illegal business, much has to be done by

international community to address the human trafficking mantle. Countries affected by this

Human Trafficking 11

practice should adopt the recommendations and proposal by this paper to help them walk out of

human trafficking miasma.

Human Trafficking 12

References

Amy Farrell & Rebecca Pfeffer. (2014). Policing Human Trafficking Cultural Blinders and organizational

Barriers. American Academy of Political and Social Sciences, 46-62.

Axel Dreher, Eric Neumayer. (2013). Does Legalizing prositution Increase Human Trafficking? World

Development, 67-82.

Board, E. (2015, May 9). Horrors of Human Trafficking in South Asia. The New York Times.

Feingold, D. A. (1998). Human Trafficking. Think Again, 26-32.

Frank Laczko & Marco A Gramegna. (2003). Developing Better Indicators of Human Trafficking. the

brown journal of world affairs, 19-54.

Goldman N, Pebley A.R, Creighton, Teruel, Rubalcava & Chung. (2014). The Consequences of migration

to the united states for short-term changes in the health of mexican immigrants. Demography,

1159-1173.

IOM. (2013). Toolkit To Combat Trafficking in Persons. Prevention of Trafficking in persons, 454-456.

Narative, C. (2015). Trafficking in Persons. Dubai.

Raphael, J. (2016). The Confluence of Gender and Poverty: The Shameful History of Trafficking of Poor

Persons for Sexual Exploitation. Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality, 77-84.

Reyes, C. (2015, October 08). History of Prostitution and Sex Trafficking in Thailand. End Slavery Now.

State, U. D. (2014). Trafficking in Persons Report. Washington D.C.

Toman Omar Mahmoud & Christoph Trebesch. (2009). The Economic Drivers of Human

Trafficking:Micro-Evidence from Five Eastern European Countries. Kiel Institute of the World

Economy, 3-34.

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