Human Trafficking

The Trafficking Scheme

Human traffickers create transnational routes that facilitate the transportation of migrants who are driven by unfavorable living conditions to seek the services of a smuggler. Human trafficking starts in origin countries, namely, Asia, the former Eastern Bloc, and Africa, where recruiters seek migrants through various mediums such as the Internet, employment agencies, the media, and local contacts. Middlemen who recruit from within the origin country commonly share the same cultural background as those migrating. Migrants view the services of a smuggler as an opportunity to move from impoverished conditions in their home countries to more stable, developed environments.

Because such circumstances make it difficult for victims to obtain legitimate travel documents, smugglers supply migrants with fraudulent passports or visas and advise them to avoid detection by border control agents. Transporters, in turn, sustain the migration process through various modes of transportation: land, air, and sea. Although victims often leave their destination country voluntarily, the majority are unaware they are being recruited for a trafficking scheme. They may be kidnapped, coerced, or bribed by false job opportunities, passports, or visas. Transporters involved in trafficking victims from the origin country are compensated only after bringing migrants to the responsible party in the destination country. Immigration documents, whether legitimate or fraudulent, are seized by the traffickers. After this, victims are often subjected to physical and sexual abuse, and many are forced into labor or the sex trade in order to pay off their migratory debts.

The cause of human trafficking stems from adverse circumstances in origin countries, including religious persecution, political dissension, lack of employment opportunities, and poverty. Wars and natural disasters also influence a migrant's decision to seek the services of a smuggler. Another causal factor is globalization, which has catapulted developing countries into the world's market, increasing the standard of living and contributing to the overall growth of the global economy. Unfortunately, globalization is a double-edged sword in that it has shaped the world's market for the transportation of illegal migrants, affording criminal organizations the ability to expand their networks and create transnational routes that facilitate the transporting of migrants, while technological advances have transformed large criminal enterprises into manageable, diversified groups.

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