As I was researching material for the blog I came across a band based out of Glasgow with a name that made me look twice. They call themselves “Human Traffickers”. Now, their myspace did not say anything about why they call themselves Human Traffikers, but I must admit I find it hard to think of a positive reason why they would. They might be a wonderful band who stands against modern-day slavery, I don’t know, but the name alone got me thinking.
When we talk about human trafficking, we often focus on the people trafficked, and we should. However, who are the traffickers? Why do they do what they do?
I don’t know the answers to these questions, and I would challenge anyone who says they do. What I do know is one man’s story and the reasons he gave for selling his friend’s wife to traffickers. The Public Broadcast System t.v. station in the US did an episode they titled “Sex Slave”. The program focused on human trafficking in the Ukraine and Moldova. They were able to interview a man named Vlad who sold his friend’s wife to traffickers in Turkey for 1,000 US dollars. According to him, he was told that she would be talked into prostituting herself and when he found out this was not the case he “felt guilty” and so he called her husband and told him what had been done. Thankfully, this family was reunited, but there is not a happy ending. The young woman was pregnant at the time and lost the baby. I can not speak to the emotional, psychological and spiritual hurts she has suffered, and if she has received any sort of counseling. I do know that she and her husband are not able to live together because the only job he can find does not support them enough to rent a flat (she lives with her mother). Meanwhile, Vlad was tried for his role in trafficking the young woman, but was released on probation. In his interview (which can be read in total here - http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/slaves/map/vlad.html) Vlad states that the reason he did what he did was because he needed the money to support his son and mother.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not condoning what Vlad did by any means, but I don’t think we should judge him either. Personally, I find it harder to feel sympathy for the traffickers than for the victims, and that is natural. If anything, I think this shows how important it is to address all aspects which go into human trafficking. Addressing the poverty in so many of the source countries might have prevented Vlad from doing what he did. It also might keep many of the young women from feeling that they must leave their countries for work. Human Trafficking is not a simple issue, it is very complex, and so the programs, laws, and outreaches must address all sides to be truly effective.
Paste your face, to raise your voice….
P.S. Visit http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/slaves/map/indexflash.html for the full PBS story.
