HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND SMUGGLING IN THE HORN OF AFRICA (A Deadly Business) - An Outline of Information
By Rev. Tesfamariam Baraki
I.
INTRODUCTION
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) states: “Trafficking in persons is a serious crime and a grave violation of human rights. Every year, thousands of men, women and children fall into the hands of traffickers, in their own countries and abroad. Almost every country in the world is affected by trafficking, whether as a country of origin, transit or destination for victims… Trafficking often occurs from less developed countries to more developed countries, where people are rendered vulnerable to trafficking by virtue of poverty, conflict or other conditions. Most trafficking is national or regional, but there are also notable cases of long-distance trafficking.” (UNODC, 2015).
Some experts claim that human trafficking is one of "the most profitable criminal activities or industries in the world today, generating more than $150 billion each year." The same experts estimate that "at any given time, nearly 2.5 million people are in forced labor and sexual slavery as a result of human trafficking. Up to 50 percent of them are children.”
GENEVA (ILO News) – Forced labour in the private economy generates US$
150 billion in illegal profits per year, about three times more than previously
estimated, according to a new report from the International Labour Organization
(ILO).
The ILO report, Profits and Poverty: The Economics of Forced Labour , said two thirds of the estimated total of US$ 150 billion, or US$ 99 billion, came from commercial sexual exploitation, while another US$ 51 billion resulted from forced economic exploitation, including domestic work, agriculture and other economic activities. (ILO News, 20 May 2014)
The ILO report, Profits and Poverty: The Economics of Forced Labour , said two thirds of the estimated total of US$ 150 billion, or US$ 99 billion, came from commercial sexual exploitation, while another US$ 51 billion resulted from forced economic exploitation, including domestic work, agriculture and other economic activities. (ILO News, 20 May 2014)
Even
though human trafficking and smuggling is a widespread major global problem
affecting about 80 million peoples according to some experts’ estimate, my
presentation is limited to only the Horn of African regions or countries: i.e.,
Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, and Sudan. Human trafficking is also a problem
in some of the Western African countries as well. But I am forced to narrow it
down to only two countries - Eritrea and Ethiopia - because the problem is too vast
and too complicated to deal with and describe it...it requires a lot of time to research it, study it, analyze it, and
present it comprehensively... But I have been personally affected like many Ethiopians and like most of the Eritrean people who have been affected worldwide by
this most heinous, tragic and criminal activities that have been going on for many
years now!
Many restless and jobless young people from Ethiopia and especially from Eritrea become a fertile ground for the human traffickers and smugglers who deceive them with false promises of economic prosperity in foreign countries … they promise them to help them travel illegally without visas to enter those countries of prosperities and dreams.
As a matter of fact, two of my nieces and two nephews from Ethiopia and one nephew from the Eritrean-side-of the border had to end up in the hands of traffickers… And members of my family and I were forced to pay ransoms to rescue their lives until they safely reached the destination countries (Europe and Israel)!
Many restless and jobless young people from Ethiopia and especially from Eritrea become a fertile ground for the human traffickers and smugglers who deceive them with false promises of economic prosperity in foreign countries … they promise them to help them travel illegally without visas to enter those countries of prosperities and dreams.
As a matter of fact, two of my nieces and two nephews from Ethiopia and one nephew from the Eritrean-side-of the border had to end up in the hands of traffickers… And members of my family and I were forced to pay ransoms to rescue their lives until they safely reached the destination countries (Europe and Israel)!
II.
BACKGROUND
A. Purpose of This Presentation:
The
purpose and scope of this presentation is simply to raise some awareness on the
horrendous crime, know as a “modern slavery” and exploitation that have
been taking place and the all the abuse and crime are being committed in the
process especially against today’s vulnerable young black Africans from the
Horn of Africa by the so called illegal human traffickers and/or smugglers, who
have been selling and trading them for their lucrative money-making-illegal businesses.
B. What Are Human Trafficking and Smuggling?
There are some few definitions for these terms but this presentation will focus on couple of them only. The first definition is that of Palermo Protocol:
There are some few definitions for these terms but this presentation will focus on couple of them only. The first definition is that of Palermo Protocol:
"Trafficking
in persons shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring
or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of
coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a
position of vulnerability of the giving
or receiving of payments of benefits to achieve the consent of a person having
control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation".(Article
titled, Sinai Trafficking: Origin and
Definition of a New Form of Human Trafficking, Social Inclusion, 2015, Volume
3, Issue 1, Page 118). As UNODC states, “Exploitations shall include, at
minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of
sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery or practices similar to
slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.” (UNODC, 2015).
And
the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime
defines the smuggling of migrants as the "procurement, in order to
obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit, of the
illegal entry of a person into a State Party of which the person is not a
national or a permanent." (Article 3, Smuggling of Migrants Protocol}.
As
the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) describes,
"Migrant
victims are trafficked for the purpose of sexual and labor exploitation. Many
of these victims are lured from their homes with false promises of well-paying
jobs; instead, they are forced into prostitution, domestic servitude, farm or
factory labor or other types of forced labor.
Victims
often find themselves in a foreign country and cannot speak the language.
Traffickers frequently take away the victims' travel and identity documents,
telling them that if they attempt to escape, the victims or their families back
home will be harmed, or the victims' families of their families back home will
be harmed, or the victims' families will assume the debt. We recognize that
men, women and children that are encountered in brothels, sweat shops, massage
parlors, agricultural fields and other labor markets may be forced or coerced
into those situations and potentially are trafficking victims."
C. What
is the Distinction between Trafficking and Smuggling?
The U.S. Department of State: Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons Fact Sheets 2015 makes the following distinctions between human trafficking and migrant smuggling:
The U.S. Department of State: Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons Fact Sheets 2015 makes the following distinctions between human trafficking and migrant smuggling:
1. Human
Trafficking
"Human trafficking is a crime involving
the exploitation of an individual for the purposes of compelled labor or
a commercial sex act through the use of force, fraud, or coercion. In addition,
when a child (defined as under 18 years of age) is induced to engage in
commercial sex, it is a trafficking crime regardless of whether force, fraud,
or coercion is used. This definition is found in international law,
specifically in the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in
Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations
Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime.
Although the term “human trafficking” may
suggest movement, no movement is required. It is a crime that can be committed
against an individual who has never left his or her hometown. Trafficking
victims include women, men, and transgender individuals; adults and children;
citizens and noncitizens alike. Individuals may be considered trafficking
victims regardless of whether they were born into a state of servitude, were
transported to the exploitative situation, previously consented to work for a
trafficker, or participated in a crime as a direct result of being subjected to
human trafficking."
2. Migrant Smuggling:
"In contrast to human trafficking, for a
crime to be considered “smuggling,” a person must be moved across an
international border. An individual voluntarily enters into an agreement with a
smuggler to gain illegal entry into a foreign country. This often includes
procuring fraudulent documents and transportation over a country’s border,
although in some countries it can also include transportation and harboring
once in the country. In these smuggling cases, an individual consents to being
moved and the transaction between the migrant and the smuggler is typically
over once he or she has crossed the border or once all fees have been paid in
full. It is defined in the Protocol Against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land,
Sea, and Air, supplementing the United Nations Convention Against Transnational
Organized Crime.”
“People who are smuggled can be extremely
vulnerable to trafficking, abuse, and other crimes, as they are illegally
present in the country of destination and often owe large debts to their
smugglers. Smuggled migrants sometimes flee violence in their home country;
others simply seek better lives and economic opportunities abroad. Some
smuggled persons may be subjected to sex or labor trafficking while in transit
or at their destination. However, not all smuggling cases involve human
trafficking, nor do all cases of human trafficking begin with smuggling."
The United Nations
Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) differentiates human trafficking and
smuggling of migrants as follows:
"Human Trafficking (Trafficking in persons) is a serious crime
and a grave violation of human rights. Every year, thousands of men, women and
children fall into the hands of traffickers, in their own countries and abroad.
Almost every country in the world is affected by trafficking, whether as a
country of origin, transit or destination for victims." (UNODC Human
Trafficking, 2015).
"Smuggling of Migrants is a crime
involving the procurement for financial or other material benefit of illegal
entry of a person into a State of which
that person is not a national or resident. Migrant smuggling affects almost
every country in the world. It undermines the integrity of countries and
communities, and costs thousands of people their lives every year." (UNODC
Smuggling of Migrants, 2015, Page 1).
The UNODC describes the modus operandi of migrant
smugglers in the following manner:
§ Criminals
are increasingly providing smuggling services to irregular migrants to evade
national border controls, migration regulations and visa requirements. Most
irregular migrants resort to the assistance of profit-seeking smugglers. As
border controls have improved, migrants are deterred from attempting to
illegally cross them themselves and are diverted into the hands of smugglers.
§ Migrant
smuggling is a highly profitable business in which criminals enjoy low risk of
detection and punishment. As a result, the crime is becoming increasingly
attractive to criminals. Migrant smugglers are becoming more and more
organized, establishing professional networks that transcend borders and
regions.
§ The
modus operandi of migrant smugglers is diverse. Highly sophisticated and
expensive services rely on document fraud or 'visa-smuggling'. Contrasted with
these are low cost methods which often pose high risks for migrants, and have
lead to a dramatic increase in loss of life in recent years.
§ Migrant
smugglers constantly change routes and modus operandi in response to changed
circumstances often at the expense of the safety of the smuggled migrants.
§ Thousands
of people have lost their lives as a result of the indifferent or even
deliberate actions of migrant smugglers.
C.
Who Are the
Traffickers and Smugglers?
As the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) describes:
"Traffickers are
those (criminals) who exploit others for the profit gained from forced labor
and commercial sex. They lure and ensnare people into forced labor and sex
trafficking by manipulating and exploiting their vulnerabilities. Human
traffickers prey on people who are hoping for a better life, lack employment
opportunities, have an unstable home life, or have a history of sexual or
physical abuse. Traffickers promise a high-paying job, a loving relationship,
or new and exciting opportunities and then use physical and psychological
violence to control them. Traffickers can be lone individuals or part of
extensive criminal networks, with the common thread of exploiting people for
profit.”
“Ultimately, traffickers
exist because human trafficking remains highly lucrative. There are two
primary factors that drive human traffickers: high profits and low
risk. This powerful combination is driving the explosive spread of human
trafficking, making it one of the most profitable criminal industries in
the world.
Human trafficking
operations often intersect or exist alongside legitimate businesses and require
a number of other actors and specific conditions in order to operate without
detection. Certain industries are commonly used by traffickers to enable,
support, or facilitate their human trafficking operations." (NHTRC,
Website)
How
Human Traffickers and Smugglers Operate?
Human traffickers and
Smugglers are found almost all over the world interconnected secretly without
having publicly known headquarters or centers for their unlawful operations in
order to avoid from being detected by the security authorities of each country.
They are criminal groups who conduct criminal activities of smuggling or
trafficking persons from one country to another country evading borders and
violating immigration laws of those transit and destination countries.
Traffickers may operate
as individuals, families, or more organized groups of criminals, and are
facilitated by other indirect beneficiaries, such as advertising, distribution,
or retail companies and consumers. Both women and men act as traffickers in
labor and sex trafficking operations.5
Traffickers may be
professional or non-professional criminals because of the low-start up cost of
creating a trafficking business. Trafficking is appealing because it is so
lucrative: it is the third largest illegal industry worldwide. Read more about
traffickers at www.HumanTrafficking.com.
The
Case of Eritrean and Ethiopian Economic Migrants and Refugees or Asylum-seekers
Who Become Victims of Traffickers and Smugglers
Both Eritrea and Ethiopia are known to
be fertile grounds for the human traffickers and smugglers for dual political
and economic reasons. And many native Eritreans and Ethiopians are allegedly involved
in collaborating in the internationally organized criminal activities by luring
and endangering those most vulnerable fellow citizens in their respective
countries for their mere lucrative illegal money-making-business. According to
the information obtained from those victims of trafficking and smuggling, the
Eritrean and Ethiopian traffickers or smugglers -- after receiving money from
the migrants or refugees – assist the migrants and refugees or asylum-seekers guiding
them secretly to travel to the border of Sudan or Kenya or Somalia or Djibouti
where they will hand them over or sell them to another group for another price.
As one can read on Africa Review website a news report of Monday,
October 12, 2015, "Human
trafficking is widespread on the border between Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia.
Hundreds of Ethiopian and Eritrean refugees in Sudan have abducted and taken as
hostages for ransoms in Sudan...
"Ethiopia and Eritrea are known
sources for men, women and children subjected to trafficking in persons.
"In addition, thousands of
Eritreans and Ethiopians flee their countries illegally, mostly to Sudan,
Ethiopia, and Kenya, where their illegal status makes them vulnerable to
situations of human trafficking.
"Each year, says the Review,
large numbers of Eritreans and Ethiopians migrate in search of work,
particularly to the Gulf states and Egypt, where some victims of forced labor,
primarily in domestic servitude... Some end up being forced into
prostitution."
Human Trafficking and
Smuggling in ERITREA
U.S. Department of State Report of 2015 states:
"Eritrea
is a source country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor. To
a lesser extent, Eritrean adults and children are subjected to sex and labor
trafficking abroad. The government continues to be complicit in trafficking
through the implementation of national policies and mandatory programs
amounting to forced labor within the country; it has also increased citizens’
vulnerability to trafficking abroad.
Proclamation
82 of 1995 requires persons aged 18 to 40 years to perform compulsory active
national service for a period of 18 months—six months of military training
followed by 12 months of service in a government-run work unit, including the
Eritrean Defense Forces.
However, the 18-month timeframe is arbitrary and unenforced; many persons are
not demobilized from government work units after their mandatory period of
service and are forced to serve indefinitely under threats of detention,
torture, or familial punishment.
In 2012, the government instituted a
compulsory citizen militia, requiring medically fit adults up to the age of 70
and not currently in the military to carry firearms and attend military
training or participate in national development programs such as soil and water
conservation projects. Working conditions are often harsh and sometimes
involve physical abuse. All 12th-grade students, including some younger than
18, are required to complete their final year of secondary education at the
Sawa military and educational camp; those who refuse to attend cannot receive high
school graduation certificates, attain higher education, or be offered some
types of jobs.
Though
government policy bans persons younger than 18 from military conscription, it
was undetermined whether all persons compelled to enter Sawa had reached 18
years of age. Reports indicate male and female recruits at Sawa are beaten, and
female recruits sexually abused and raped. The Ministry of Education continued
Maetot, a national service program in which secondary-school children are
assigned to work in public works projects including in the agricultural sector
during their summer holidays.
Some Eritrean children are subjected to forced
labor, including forced begging. Some Eritrean women and girls are subjected to
sex trafficking within the country.
Thousands
of Eritreans continue to flee the country monthly to escape forced labor or
governmental persecution, as well as to seek better economic opportunities. The government’s strict exit control
procedures and limited issuance of passports and exit visas effectively oblige
those who wish to travel abroad to do so clandestinely, increasing their
vulnerability to trafficking. Children who attempt to leave Eritrea are
sometimes detained or forced to undergo military training despite being younger
than the minimum service age of 18. Some Eritrean women and girls travel
to Saudi Arabia or other Gulf states for domestic work, but are subjected to
sex trafficking upon arrival.
Smaller
numbers of Eritrean women and girls are subjected to sex trafficking in South Sudan,
Sudan, and Israel; some Eritrean men are reportedly vulnerable to sex
trafficking in Israel. International criminal groups kidnap vulnerable
Eritreans living inside and near refugee camps, particularly in Sudan, and
transport them to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, and to a greater extent Libya, where
they are subjected to human trafficking and related abuses, such as being
forced to call family and friends abroad to pay ransom for release. Some migrants and refugees report
being forced to work as cleaners or on construction sites during their
captivity. Reports allege Eritrean diplomats, particularly those posted in
Sudan, provide travel documents and legal services to Eritrean nationals in
exchange 153 for bribes or inflated fees, potentially facilitating the
trafficking ESTONIA of Eritrean nationals. Some Eritrean military and police
officers are complicit in trafficking crimes along the border with Sudan. The
Government of Eritrea does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the
elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so. It
continued to subject its citizens to forced labor in compulsory national
service, often for periods of indefinite duration, and its citizen militia. The
government failed to investigate or prosecute any trafficking offenses and
identify or protect any victims. It continued to arrest and detain unidentified
victims for acts committed as a result of being subjected to trafficking or in
the course of fleeing forced labor. Although the government continued to warn
its citizens of the dangers of trafficking, authorities lacked understanding of
the crime, conflating it with transnational migration."
Eritrean
Migrants and Asylum-Seekers Are the Most Tortured Group by Smugglers in Egypt,
Libya and Sudan
According
to Aljazeera's online report posted on 31 July 2015, "Eritrea blames
migrant exodus on human trafficking, and the Foreign Ministry calls on UN to
bring smugglers to justice, saying rights abuses not being huge numbers leaving
the country".
However, as Aljazeera reports,
according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN
refugee agency, about 5,000 people flee Eritrea each month... And a UN report
said that the Eritrean government presided over forced labor, torture and other
rights violations.
Kidnappers (From
the Horn of Africa to the Middle East: Human trafficking of Eritrean asylum
seekers across borders by Laurie Lijnders and Sara Robinson)
“ Our respondents detailed that
members of the Rashaida group participated in abductions and extortion
amounting to aggravated smuggling or trafficking from Sudan into Egypt.
Respondents who were kidnapped recounted abduction directly by members of the Rashaida
community or by others, such as people from the local Hedareb tribe or elements
within the Sudanese authorities, who sold them to Rashaida individuals. It is
important to note that not all Rashaida are involved in smuggling and
trafficking refugees from Eastern Sudan.
Traffickers from the Rashaida tribe
are the common thread involved in the abductions of Eritrean asylum seekers
among our respondents, and it is therefore important to understand the
background surrounding this group. While the majority of the tribe resides in
Sudan, some inhabit the northern province of Naqfa in Eritrea. They constitute
a distinct ethnic group within Sudan and Eritrea, with political connections
and interests in both countries. The norms and culture of the Rashaida are much
more similar to the Bedouin of Saudi Arabia as opposed to other nomadic groups
in Eastern Sudan.24
The Rashaida tend to travel freely in
the region ignoring political borders between States. They descend from the
Arabic-speaking Bedouins who migrated from coastal towns in Arabia and sailed
across the Red Sea and into Africa in the late 1860s. As we see below,
there are multiple factors that enable their travel without restrictions.
First, the Rashaida’s relatively
recent migration to Africa meant they did not own tribal lands and many worked
in camel pastoralism, a field which requires frequent travel across borders.
Since the demand for camel meat in Sudan is low and the only big camel market
is in southern Egypt, young men travelled with their surplus camels to Egypt in
order to sell them.25 This is still an on-going practice. The selling of
surplus camels turned out to be the closest link of Rashaida to Egypt.
Second, many Rashaida have multiple
citizenships, further assisting in their ability to travel. It is not possible
to know which of them is Eritrean and which is Sudanese. Some members of the
community are citizens of both, or indeed may be citizens of Saudi Arabia or
Yemen.26 Their structural positioning in the region, created by their multiple
nationalities and movement across borders has furnished their role as
facilitators of the irregular and involuntary movement of Eritrean migrants,
which often includes aggravated smuggling and trafficking.
Third, the rocky political history and
the recurrent changes in power in the region have prompted Rashaida to
frequently cross the border between Eritrea and Sudan. Members of the community
move between Sudan and Eritrea whenever they need to escape political and
economic pressures.
One respondent stated: ‘The Rashaida
in Eritrea are living close to the western border, and they have dual
citizenship of Eritrea and Sudan. And these are the people who bring things,
property from Sudan to Eritrea without any tax. First, the Rashaida, they don’t
believe in centralized government. They don’t have laws because basically they
don’t live in cities so they cannot match with the law in the city. They cannot
abide by law. They don’t abide the law.’27
While a variety of actors are involved
in the kidnappings, all respondents we interviewed who had been kidnapped ended
up in the hands of someone from the Rashaida tribe.
Colluding
Elements within the Sudanese Law Enforcement Authorities
In addition to the Rashaida, the
Sudanese authorities are also involved in the kidnappings. Describing their
involvement, one respondent said: ‘Our plan was not to come to Israel…[but] to
go to Sudan and work there. When we arrived in Kassala, the police told us we
were being taken to Shagarab…they covered our eyes and chained our legs
and…told us we had to pay…three thousand dollars. They said if we didn’t pay,
they would kill us.’28 The individual is then sold to people from the Rashaida
tribe who later transfer him/her to the Bedouins in the Sinai.
Sudanese law enforcement authorities
who are involved in the kidnapping and selling of migrants are located in
security posts in the border areas. Their location along the remote border,
with no constant overview by superiors and little payment, makes them prone to
involvement in illegal activities, such as profiting from the irregular
cross-border movement.29
Eritrean
Collaborators
Eritrean collaborators collude with
some Sudanese authorities and Rashaida in an intricate network of smuggling and
people trafficking. One respondent recounted: ‘There was an Eritrean with the
Sudanese soldiers.…He told us that you are going to Israel, you don’t have to
worry, and then we told him we don’t want to go to Israel, it is not our
plan.…And then the Rashaida started to threaten us with their guns and two
Rashaida came and beat us with a stick.’30
Sinai traffickers rely on the
Eritreans as translators and intermediaries. The extent to which these
individuals collaborate with the traffickers when it comes to torture and abuse
varies from individual to individual. Some Eritrean collaborators choose to get
involved, and others are forced to work as translators, and even to abuse their
fellow hostages. A respondent described this system:
One Eritrean was forced to translate.
He was one of the people who was kidnapped in Sudan. They used their guns to
tell him to beat people. On the other hand, there are other people who
cooperate with them for the sake of money.31
Some collaborators were initially
coerced but then perpetrated the violence beyond what they were forced to do:
This Eritrean collaborator, he came to
Sinai to come to Israel, but he didn’t have money and because he speaks Arabic
they made him stay there for translation. He was very cruel. Sometimes, Egyptians
would order him to do it. Sometimes he would do it alone - torture people, hang
them, beat them.…He was even more cruel than the Bedouins.32
While the roles of the Eritrean
collaborators differed between respondents, in the vast majority of cases at
least one Eritrean collaborator was involved.
From
the Rashaida to the Bedouin Traffickers
The network of traffickers from the
Rashaida, Bedouin, and Eritrean communities as well as the transfers of ransom
payments transcends the Egypt-Sudan border. While the Rashaida are based in
Sudan, Eritrea, and the Arabian Peninsula, they lack a presence in Egypt.33
Close to the SudanEgypt border, Eritrean migrants are sold from members of the
Rashaida tribe to people of Bedouin origin. Eritrean collaborators represent an
essential part of this trafficking pathway.
Eritrean migrants find it difficult to
differentiate between Rashaida and Bedouin traffickers. One respondent
explained:
In some areas they are called Rashaida
and in others Bedouins.…They are people who do not have any recognized or
settled place. For the Bedouins, some are in Egypt, some Israel, and other
places. Same with the Rashaida.34
Such confusion between the groups was
common among respondents. While every respondent we interviewed mentioned that
they were taken by several different smuggling or trafficking groups along the
journey from Sudan into Egypt, there was not a clear picture by most
respondents of exactly when the facilitators shifted from Rashaida to
Bedouin.35
In addition, the traffickers also have
an intricate network of individuals who collect ransom money from Eritrean
family members around the globe. Agents working with the traffickers have
contacted families in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt, Israel, as well as
across Europe and the United States. Transfers are conducted in-person as well
as via international money transfer agencies like Western Union. Like in Sinai,
both Eritrean and Bedouin collaborators are involved with facilitating ransom
payments.
The actors involved in smuggling and
trafficking, whether in the transfer of funding or the transfer of people, come
from a variety of backgrounds. Their work transcends borders and facilitates
the human rights abuses of Eritrean asylum seekers as they journey onwards to
seek refuge and a better life elsewhere.” (pp. 147-152).
34 Interview, Male, 34 years old, Tel
Aviv, Israel, 20 August 2012. 35 While most respondents did not know when
smugglers shifted from the Rashaida tribe to Bedouin groups, few respondents
did point out that the transition seemed to have happened at the banks of the
Nile River. Additional research is needed to confirm this trend.
Ethiopian
Migrants and Job-Seekers
As joblessness and poverty among the
younger generation remain problems in Ethiopia, illegal human trafficking and
smuggling have mushroomed in the country luring many vulnerable young men,
women, and children to migrate to foreign countries in the hope of finding jobs
and improving their own and their families' lives.
--------------------------------------------------------------
U.S. Department of State: 2015 Trafficking in Persons Report on
Ethiopia States:
"Ethiopia is a source and, to a
lesser extent, destination and transit country for men, women, and children
subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking. Girls from Ethiopia’s rural
areas are exploited in domestic servitude and prostitution within the country,
while boys are subjected to forced labor in traditional weaving, herding,
guarding, and street vending. The central market in Addis Ababa is home to one
of the largest collection of brothels in Africa, with girls as young as 8 years
old in prostitution in these establishments.
Ethiopian girls are forced into
domestic servitude and prostitution in neighboring African countries and in the
Middle East. Ethiopian boys are subjected to forced labor in Djibouti as
shop assistants, errand boys, domestic workers, thieves, and street beggars.
Young people from Ethiopia’s vast rural
areas are aggressively recruited with promises of a better life and are likely
targeted because of the demand for cheap labor in the Middle East.
Officials reported up to 1,500 Ethiopians departed daily as part of the legal
migration process.
Many young Ethiopians transit through
Djibouti, Egypt, Somalia, Sudan, or Kenya as they emigrate seeking work in the
Middle East; some become stranded and exploited in these transit countries and
are subjected to detention, extortion, and severe abuses en route to their
final destinations.
Increasing numbers of reports describe
Ethiopians transported along southern routes towards South Africa, as well as
large numbers of Ethiopians who have died in boat accidents crossing the Red
Sea to Yemen, many of whom are attempting irregular migration and are
vulnerable to trafficking in these onward destinations.
Many Ethiopian women working in
domestic service in the Middle East face severe abuses, including physical and
sexual assault, denial of salary, sleep deprivation, withholding of passports,
confinement, and even murder. Ethiopian women sometimes are subjected to
sex trafficking after migrating for labor purposes or after fleeing abusive
employers in the Middle East.
Low-skilled Ethiopian men and boys
migrate to Saudi Arabia, the Gulf states, and other African nations, where some
are subjected to forced labor. Reports suggest district level officials
accepted bribes to change the ages on district-issued identification cards,
enabling children to receive passports without parental consent, which causes
minors to leave the country for illegal work.
The Ethiopian government’s October 2013
temporary ban on overseas labor recruitment currently remains in effect. Over
400 employment agencies were licensed to recruit for work abroad; however,
government officials acknowledged many agencies are involved in both legal and
illegal recruitment, leading to the government’s temporary ban on labor export.
Following the ban, irregular labor migration to the Gulf has reportedly
increased.
Between November 2013 and March 2014,
the Saudi Arabian government deported more than 170,000 Ethiopians lacking
proper visas or employment papers; international organizations and
Ethiopian officials believe thousands were likely trafficking victims.
Eritreans transiting Ethiopia-based
refugee camps, some of whom voluntarily migrate out of the camps and others who
are lured or abducted from the camps, face situations of human trafficking in
Sudan and Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.
The Government of Ethiopia does not
fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;
however, it is making significant efforts to do so. The government
continued to facilitate the reintegration of thousands of Ethiopians deported
from Saudi Arabia and coordinated with NGOs and international organizations to
provide employment. Considering the long-term impact of deportation and the
desire of many Ethiopians to seek employment overseas, the government increased
its efforts to prevent and raise awareness on trafficking and
trafficking-related crimes at a grassroots level through its community
conversations project. It also began an analysis of the socio-economic needs of
Ethiopian deportees and development of income generation plans to support
reintegration.
During the reporting period, the
government publicly pledged to lift the ban on overseas employment and
continued to revise the relevant employment proclamation to ensure improved
oversight of recruitment agencies and better protection of its citizens working
abroad; however, these protections have yet to be applied and the temporary ban
remained in place. The government relied solely on NGOs to provide direct
assistance to both internal and transnational trafficking victims and did not
provide financial or in-kind support to such organizations. There was a slight
decrease in law enforcement efforts; the government did not report the number
of victims it identified in 2014 and lacked a formal system to collect and
share data on cases and victims. The government also did not effectively
address child prostitution and other forms of internal trafficking through law
enforcement, protection, or prevention efforts."
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III.
Origin
Countries in the Horn of Africa for Human Trafficking and Smuggling:
·
Eritrea
·
Ethiopia
·
Somalia
·
Sudan
IV.
What
Are The General Causes Driving Many Young Eritreans and Ethiopians to Become
Victims of Human Trafficking and Smuggling in the Horn of Africa?
·
Poverty and lack of jobs
·
Political problems
V.
Methods
of Trafficking and Smuggling
·
Transportation System
·
Secretive Camps and Torture Houses
·
Trading victims(migrants) as commodities from
one smugglers group to another smugglers
group on different borders of different countries
·
Detentions
of smuggled migrants and extortions
·
Torture
of detained migrants and sexual abuse and exploitation
VI.
Destination
Countries for Migrants from the Horn of Africa
·
Saudi Arabia for
Ethiopian, Eritrean, Somali migrants and refugees
·
Yemen for Ethiopian,
Eritrean, and Somali migrants and refugees
·
Israel for Eritrean,
Ethiopian, and Sudanese migrants and refugees
·
Europe for Eritrean,
Ethiopian, Sudanese, and other African and Asian migrants and refugees
·
South Africa for
Ethiopian, Eritrean, and other African migrants and refugees
VII.
Transit
Countries for Migrants from the Horn of Africa
· Djibouti
to Yemen, Saudi Arabia , Dubai, and other Arab countries
· Sudan
to Libya and Egypt
· Somalia
to Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Dubai, Kenya and other African countries
·
Egypt/Sinai to
Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Europe
·
Libya to Europe via
Mediterranean Sea
·
Morocco to
Europe via Mediterranean Sea
·
Tunisia to
Europe via the Mediterranean Sea
·
lgeria to
Europe via the Mediterranean Sea
· Kenya to Uganda, Tanzania, and South Africa
VIII. Treatments
of Migrants and Refugees in the Destination Countries
IX.
Conclusion
In
conclusion, in my personal opinion, human trafficking and smuggling is the most
mind bugling and conscience bothering, inhumane, immoral, cruel act against
fellow human beings; and it's not only a horrendous crime against humanity but a
grave sin that terribly violates God's commandment of duty and love toward our neighbor. It's
simply the worst evil of our time that totally degrades the dignity and
sanctity of human beings created in the image and likeness of God. It's an evil
that must be collectively fought and eliminate from the face of the earth.
Because all persons, including children, women, and men are socially,
psychologically, and spiritually affected by the gravity, criminality, and
cruelty of this social evil against humanity in a civilized modern world.
It
is shocking for the United Nations to remain silent in the face of such tragic
and global crimes that are taking place in all the continents of the world and for all
the religious groups of the world to remain indifferent in the face of such a gross
and grave immoral criminal activities and "modern slavery" that sells
humans for servitude, sex exploitation, unjust labors, illegal organ harvesting
for the financial prosperities of some ruthless and inhumane
organized criminals -- while destroying the innocent lives of those desperate
human beings who become vulnerable because of their economic and/or political
conditions they try to escape!
All
nations must come together and be united to combat such internationally
organized underground criminal activities run by ruthless and heartless gangs
who exploit, torture, and sell children, women, and men as commodities!
The
world must come together and work to finding solutions to the causes of this
tragic human problems without delay! The world must deal with the problems by
solving the causes such as persistent poverty and political suppressions and
persecutions that make vulnerable many young peoples around the world to end up
in being enticed and lured by the internationally organized criminals who prey
on them!
Otherwise,
in my humble opinion, it is a grave scandal for today's world, to remain silent
and indifferent in the face of such major human tragedies by allowing
implicitly or even explicitly to happen in all countries in all continents because
these illegal criminal activities are multibillion dollars business even though
they are illegal and immoral for most of us with good consciences!
It's
immoral and scandalous for the world to spend and waste trillions and trillions
of dollars in destructive war machines while billions and billions of human
kinds are suffering from poverty, lack of education, lack of health care, and
even without political freedom to live in peace in our planet earth that God the
Creator has given us free of charge!
It
is a grave scandal to mistreat, enslave less fortunate and vulnerable minor human beings subjecting them to a domestic servitude and
hard and unjust labor, and torturing them, and randomly selling them as
commodities, even though they're persons created in the image and likeness of God the
Creator! It's inhuman and cruel as well as a grave sin to treat as strangers and violators of
international laws for crossing illegally forced for desperate economic survival and/or to
escape persecutions and political suppressions in their native homes, while
forgetting or ignoring that the gracious God has given us every things we claim and enjoy
on this planet all for free... forgetting that everything we own belongs to the One who created! THIS EVIL MUST STOP!!!
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