Same Crime, Different Face

Earlier this year, the BBC aired a five part series called “Working Lives” about modern day slavery. I recently caught one part of it on BBC International. This particular part of the series focused on Kenyan women who found themselves enslaved as domestic workers in Saudi Arabia.

What struck me about this segment of program was that the focus was not on prostitution or the sex trade. Certainly these women were particularly vulnerable to sexual assault by the men in the households where they were held captive but they had not been trafficked with the intention of being forced into prostitution. Those who take an avid interest in anti human trafficking efforts are aware of just how many guises this crime can be committed under; there are a multitude of variations on the theme, each one murkier than the next and consequently more difficult to identify.

But the general public knows only what the media deigns to highlight and sitting in an editor’s chair, the unfortunate truth is still that sex sells. Your average citizen is already disinclined to spend too much time thinking about human trafficking and the devastating impacts that it can have. But they are more likely to respond viscerally to the story of a 14 year old girl who was forced into prostitution than they are to the story of a middle aged man who has spent his life in indentured servitude. Both crimes are equally abominable and both victims equally deserving of our attention and our empathy.

As a journalist, I’m glad for any article that focuses people’s attention on the severity of the threat that is posed by human trafficking. If that means story after story about all the women and children who are trafficked and forced into the sex industry, then I’d write each one myself if I could. Whatever it takes to make people aware that their involvement is required to put an end to the trafficking of persons. But the advocate in me is driven by different sensibilities. It’s not enough to talk about human trafficking in the context of sexual exploitation.

The fact is – according to a 2005 study by the International Labor Organization (ILO) – less than half of all the people trafficked annually are involved in the sex trade. Many more of them are trafficked for labor purposes although this does not prevent them from being sexually assaulted or raped as well as overworked and otherwise abused. When a crime has as many faces, literally and figuratively, as human trafficking then the efforts to combat it must be equally varied.

This crime doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t recognize borders, religion, socio economic realities or cultural differences. It impacts all of us in one way or another whether we realize it or not. And for as long as there is one man, woman or child – one human being - anywhere in the world that is being trafficked and enslaved, all the rest of humanity is held captive right along with them.

Labor Reforms in Bahrain Tackle Local Unemployment Crisis

According to the Arabian Business News Source, recent reforms to Bahrain's labor market have begun to drive up the cost of employing cheap and unskilled laborers, increasing competitiveness of Bahraini citizens in the job market. This topic has been a pressing issue for the Bahraini Government in its efforts to expand job opportunities for Bahrainis and drive down its foreign population.

In a recent interview with Reuters News Agency, the Chief Executive of Bahrain's Labor Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) Ali Radhi revealed the cost of employing expatriate workers is rising, and although the cost increase is not significant, it presents an upward moving trend. Recent reforms have imposed monthly 26.5 USD training fees paid by the employer for each expatriate worker brought to the island Kingdom.

Another significant reform occurred last year when Bahrain became the first Arab Gulf state to eliminate the employment sponsorship system, which LMRA officials hoped would allow workers to change sponsors without consent and encourage them to freely negotiate higher salaries with employers, making them less attractive for hire in comparison to their Bahraini counter-parts.

LMRA data shows that there has been an increasing trend in workers who have decided to change their sponsors under this new system, and that the gap in wages between locals and foreigners has decreased by 15 percent in some sectors, like construction. Radh noted that the effects of these reforms will be more significant once the current contracts of outsourced laborers expire and employers can choose between hiring locals instead of foreigners for the first time.

The next phase of labor reforms will be the implementation of an adaptable cap on foreign employment in certain sectors that will be determined by economic growth and industrial output. The employment ceilings have not been released to the public yet, but are awaiting approval by the board of the LMRA and reflect recent data collected from various industrial sectors.

Many Arab Gulf states are looking to Bahrain's economic transformation policies with envy, as they also attempt to address similar struggles of incorporating young people into the job market. Countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have embraced bottom-down reforms that have forced companies to hire locals (and sack foreigners) in the recent economic downturn.

Bahrain is also working to tackle illegal employment of foreign workers, often perpetuated by local employers who recruit them to Bahrain but allow them to pursue other employment opportunities in exchange for a portion of their salaries, which throws them into financial and legal uncertainty, as well as, a higher likelihood of trafficking.

Slow Movement: Protection of Migrants' Rights in 2009 - Part I

Slow Movement: Protection of Migrants' Rights in 2009 - Part I

International migration is rapidly increasing, but in many places, including United States, a migrant is still considered an alien or an outsider, if not an enemy. Millions of people are living in countries that are not their own. Sometimes the decision to migrate is voluntary, but in many cases, it is forced, i.e. human trafficking is also rapidly increasing. Many migrant workers are forced to leave their homes to search for better opportunities; some flee from war, some flee from social injustice, and some from poverty. Their goal is simple: survival. Too many migrants are misled about the living and working conditions and are forced to leave their homes and their rights to become a slave in foreign land.

Human Rights Watch published a report based on the research they conducted in 2009 on migrant rights. The report highlights the lack of protection of migrant workers.

"Migrants drowning at sea after being turned away from shore. Children detained with adults and at risk of physical and sexual abuse. Workers cheated out of wages and confined to their workplace. Authorities extorting bribes. Governments denying health care benefits to those who might most need it."

Millions of people are employed as domestic workers. Most of these are women.

[Part 1 of the Report] Women Migrant Domestic Workers :

Millions of people from Asia and African migrate to Middle East. "Labor recruiters in their home countries often deceive these migrants about their employment contracts or charge excessive fees." According to Human Rights Watch, in most places in the Middle East (with the exception of Jordan), standard labor protection policies (such as minimum wage, limits to hours of work, rest days, and workers' compensation) do no apply to domestic workers. Hence, many domestic workers are forced to work 15 - 18 hours a day, seven days a week.

• Saudi Arabia :
  
• "With at least 1.5 million migrant domestic workers, Saudi Arabia hosts the largest number in the Middle East".
• Labor rights violations and abuse occurs based on spurious allegations of adultery, theft, or witchcraft.
• Migrant workers also require an 'exit visa' from the employer before he/she can leave the country. This results in many cases of forced labor.
  
• In July 2009, Saudi Arabia’s Shura Council passed a law "that requires employers to provide domestic workers at least nine hours of rest each day and suitable accommodation". However, there are still vague provisions because of which sufficient protection cannot be provided to migrant workers.
  

• Kuwait :
• "Over 600,000 migrant domestic workers currently work in Kuwait, making it the second largest host country for domestic workers in the Persian Gulf region after Saudi Arabia".
• Under Kuwaiti law, a domestic worker is not allowed to leave without the sponsor's permission, even in case of abuse. The employer controls whether the worker can change his job and can file a case against the domestic worker if he tries to leave.
  

• Lebanon :
  
• "There are an estimated 200,000 domestic workers, primarily from Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Ethiopia in Lebanon".
• "Human Rights Watch research found that at least 45 migrant domestic workers died in Lebanon in 2008, a majority of whom committed suicide or died while trying to escape in a hazardous way".
• "In January 2009, the Ministry of Labor finally introduced a standard employment contract that clarifies certain terms and conditions of employment for domestic workers, such as the maximum number of daily working hours, the need for a 24-hour rest period each week, and paid sick leave". However, there are no clear enforcement mechanisms.
  

• Jordan :
• In September 2009, a regulation issued by Ministry of Labor included migrant workers under the protection of Jordan’s labor laws.
  
• "Domestic workers now have limits to daily working hours, and a weekly day of rest". However, this regulation still allows employers to control when a worker can leave and a worker cannot leave without the employer's permission, even after working hours.

Next part: Migrant Construction Workers.

Post on Dipnote from Mark Lagon

This is a post from Dipnote, the official blog of the U.S. State Department:

About the Author: Ambassador Mark P. Lagon is Senior Advisor to the Secretary of State and Director of the U.S. Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.

I have recently visited two major powers in the Middle East -- Egypt and Saudi Arabia -- quite different from one another in the context of trafficking in persons (TIP). I came away with striking impressions from my visits and dialogue.

There are some promising efforts in Egypt. Amendments to the child protection law last June define for the first time crimes of trafficking of children. This includes the most serious TIP vulnerability in Egypt: children (especially street children) exploited as domestic servants or in prostitution.

Since ratification of the UN TIP Protocol four years ago, discussion of crafting a comprehensive anti-human trafficking law has seemingly accelerated. The Egyptian anti-TIP interagency group (like the one I chair in the United States) is consulting with UN agencies on the law's content, and we hope it will cover internal, as well as transnational (e.g. through Egypt to Israel), TIP.

Notably, a rising generation of key government officials has a clear interest in fighting the gross exploitation which constitutes TIP. 

Nonetheless, it was clear from our visit to Cairo that Egypt needs a system for identifying victims and for referring them to social services. Although drop-in centers for vulnerable street children exist, we hope the Government of Egypt and civil society will band together to make these centers safe havens for all children exposed to forced begging, sexual exploitation, and other harm on the streets.

Sexual exploitation of young people is taking some troubling forms in Egypt. We learned of Sudanese refugee girls and young women lured into prostitution by gangs. This is a sorry fate for those fleeing Sudan. Moreover, sex tourists are increasingly going to places like Luxor and Alexandria to abuse Egypt's young. I stressed how the United States has enacted and enforced laws to punish child sex tourists who commit crimes abroad, and is urging European nations to follow suit. One particular horror is Saudi and other Gulf visitors acquiring (and I use that word purposefully) youth brides in so-called "temporary marriages." 

It was, in fact, the Gulf and Saudi Arabia which we flew to next. I had very direct dialogue with the Ministries of Interior, Labor, and Social Affairs, sharing our steady, though not perfect, experiences in confronting TIP at home.

The sponsorship system in Saudi Arabia -- tying migrant workers to a single employer -- is rife with vulnerability to human trafficking. This system, which is seen throughout the Gulf, is compounded in Saudi Arabia by the disproportionate power given to employers of housemaids, construction workers, and agricultural laborers in the form of exit permits. A migrant worker cannot leave the country without the okay of their "sponsor." This gives unscrupulous employers devastating leverage should they subject workers to abusive conditions or withhold their pay. We heard countless testimonials of this kind of abuse.

One potentially positive initiative is discussion of reforming this sponsorship system. We were told by senior officials of serious discussions to create large labor companies in the Saudi Kingdom to more flexibly manage the placement of workers. If adopted this could do much to reduce the vulnerability of migrant workers, and indeed offer momentum to similar changes throughout the smaller states of the Gulf.

We visited two shelters -- one run by the Ministry of Social Affairs and one by the Embassy of the Philippines. The contrast between the two was marked. The Government shelter is limited to serving female domestic workers who are not met by employers at the airport, as well as short-term guests near resolution of contract disputes in court. But there is no systematic or broad referral of victims to this shelter. 

By contrast, the Philippines is as active on behalf of the welfare of its migrant workers in the Kingdom as it is worldwide. We met with housemaids compelled to flee employers. One woman was in two leg casts after leaping to escape from a window. We heard of employers' repeated violence, and the squeezing of every hour of the day and ounce of energy from these survivors. One such survivor described the brutality of the employer who kicked, pushed, and punched her for the slightest mistake. Facing years of court battles if they brought their cases to the court, many of these women opted dejectedly to simply return to the safety of their home countries.

The stories of these victims drove home the violence and desperation women and migrant workers face in Saudi Arabia and many other countries, at the hands of people who treat them as less than human. States must step up to the responsibility of protecting the helpless on their soil. The United States devotes diplomacy to this cause every day.

BBC special on child slavery

BBC World is re-airing the special, Child Slavery with Rageh Omaar.

Around 8.4 million children around the world are enslaved today. Now, in a remarkable journey across three continents, five of them tell their stories. This documentary is presented by reporter Rageh Omaar.

Mawulehawe

Twelve-year-old Mawulehawe has been sold by his mother to a local fishermen in Ghana for $40 (£25). He may not see his mother again for many years.

She will use the money to buy cooking oil to fry the fish she sells on the shore at Ada, a small fishing town a couple of hours drive east of the capital, Accra.

The fishermen to whom Mawulehawe is sold, Aaron, will take him away to serve a three-year apprenticeship. Mawulehawe, like many others in the region, is being sold to help alleviate his family's poverty.

He has several brothers and sisters and has had some schooling, but there is not enough money for him to continue. It is now his younger brother's turn to go to school instead. Mawulehawe insists he is happy with the deal. Fishing has always been part of his life. And his family toast the "sale" with a strong drink, it is clear he sees his new life as a new adventure.

While many of the children working on Lake Volta go enthusiastically, most have no idea the dangers that lie ahead.

The long, unregulated hours and dangers such as getting tangled in the nets underneath the water's surface can lead to accidents and fatalities.

Ali

Six-year-old Ali was picked up by the Saudi authorities for begging on the streets of Jeddah. He was smuggled into Saudi Arabia from Yemen in order to beg.

Ali says he ended up begging after physical abuse involving metal wire attacks on his back. He says he was beaten up when he said he did not want to beg all day.

Ali is one of thousands of Yemeni children sold to gangs and forced to beg each year. These children are often sold by families who are duped into believing their offspring will get a better life.

Many of the children who are smuggled over the Saudi/Yemen border are beaten and sometimes even mutilated to become better, more effective beggars.

It is hard to be exact about figures, but in 2005 the Yemeni Ministry of Social Affairs acknowledged that about 300 children were crossing the border every month.

Rahul and Amit

The Kumar cousins - Rahul, 12 and Amit, seven - thought they were leaving their remote village in the north east of India to go to school and learn a trade. They had no idea their parents had sent them to one of the most populated cities in the world - Delhi - to work in a sweat-shop.

The boys hated sewing beads on fabric for 18 hours a day.  They lived, worked and slept in the same tiny room and only saw daylight when they were allowed out on Sunday under the supervision of a minder. Their hands are blistered and their feet deformed because of the repetitive nature of the work. They were beaten and had little food.

Children like Rahul and Amit who work in the zari units are classified as "bonded labourers", often working to clear obscure debts usually incurred by their families. "Bonded labour" has been illegal in India since 1976 but legislation is largely unenforced and charitable organizations have taken on the burden of investigating illegal labour.

A non-governmental organisation helped the Kumar boys to escape and return home... but the welcome they received was not quite what they were expecting.

Dalyn

When Dalyn was only 12 years old, she was tricked and forced into prostitution. She recalls now how she was approached by a woman who asked her if she would like to work at a garment factory in Kompong Cham.

But when she arrived, she was sold to a brothel in Cambodian capital Pnomh Penh for $150 (£78). Locked up in a cage with others underneath the brothel, she was starved, beaten and threatened at gun point until she agreed to service clients.

Many of the children at the shelter where Dalyn is, became infected with HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases after being sold into sexual slavery, and all have been severely traumatised.

Dalyn was rescued by the police and an aid agency but it is only now, at 17 years old and after substantial amounts of therapy, that she feels able to tell her story. 

Aid agencies are only able to scratch the surface of the problem of child sex slaves in Cambodia. In the first six months of last year, of the 186 raids carried out on brothels by the agency, only two resulted in convictions being made. And in South East Asia alone, Unicef says one million children are involved in the commercial sex trade.

There are more stories on the link, and the show goes into more detail about each of the above stories with interviews with these children. Rageh Omaar also wrote an article in The Somaliland Times discussing the meaning of slavery and the purpose behind the documentary. 

Gulf states condemn US human trafficking report

From AFP:

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) - The Arab countries of the Gulf have dismissed as unjustified and political a recent US report which accused the rich countries of not combating human trafficking.

Foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), who met in Saudi Arabia on Monday, said the GCC "deeply regrets the wrong information on the GCC states contained in a US State Department report for 2008 on human trafficking," SPA state news agency reported on Tuesday.

"(This information) aims to practise unjustified pressure for political ends," said a statement issued by the ministers of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, without elaborating.

They called on the US State Department to "revise its unfriendly policy towards GCC countries," SPA added.

In a report issued last week, the US State Department kept Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia on a black list of countries it says traffic in people, while it applauded progress made by Bahrain and the UAE.

It said the four oil-rich countries admit men and women from Asian countries- such as Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines and Indonesia - and African countries like Sudan, Kenya, Nigeria and Ethiopia to work as domestic servants or other low-skilled labourers.

Many subsequently "face conditions of involuntary servitude," the report said adding that, to a lesser extent, they are forced into prostitution.

"For the last four years, the weak performance of several nations in the Persian Gulf has been the matter of great concern and disappointment," said Mark Logan, US State Secretary Condoleezza Rice's senior advisor on the human trafficking problem.

"As an update, I am happy to report that the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain continued to make significant improvements, notably the United Arab Emirates," Logan told reporters. "It is a model in the region."

Saudis Address Trafficking of Religious Pilgrims

From the United Press International:

The Saudi Human Rights Commission voiced concern over human trafficking gangs exploiting immigrants and foreigners during the pilgrimage season.

Commission spokesmen Dr. Zoheir al-Harethi said people making their pilgrimage to Mecca plan to find employment but instead find themselves exploited by local gangs.

Harethi said immigrants "fall prey to gangs that use them for begging and prostitution" and noted many of the exploited are children, al-Arabiya said Friday.

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