Human Trafficking
The phenomenon of human trafficking has made people cargo commodities and which is an open violation of basic human rights, reports UZMA ALEEM
‘Its so suffocated around, my breath has stifled, please help me, help me please, I cannot breath……….it has become difficult to breath. Please help me, I do not want to die…….. Oh God please help……… is there anyone to rescue me………please, please ……..ple…….’ these were the last few sentences uttered by Hamid Watto. Hamid was illegally migrating to his dreamland Dubai via a cargo container that was completely sealed and ventilation was almost impossible. In that cargo container of 12x12, 46 people of different age groups travelled, along Hamid six people died of suffocation before reaching Dubai while 39 people were jailed because of illegal migration.
This incident is not a single example of human trafficking, such incidents appear in headlines of newspapers when victim of human trafficking caught by police in different countries and they distort the image of country too.
Human migration is not a new phenomenon. For centuries, people have left their homes in search of better lives elsewhere. In the last decade, the process of globalisation has enhanced the ‘push-pull’ factors, which drive migrants’ desires to seek more gainful employment abroad. This has caused an unprecedented amount of migration from the least developed countries of Asia, Africa, South America and Eastern Europe to Western Europe, Australia and North America.
Criminal networks that smuggle human beings for financial gains increasingly control the flow of migrants across borders. Due to more restrictive immigration policies in destination countries and improved technology to monitor border crossings, willing illegal migrants rely increasingly on the help of organized people smugglers. Like Hamid did to reach Dubai.
People smuggling is not a homogenous criminal activity; the price of the trip, conditions of travel and status upon arrival can vary significantly.
Trafficking is distinct from smuggling insofar as the traffic of human beings involves the exploitation of the migrant, often for purposes of forced labour and prostitution. People smuggling simply implies the procurement, for financial or material gain, of the illegal entry into a state of which the individual is neither a citizen nor a permanent resident.
It is acknowledged that the smuggling of people is a growing as a global phenomenon. It is not only a trans national crime, but also an enormous violation of human rights and a contemporary form of slavery. Currently, economic instability appears to be the main reason for illegal migration movement throughout the world.
When S+ probed about this growing illegal phenomenon it was found that many of the willing migrants from Pakistan undertook the hazardous travel to their destination country with criminal syndicates specialised in people smuggling. These syndicates arranged everything for the migrants, but at a high price, like recently a government servant from province Punjab paid Rs. 700,000 for illegal immigration to Greece.
Very often the travelling conditions are inhumane, the migrants are overcrowded in trucks, containers or boats and fatal accidents occur frequently. After their arrival in the destination country, their illegal status puts them at the mercy of their smugglers, which often force the migrants to work for years in the illegal labour market to pay off the debts incurred as a result of their transportation.
People smuggling syndicates still benefit from weak legislation, huge profits and the relatively low risk of detection, prosecution and arrest compared to other activities of trans national organized crime. This creates the need for a structure, which enables police and other law enforcement agencies to co-operate on a global basis.
Leading Human rights activist Ansar Berni said, “actually human trafficking has become a complicated phenomenon and profitable business dominated by organised criminal groups and their worldwide chains. It generates US$7 billion a year and is the second largest illegal trade after drugs and weapons.
Human trafficking often occurs in connection with the movement of the people from rural to urban and from poor to rich areas, both within the country and across the international borders.”
Berni was of the view, ‘trafficking in person is always characterised by elements of exploitation through fraud, coercion, deception, and other illegal means that place people in harmful and exploiting situations.
The cases of human trafficking have been rising in Pakistan and females are being smuggled from rural and urban areas for various reasons including poverty, forced marriage, under age marriage, fake marriage, sexual motive, overseas employment and domestic work.
Mostly small children have been smuggled for the purpose of camel jockey races, child soldiers, domestic work, beggary, sexual assault and slavery,” he added.
Director of FIA Azam joyia said that in 2002, Pakistan had criminalized trafficking in person and had taken several steps to curb its occurrences. He said, “Pakistan is a source, transit and destination point for severe forms of trafficking in persons, especially women and children. Pakistan is a destination point for those being trafficked from Bangladesh, Burma, Afghanistan, and Central Asia. The country serves as a transit point for those brought in from East Asia and Bangladesh to be taken elsewhere, and lastly it is a recruiting ground for those who are internally (inter-provincially) trafficked or sent to Afghanistan and the Gulf countries. Now we are trying our best to curb this problem. Now situation is improving ”.
Almas Mirza, a renowned civil lawyer, said Trafficking in persons was modern-day slavery, involving victims who were forced, defrauded or coerced into labour or sexual exploitation.
“Annually, about 600,000 to 800,000 people -- mostly women and children -- are trafficked across national borders which does not count millions trafficked within their own countries.
People are snared into trafficking by many means. In some cases, physical force is used. In other cases, false promises are made regarding job opportunities or marriages in foreign countries to entrap victims,” she said.
While talking about its global impact she said, “Human trafficking is a multi-dimensional threat. It deprives people of their human rights and freedom, it is a global health risk, and it fuels the growth of organized crime.
Human trafficking has a devastating impact on individual victims, who often suffer physical and emotional abuse, rape, threats against self and family, passport theft, and even death. But the impact of human trafficking goes beyond individual victims; it undermines the safety and security of all nations it touches.”
Collaborative efforts against human trafficking are needed to combat this global menace, she added.
Dying for dreamlands
Routes used for human trafficking may sometimes be simple and direct, whereas most of the times circuitous. The time between departure and arrival may vary from some days to several months or even years. Smuggling is carried out by land, air or sea. During this process many people may perish before reaching their destinations but few lucky ones can reach back to their homes too and a resident of Lahore Zulfiqar Ali is also among those survivors. During an interview with the S+ he told that his cousin, who promised for a good job in Muscat, made him fool. He told about his journey that his cousin, Shahzad, was part of a network of human smugglers and they sent 26 people in a boat having capacity of 3-4 persons.
Actually we wanted to go to Oman for better opportunities of employment.
While talking about that worse journey of his life he said “we reached from Lahore to Karachi then to Gwader. From Gwader we crossed the boarder of Iran, our agent bribed Iranian Army and it became so easy for us to cross the boarder. After ward we travelled through jungles of Iran and then we crossed the Iranian boarder via sea. But unfortunately we missed our way; we have been wondered in open sea, without any food and very small quantity of water, for 4 days. Then a French ship rescued us and provided us food and water. Then before entering in Oman, we were caught by Omani Army and they kept us in a small jail for 26 days, without enough food.” He praised that Pakistani ambassador in Oman remained so cooperative and helped Pakistani prisoners.
While talking about the increasing trend of illegal migration he said, “legal migration from Pakistan is complicated, people smugglers around the globe are profiting and have created a network of organized crime to facilitate the illegal immigration of Pakistan.
The migrants and facilitators are generally amateurs of same ethnic origin of those they are smuggling. This form of illegal immigration poses great challenges to the international law enforcement community and has great ramifications for policy and legislation regarding immigration. He added that now he has released it so he was trying to go
Smuggling routes
Changing methods of people-smuggling networks as a response to legislative and law enforcement activities are necessary for their survival. Flexibility is thus one of the main characteristics of transportation and the choice of routes. This means that the routes used by people smugglers may sometimes be simple and direct, at other times circuitous. The time between departure and arrival may vary from some days to several months or even years. Smuggling is carried out by land, air or sea.
The following outlines are some examples of routes frequently used for people smuggling. Migrants from the Asian region mainly use the route via Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan to Russia and from there, via Ukraine, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, to western European countries or even further to the United States and Canada.
At the same time, the Balkan route from Asian countries via Iran and Turkey and from there, via Balkan states, to Western Europe is used for the smuggling of migrants as well as other kinds of illegal goods such as drugs, firearms, etc.
Especially during summer months, Spain has to face the arrival of thousands of illegal immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa. These willing immigrants undertake the hazardous trip to travel from Morocco to southern Spain through the narrow Strait of Gibraltar, where only 21 kilometres separate Europe and Africa. Many people travelling in small, overcrowded boats have drowned attempting to reach Europe.
Australia is also facing a growing number of illegal immigrants, mostly from the Middle East and southern Asia, landing at its western coasts and especially on Christmas Island, which is located relatively close to the Indonesian archipelago.
Most of the refugees from Asia first enter Malaysia, where they are taken to the south before making a short ferry crossing to the Indonesian island of Batam. From there, it is not difficult to reach Jakarta and go on to the southern Indonesian islands of Bali, Flores or Lombok, where they embark for Australia.
Smuggling migrants to the United States is mostly achieved by putting them on planes. Ships with migrants on board are mainly bound for the West Coast, but the use of this route has dropped considerably. Smuggling networks seem to focus more and more on Central and South America, where they maintain the necessary links to Mexican people smugglers in order to move the illegal migrants via Mexico to North America.
