Contemporary slavery
Most of us think of slavery as something of the past. We remember images from school of African men, women and children crammed together as animals being shipped from one continent to another, most often with miserable lives waiting. Yet many will argue that slavery is a reality today, for instance the European Union. EU has launched the campaign "Human Being - not for sale". Trafficking is introduced as:
"Trafficking in human beings is the modern form of the old worldwide slave trade. It treats human beings as a commodity to be bought and sold. The victims are put to forced labour, usually in the sex industry but also, for example, in the agricultural sector or in sweatshops, for a pittance or nothing at all. Trafficking in human beings directly undermines the values on which the Council of Europe is based."
Modern exploitation of people is often not called slavery, yet the conditions are the same with people being sold like objects and forced to work for little or no pay at the mercy of their "employers".
Types of slavery in Europe
These four forms of slavery often overlap, so its can be difficult to distinguish one from the other. Common factors are confiscation of passports, violence and fear of reprisals against their families.
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Bonded labour: people are tricked into taking a loan and to repay the debt they are forced to work long hours only receiving food and lodgings for their work. Some of the women exported for domestic and sexual slavery in Europe are considered bonded labour, as they are never able to repay their loan for medicine or transportation.
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Early and forced marriage: women and girls who are married without choice and are forced into lives of servitude often accompanied by physical violence.
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Forced labour: People who are illegally recruited and forced to work, often under threat of revealing that the person is living and working illegally in the country.
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Trafficking: transport and/or trade of people from one area to another for the purpose of forcing them into slavery conditions
We close our eyes, but at the same time we know that modern slavery exists. It pops up once in a while with stories of youngsters tricked into coming to Western Europe and living under miserable conditions, young women from eastern Europe or Asia working long hours for ridiculous pay as nannies, dishwashers at restaurants without holidays and sometimes sleeping in the restaurant at night, construction workers being bunked together in much the same manner as during apartheid in South Africa - and then all the young girls who dreamt of a life as a waitress or au pair, but ended up as prostitutes.
Two trends
It is difficult to know exactly how many people are subjected to 'slavery' in Europe. Police forces, NGO's and international organisations all agree that the current statistics with European trafficking figures ranging from 120.000 to 500.000 are inaccurate. They also agree on two other factors: the first is that women and children are the main victims of trafficking, and the second is that trafficking is constantly increasing.
Why the increase?
There are a number of reasons for this boost to human trafficking. The official reasons are the fall of the communist governments, the Balkan wars, the impoverishment of populations subjected to the "shock therapy" of market economics and the major developments of the past 15 years in central and Eastern Europe.
Another reason that isn't mentioned could be the lack of western European moral. Today many are well off and it's tempting to be spoiled by using cheap labour. The Rationalist thinkers of the Enlightenment as well as Evangelical Protestants and Quakers led the way 200 years ago. Where are eyes, ears and voices of the rationalists and Christians today leading the way towards a society where people are treated as human beings?
EU has accepted the challenge. Let us hope that EU will take the necessary measures to prevent modern European slavery - and that we all do our bit to help.
Next week
Action against Trafficking in Human Beings: Prevention, Protection and Prosecution is the topic for Council of Europe meetings on 15 and 16 February in Nicosia. Read more on human trafficking next week.
Related information
Council of Europe, Campaign to combat Trafficking in Human Beings including articles, radio and TV spots, www.coe.int/t/dg2/trafficking/campaign/default_en.asp
Birgit O'Sullivan
- 14. februar 2007