By Ewa Rejman and Tomi Ojebode
Human trafficking is among the world’s leading crisis affecting millions of people. International Organization for Migration (IOM) and other agencies continue to report pathetic cases, awful slave-like experiences and deaths from human trafficking all over the world. Yet, people still opt voluntarily to be smuggled outside their country placing themselves in great risk.
In this article, Ewa Rejman and Tomi Ojebode write about the desperation and factors behind traveling, migrant’s experiences and lastly, the possibilities of receiving help.
The fantasy of migrating
It is impossible to live in Africa without constantly seeing the need to migrate. The living and working conditions for an average person in Africa is deplorable. Legitimate work, education, health care and basic means of livelihood are difficult to access. War, insurgencies, kidnappings and brutalities are familiar happenings taking lives and leaving survivors with no prospective future. Although the continent is not entirely condemned, the situation for most people is indeed life-threatening and of course a motivation behind migrating.
The opportunity to lead a better life and help families left behind is the common goal behind migrating. Although the goal is similar, the efforts and mindset towards migrating is different. First, some people understand the legal rudiments for migrating and are therefore constantly working hard, acquiring skills, furthering their studies and upping their qualifications to get opportunities abroad. Second, other people are naïve and have no prior knowledge and sometimes have no skill or qualification to offer. Yet, they voluntarily opt for migration regardless of the means. These people fall into the hands of traffickers and are deceived into paying money and risking their lives to be smuggled outside the country.
It’s hard to blame the living conditions alone for human trafficking. For instance, people who are trafficked are sometimes asked to pay a huge amount of ransom before travelling- amounts that people living in severe poverty cannot afford. Although these funds may be borrowed, they are also large enough to capitalize into small businesses if they stayed in Africa. But there is a mindset that many trafficked people have. Many believe that Europe and America are worlds of possibilities and once you arrive all your dreams automatically come through. This is indeed a fantasy and a bigger force motivating illegal travelers.
The reality during and after migrating
When your own state is broken down and you feel as if there was no possibility of protection or brighter future, you would do everything to escape to the different reality. Europe with its social benefits and relative security seems quite attractive. However, people fleeing there are often unaware of risks they may face. One of the most serious is human trafficking.
What attracts people to Europe is, for example, better availability of social services, prospect of a more stable economic and political environment, the desire for reunion with family, lesser impact of war or unrest, the hope of finding political and religious freedom. They can be called “pull factors” which are employed by traffickers who promise their soon-to-be victims a happier life.[1]
Moving through irregular channels, “unseen” work (e.g. inside of the private houses or far away from the rest of the population), and fear of being expelled from the country are among the main risk factors. The employers or agents usually have a high degree of control over victims’ ability to receive visa or residence permission. Migrants often do not know the language or know it insufficiently, and therefore are afraid to ask for help, or, if they do so, they might be misunderstood. Women experience higher rates of modern slavery in the sex industry and domestic work, while men are more likely to be exploited in forced physical labor in the manufacturing and construction sector. It is estimated that 31 million children are migrants globally and they become particularly vulnerable when separated from their families. Crimes against children and adolescents tend to be underreported, which might be even a more alarming problem, when combined with additional barriers such as fear of detention or deportation.
There is a pressing need to take actions to prevent human trafficking, strengthen protection for victims and increase the awareness of the possibilities of assistance for them. The appropriate training for the first responders and social workers must be provided as persons are entitled to support as soon as reasonable grounds to recognize them as the victims of human trafficking are found. Once identified as such he or she is given a “reflection period” for considering different options of assistance without the pression of time. All the efforts should be made to ensure appropriate and sensitive communication with the help of interpreters, if needed.
[1]The identification of victims ofhuman trafficking in transit anddestination countries in Europe, Croation Red Cross, February 2019.
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