JSangrey+Blog

Topic: Human Trafficking in Europe

Entry 3 (March 4th, 2013)

Source 1: [|New Europe Online Article 1] Source 2: [|CNN Article 2]

The fight against human trafficking continues as more European nations are joining the cause to stop it. So far according to GRETA (Group of Experts against Human Trafficking in Human Beings) 37 European nations have joined the fight against the heinous crime.

The president of GRETA, Nicolas Le Coz, announced that about 20 million people worldwide are forced into some force of human trafficking.

CNN has started a project to help "end modern day slavery". This projects aim to to help end human trafficking and also get stories out from people who survived the crime.

One story tells of how Uzbekistan is using child labor to pick cotton, a practice seen during the days of the Soviet Union. The government forced people to plant cotton and they buy it for a low price and sell it on the global market for a higher price.

According to CNN child labor and human trafficking was widely used by the Soviet Union and the "tradition" is continued today in nations like Uzbekistan.

Another story is about how a family sold there daughter to a drug lord to pay off there debts. The mother says that they have taken her husband hostage and will only give him up for there six year old daughter. She explains that they need the money to run their farm and the only way to get it is through the drug lords.

But there is good news too. A group of students inspired MTV to do an anti-slavery campaign. The "Against our Will" project is a contest to see who can come up with creative ways to help end slavery. One group of students created "The Backstory" which shows people how human trafficking can happen to anyone and also what people can do to help stop it.

All the stories tell of how even though slavery was ended in America in the 1800's, it still is very prevalent in European and African countries.

Entry 2 (February 25th, 2013)

Source 1: [|The Parliament Article 1] Source 2: [|VOA Article 1]

As of February 20th, 2013 the European Union will be funding numerous programs to fight human trafficking in Europe. According to The Parliament.com the EU will be putting 1.5 million Euros ($1,992,750) towards the ongoing fight against the crime.

They go on to explain how the funding will be put into helping countries become more equipped to fight the crime. Štefan Füle the commissioner for enlargement in the EU said that "We hope to lay the foundations for further action in this area and send a clear message to traffickers that this barbaric and deplorable form of exploitation cannot continue."

Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, the special representative for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), stated that she has seen an increase in children that are thought to be victims of human trafficking with mental disabilities. This is caused by there low levels of education and lack of insight from adults.

Moldova reportedly has the highest amount of children living in care facilities. According to Giammarinaro they become totally dependent on adults for care. The OSCE is pushing for Moldova to crack down on child trafficking and try to lower the number of institutionalized children

The funding will also be used to try to get adults that are emotionally scared from their experiences to come out and try to use there experiences to help save other people from similar fates. They also are using it to increase the punishment for the crime. According to La Strada, an international female human rights organization, many people get off with "soft" or no punishment at all.

Andris Piebalgs also gave his thoughts on human trafficking saying "I find it absolutely shocking that in the 21st century, human trafficking continues. Organized crime is a virus that knows no borders, so the remedy must also strike across borders not only to protect the victims, but also EU citizens."

Christopher Cuascut - Great blog here. I hope the European Union succeeds in their efforts.

Entry 1 (February 4th, 2013)

Source 1: [|CNN Article 1] Source 2:[|Europol 1]

Human Trafficking is the illegal trade of humans to be used for manual labor and in sexual exploitation. It it a multi-billon dollar crime that the U.S. and other European countries are cracking down on. The perpetrators do it by sneaking people in on boats, in trains, and in small compartments hidden in the floor of buses and trucks and then selling them to large specialized groups that use them to make money by having them do labor.

Last week over 103 people were arrested in 10 different countries for human trafficking. Found on them were $250,000 cash, plus many phones, laptops, and even a semi-automatic rifle. Major countries such and Germany, France, England, and others are starting to crack down on people found to be in association with, or found with evidence linking them to this crime. Over 1,200 police officers were dispatched to catch the 103 criminals and they expect more to be found.

Human trafficking is the third largest multi-national business that grosses 32 billion dollars a year (CNN). Illegal arms trade is 1.5 trillion dollars and drug-dealing grosses about 320 million dollars. Most of which come from large industrialized nations on eastern Europe.

In September, 2011, Austria and Hungry aimed to decrease the amount of illegal trafficking in their countries by capturing the people before they got to their destination further north. So far according to Europol, the European Union's law enforcement agency, 7,500 illegal traffickers were apprehended with over 500 cell phones with detailed text messages and phone calls to other people in the ring.

And it doesn't stop there, according to the Huffington post even America is not spared from the crime. In years past, over 10,000 people were trafficked to the U.S during the Super Bowl to be used during the partying and commotion that comes with the event.

According to Europol most of the people being trafficked are brought into Europe through Turkey and then spread across Eastern Europe. They were recruited in Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Turkey, and Syria by criminal rings the specialize in sneaking them in under the radar.

Justin Gaukler: Very interesting, there are a lot of great details, this seems like a very large and extreme problem.

Blake Gomez: A very interesting read with a lot of specific details. For such a large problem, you'd think more traffickers would be caught.

Rachel Shelley- It is very surprising and sad to me that human trafficking is the third largest multinational business, and that so much of it is occurring right here in our own country. Hopefully countries continue working to lower human trafficking rates.

Michelle Keck: I cannot believe that human trafficking grosses 32 billion dollars a year. It's insane to think that some of this is happening in America today. I find it shocking that the Super Bowl is an event linked to human trafficking.

Eric Fraunfelter- This seems to be a widely overlooked issue in nations like ours today. It is surprising how much trafficking goes on right underneath our noses and we don't even have a clue sometimes, however, it is obviously a larger issue than we are giving it credit given that it is the third largest multi-national business. Great summary here, it really opens your eyes to the cruelty in cultures that we are not so familiar with.

Ian Ebling- you did very well on this topic and you elaborated on it very well. I learned a lot. Although this is very crazy. $1.5 Million euros!!! If it keeps the people safe then that's all that matters. Keep it up and good job.