Magazine / Politics / Human Trafficking / Background | 11/06/2008

The dark side of the European dream

About 2.4 million people worldwide fall victim to human trafficking each year. Examples from the Republic of Moldova on the outskirts of Europe show how human trafficking is connected with migration.

"Young women between 18 and 30 wanted to work as au pairs for 12 months in Holland, France or Germany"; "Quo Vadis? English, German, Spanish, French – Work and Travel in Dubai". Posters advertising work abroad or foreign language courses cover the lamp posts on almost every street corner in Chisinau, the capital of the Republic of Moldova. But not every offer is as serious as it sounds.

Photo: Gerti G. (Photocase)

Nina, who was helped by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) after her return to Chisinau, had wanted to earn 100 dollars a month as a farm worker. "That way," she says, "I could have at least fed my family and my child." Instead she became a victim of forced labour. Another example is Natalia. She was pregnant when she was forced into prostitution: "[The mediator] had promised that we would each get 300 dollars. I thought that was good. … I would have my child, and money to support it." Elena had planned to work as a domestic help in Italy. Instead she was forced into prostitution in Lebanon.

No solution but migration

Many people in the former Soviet Republic situated between Ukraine and Romania are forced by poverty to emigrate to richer countries. More than one quarter of Moldovans have less money than they need to live on. In the countryside, one fifth of the population must fight against absolute poverty, and lack money even for their basic sustenance. This leads many to set out for the nearby European Union, where even illegal work can earn them more than ten times what they would make in Moldova. For the most part they just want to go abroad for a short while, to finance their education or be able to found a family.

Exchange offices in supermarkets

Svetlana, a 23-year-old psychology student from Chisinau, also belongs to this group. She dreams of completing her masters degree in St. Petersburg. "But I need money for that," she says. "I could imagine working abroad for a while in one sector or another to get the money together." Moldovan migrants often send home the money they earn. This explains the many currency exchange offices throughout the city, even in supermarkets. According to official sources of IOM Moldova, transfers from abroad account for one third of the country's gross domestic product.

A complex phenomenon

The enormous migration pressure in Moldova makes the small country especially susceptible to human trafficking. Often such trafficking is associated with violently abducted girls who are locked away and forced into prostitution. But things are far more complex. According to a definition by the UN Palermo protocol, human trafficking exists in all forms of forced labour, not just prostitution, and involves more than kidnapping or abduction. Far more frequently fraud and deceit play a central role, and often no borders are crossed. According to the Council of Europe, human trafficking has a turnover of 32 billion dollars per year, making it the third largest source of income – after drugs and arms – of illegal organised crime. According to the International Labour Organisation, every year 2.4 million people fall victim to human trafficking, while the IOM puts the figure at 500,000 in Europe alone.

Victims from Eastern Europe

Since the start of the 1990s, the victims have increasingly come from Eastern European countries. According to a report published in 2006 by the German Federal Office of Criminal Investigation, most of the women who are trafficked to Germany come from the Czech Republic, Romania, Poland and Russia. Many are forced by the economic situation to leave home in search of work and better perspectives. Human traffickers are quick to take advantage of them, promising them work abroad, where they often end up working under conditions reminiscent of slavery. The OSCE even speaks of "modern slaves."
Estimates of the IOM Moldova put the number of Moldovans currently living abroad at 600,000, representing one quarter of the working population. Only very few have the possibility of working legally in the European Union, and most are forced to work illegally. In the majority of cases the migrants work in the country and sector agreed on, more or less under the stipulated conditions. The IOM estimates that one percent of Moldovan migrants are victims of human trafficking.

Running the risk

Most Moldovans are aware of the risk of falling prey to human traffickers in the course of migrating. "Sure, there are risks involved in migration," says one business student at Chisinau University. "But there are no perspectives at all here, so people are ready to take that risk." Young women between 18 and 29 from rural areas are especially vulnerable to human trafficking says a of IOM Moldova. Two thirds of the trafficked women have children who they hope to help to a better life with the money they earn abroad.

When friends become perpetrators

Much has been done to throw light on the social conditions in the affected countries and to bring attention to the problem. This however has led traffickers to constantly refine their tactics. "In the past organised groups of three to ten people would go in search of potential victims," reports Victor Lutesco of IOM in Chisinau. "Today this role is increasingly taken over by friends, neighbours and relatives who want to earn some extra cash." The Moldavan NGO La Strada indicates that half of all cases are now mediated in this way. Maria, a young Moldovan, relates: "I decided to migrate because my husband was sick and we didn't have enough money for the treatment. His cousin came to me and said she worked in a market in Moscow, and she could help me find a job there. I had absolutely no idea that I could get into such a situation."

From dream to nightmare

The migrants frequently know nothing about the target countries, can rarely speak the language and have no idea who they could turn to for help. As a rule they are stripped of their passports and money upon arrival. For the most part they enter the country illegally, making them easy targets for blackmailing. Often their travel costs have already got them deep in debt, and violence and rape are commonplace.

Dealing in human lives

No doubt the most effective means of combating human trafficking is fighting poverty in the countries affected. But in the medium term, migration must be structured in such a way that not just criminal networks, but also individuals can profit from it. The concept for temporary labour migration passed by the European Council at the end of 2006 and the idea of a European "Blue Card" proposed in September 2007 by Franco Frattini, European Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security, are steps in this direction. By making temporary residence possible, they would allow for a flow of migrants in areas with a demand for cheap labour.

We would like to thank the IOM in Moldova for allowing us to use the migrants' statements quoted above.

Further articles on the subject » EU Enlargement / Neighbourhood Policy, » Social Policy / Employment, » Migration, » Crime and Law, » Eastern Europe, » Western Europe
More from the press review on the subject » EU Enlargement / Neighbourhood Policy, » Social Policy / Employment, » Migration, » Crime and Law, » Eastern Europe, » Western Europe