CURRENT INTERVIEW

Free cheese is only in a mousetrap

“In most cases, you can get into slavery through travel agencies, employment agencies abroad and dating agencies. People who are involved in human trafficking are talented psychologists. There are both women and men in these organized groups,” says Tukhan Ediev, – “Human goods” traders most often “hang out” near places where people looking for work abroad gather. They gain trust, communicate, and then offer a job, supposedly having an acquaintance who does exactly this. They promise a high salary, a social package, official employment with a visa, pay for the trip to the place of work “from the first salary”. Of course, most people react to a “lucky chance” and agree. Then a well-established mechanism is “turned on”: the person’s passport is taken away, documents are drawn up for them, but it’s 99% “fake”! The person will never see their passport again, and when they realize they’ve fallen into a trap, it may be too late.

“You’re right for us”!

Who becomes the victim of human trafficking? In most cases, criminals choose rural residents who are less experienced but more trusting. Most often, these are young women who are taken away for the purpose of forced prostitution. When our girls end up in brothels, it’s almost impossible to get out of there. Men are used as unpaid labor, and children (and this is probably the most terrible thing!) – for organ transplantation.

They return, but not all

Mr. Ediev told several cases of people returning home:.

Case one: “In Transcarpathia (note, dear reader, this is the territory of Ukraine! – Ed.) for a year and a half, several men worked like slaves at an underground sawmill. They had no connection with the outside world. Not knowing the area, it was difficult to escape. One nevertheless decided to do it. He was lucky and then, with the help of a local police officer, the people were returned home.”

Case two: “Unknown people came to the village of Shchorsky district to recruit unemployed boys for work in the Moscow region, promising decent wages. Those who agreed were taken by bus to the place of work after some time. And the boys disappeared for almost six months – until one of them was able to escape and return to his native village. Of course, he had no money or documents.”

Case three: “One girl was saved from a brothel only thanks to a mobile phone that accidentally came into her possession. She sent her mother a message indicating her whereabouts. The woman called the hotline of the International Organization for Migration, which contacted the police of the country where the girl was. All this was done in just one hour. The police detained the traffickers, released all the girls and returned them home.”

To avoid getting into trouble

If you want to go abroad, get as much information as possible about the employer company. Migrant Counseling Centers or services that check the reliability of the company will help you with this. Be sure to tell your relatives the exact address that is indicated in the employment contract, the name of the company and, preferably, the passport details of the person who employs you. And remember: never give your documents to anyone!

Yulia Shurub, Newspaper “Chernihivshchyna”, September 6, 2007