The Unseen Injustice: Human Trafficking
- 82newsbulletin
- Oct 24, 2020
- 3 min read
Written by Anagha and Vienna
Luiza Karimova, 22, had high hopes for her future when she left for Kyrgyzstan to find stable employment. Originally from Uzbekistan, Karimova was elated when she was offered a waitressing job in Bishkek. However, upon arriving at Bishkek, Karimova’s passport was taken away and she was photographed, ‘to be registered as a waitress.’ She, and a few others, were put on a plane to Dubai, and forced into life as sex workers.
A year and a half later, Karimova was arrested, deported back to Kyrgyzstan, where she had to spend a year in prison. Yet, after her release, she was left on the streets to fend for herself, and had to turn back to the sex industry, until she was approached by Podruga, an organization that works to assist women who were victims of sex trafficking.
Karimova’s story is not an isolated one. According to a few estimates, the human trafficking industry generates a whopping $150 billion a year, making it one of the most sinisterly profitable businesses in the world. This social evil leers behind facades of technological and cultural advancement and outward appearances of safety, primarily preying on immigrant workers, women and children, in addition to other social groups. Traffickers often choose their victims from among the massive numbers of people displaced by armed conflict and natural disasters, who in their desperate attempt to find safety and protection are particularly vulnerable.
With the growing role of the internet today, there has been a rise in child trafficking linked to child pornography. According to The Economist, Philippines was a ‘global hub’ for child pornography in 2018, and other East Asian countries like Cambodia and Thailand are considered as prominent suppliers of pornographic materials of minors. It is a lucrative business estimated to generate $3–$20 billion in profit a year.
The scourge of human trafficking, sometimes also called “modern slavery,” affects some 40 million men, women, and children. Two-thirds of the victims of human trafficking are from East Asia and the Pacific, and 51% of the victims in East Asia were women. Most of them are trapped in a horrendous web of sexual exploitation and forced labour, including domestic servitude and begging.
In May 2015, 28 abandoned human-trafficking camps and multiple unmarked mass graves were discovered in the dense jungle of Wang Kelian near the Thai-Malaysia border, where almost 800 victims were suspected to have been held in squalid conditions, in crudely built wooden cages and barbed wire that were too small for adults to even stand in. The discovery of a pink teddy bear and other children's items, as well as bullet casings and metal chains indicated that children were also trafficked through the area and victims may have been tortured. The remains of more than 150 victims were exhumed. Autopsies revealed stories of death by starvation and disease while waiting for ransoms from victims’ families before being smuggled into Malaysia.
The case highlighted not only the linkages between human trafficking, civil unrest, and conflicts, but also the overlap between refugees, smuggled migrants and victims of human trafficking. What makes it difficult for trafficked persons to seek help is the fact that their victimisation started with some level of consent although it was later trounced by fraud, coercion, deception, threats, and abuses including the abuse of power. The transectionality, complex and inter- as well as intra-regional nature of human trafficking further complicates matters.
There are 2 international agreements which combat human trafficking currently in place: the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, and the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, also known as the Palermo Protocol. The core of the anti-trafficking regimes is the protection of borders by controlling the flow of illegal migration; it is also crucial for local authorities to take more proactive actions on identifying these criminal activities, as well as amending legislation to better prevent such injustices. Hong Kong is an example where the jurisdiction barely meets the minimum standards for combating trafficking, nor does the Palermo Protocol actually apply.
However, it has often been noted that law enforcement tends to target people involved in recruitment and transport, rather than the "end-exploiters" - the managers and owners of institutions into which people are trafficked. "For the worst offenders who benefit most from the trafficking crime," Mr. Lewis states "trafficking remains a highly profitable and largely risk-free business."
“Defeating Human Trafficking is a great moral calling of our time.”- Condoleezza Rice, former United State Secretary of State
Click Below for further reading!
UN human trafficking report hails East Asia for strengthening legislation and increasing convictions
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