Torture in [Macedonia] [other countries]Human Trafficking in [Macedonia Street Children in [Macedonia] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Macedonia] [other countries] |
Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery In the early
years of the 21st Century gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Macedonia.htm
Macedonia is a
source, transit, and destination country for women and children trafficked
for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. Macedonian women and
children are trafficked internally within the country. Victims trafficked
into Macedonia are primarily from Albania and Kosovo. Macedonian victims and
victims transiting through Macedonia are trafficked to South Central and
Western Europe. Children, primarily ethnic Roma, are trafficked for the
purpose of forced begging within the country. Victims were trafficked for the
purpose of forced labor in Macedonia’s service sectors. - U.S. State Dept Trafficking in
Persons Report, June, 2009 [full country report] |
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CAUTION: The following
links have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in ***
FEATURED ARTICLE *** Revealed: kept in a dungeon ready to be
sold as slaves David Harrison in Skopje, The Telegraph, 27
Nov 2005 [accessed 19 February 2011] The women, aged 18
to 24, are from across eastern Europe, lured from Romania, Moldova, Ukraine
and Bulgaria, with promises of good jobs as waitresses, au pairs and
dancers. Instead, they have been
forced into modern-day slavery in western ***
ARCHIVES *** The Department of Labor’s 2004 Findings on
the Worst Forms of Child Labor www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/tda2004/macedonia.htm [accessed 19 February 2011] INCIDENCE
AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - Children are trafficked to CURRENT
GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND PROGRAMS TO ELIMINATE THE WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR - The government’s
National Commission for Prevention and Suppression of Trafficking in Persons
has established a Secretariat, which includes police officials, NGOs, the
OSCE, and the IOM. A Trafficking of Children sub-group has been formed
within the Secretariat. The government
cooperates with IOM to provide a shelter for victims of trafficking. The government has
signed the Agreement on Co-operation to Prevent and Combat Trans-border Crime
in an effort to prevent trafficking and develop an effective transnational
database mechanism. The countries of
the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe, including Human Rights
Reports » 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61662.htm [accessed 19 February 2011] TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS
– While the country remained primarily a transit and destination point for
trafficking, officials and others acknowledged that it was a point of origin
for a small number of trafficking victims. Women from the country were
trafficked throughout the former There were four
reported cases of trafficking involving girls during the year. There were
reports that female minors were recruited by some massage parlor owners to
perform sexual services for clients. In at least one case, authorities shut
down a massage parlor operating in this way. Trafficked women
were forced to work in prostitution, often under the guise of dancers,
hostesses, or waitresses in local clubs. Police raids and testimony by
victims confirmed that trafficking victims were subjected to threats,
violence, physical and psychological abuse, and seizure of documents to
ensure compliance. Macedonian suspected of involvement in
human trafficking arrested in Kosovo www.makfax.com.mk/look/novina/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=2&NrArticle=106451&NrIssue=618&NrSection=20 [access date unavailable] He is suspected of
having proposed a false marriage offer to a girl from Vucitrn
only to lure her in a motel located in the vicinity of Tetovo
and force her into prostitution. Life in prison for child sexual abuse makfaxonline Internet Daily
Newspaper, At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 8 September 2011] The Criminal Code
will be also supplemented with "Trafficking with minors". A person
who solicitates, transports, buys, sells or accepts
an underage person for sexual exploitation, pornography, forced labor, etc,
will be punished with at least 8-year prison sentence. The buildings and
premises used for committing human trafficking or trafficking with minors,
including hotels, motels, bars, apartments, are also subject to confiscation. Judiciary - weak link in combating human
trafficking www.makfax.com.mk/look/novina/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=2&NrArticle=56897&NrIssue=284&NrSection=10 [access date unavailable] Judiciary is one of
the weakest links in the chain in Macedonian institutions as to the fight
against illegal migration and trafficking in human beings. Combat Against Human Trafficking, Key Issue
For Vecer News, February 23,
2007 macedoniadaily.blogspot.com/2007/02/combat-against-human-trafficking-key.html [accessed 21 March 2011] The Macedonian
Interior Ministry prepared 53 charges against 111 perpetrators in the field
of human trafficking, forced prostitution and emigrants trafficking. Revealed: kept in a dungeon ready to be
sold as slaves David Harrison in [accessed 19 February 2011] The women, aged 18
to 24, are from across eastern Europe, lured from Romania, Moldova, Ukraine
and Bulgaria, with promises of good jobs as waitresses, au pairs and
dancers. Instead, they have been
forced into modern-day slavery in western Balkans Urged To Curb Trafficking Imogen Foulkes,
BBC News, news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4397497.stm [accessed 19 February 2011] Countries in Freedom House Country Report - Political Rights: 3 Civil Liberties: 3 Status: Partly Free 2009 Editiion www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2009/macedonia [accessed 27 June 2012] Stop Violence Against Women – Country Page The Advocates for Human Rights, 24 November
2008 [accessed 19 February 2011] Reality At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 8 September 2011] The US Secretary of
State Colin Powell and the Director of the Office to Monitor and Combat
Trafficking in Persons, John Miller, presented Monday the fourth annual
report on trafficking in human beings.
Macedonia is the only country in the Balkan region, placed in the
first tier of 25 mainly Western European countries which fully comply with
the US standards on the fight against human trafficking. Psychosocial Support to Groups of Victims
of Human Trafficking in Transit Situations Edited by Guglielmo
Schinina -- Psychosocial Notebook, Vol. 4, February
2004, International Organization for
Migration IOM, ISSN 1680-1970 publications.iom.int/bookstore/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=207 [accessed 23 April 2012] THE A doctor is present
every day at the T.C. and two nurses are there during the night for
emergencies. Pregnancy tests, gynecological examinations, TB tests and
general check-ups are offered to the women on a strictly voluntary basis.
Whenever a woman is in need of specialized care, a qualified professional
follows her case. Regrettably, some women arrive at the T.C. with significant
physical trauma, including broken legs and gunshot wounds and need surgical
attention, rehabilitation and hospitalization. These individual cases are
transferred to local health institutions. Report on Situation with Children Rights in
OneWorld Platform for www.oneworldsee.org/mk/node/5516 [accessed 19 February 2011] Macedonian NGOs say
that the children in “They can be
victims of almost anything this side of the classical trafficking in
children, which is rare, but also very possible, having in mind the current
situation with the economy in the country. Physical violence remains the
greatest problem, for many parents believe that the children are their
property”, says Gordana Zmijanac
from the First Children Embassy “Medjasi”. Eugen Tomiuc,
Radio Free Europe/Radio www.rferl.org/content/article/1055188.html [accessed 19 February 2011] Victims are usually
young girls from poor families who graduate from middle school without few, if
any, prospects for the future. But
older women can also fall prey to traffickers. Twenty-nine-year-old
Mariana is from a village in northern Moldova and spent more than four years
in Macedonia after being sold to Serbian traffickers. She thought she was being led into Italy,
but instead, this is what she says happened. MARIANA: When we arrived
in Macedonia, we were sent to a policeman's house. The policeman bought girls
and then sold them to nightclubs. We spent one month and a half at his place.
I did not know where I was and asked him when we were going to Italy. He
said, "Italy is here." Then he sold me to a club. Prostitution Rampage Through Reality At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 8 September 2011] The police
discovered the group after one of the abused girls reported that she's been a
victim of human trafficking. According the preliminary reports, the girl R.A.
was forced twice into whoring with Greek citizens. In March this year, the
suspects M.A. and A.N. sold the girl to Sh.K. from Kichevo for 150 Euros. He and his unwed wife forced the
girl to serve them in their bar. The bosses sold the girl to the Ohrid resident D.B. for 100 Euros June 6, 2003. He also
forced the girl into prostitution in his bar "Persa." The same day, the
accused Sh.K. bought the 14-year old girl A.M.
(native of Prilep) from some man from Bitola,
paying 50 Euros. Sh.K. forced the girl to
prostitute herself. Several days afterward, D.B. bought the girl A.N., also
to force her to work as a servant and prostitute. Since she refused the
orders of her owners, she endured repeated raping between June 14 and June
17, 2003. -
htcp Row Over Escaped Trafficker Sase Dimovski
- Balkans: Regional Reporting & Sustainable Training, BCR Issue 440, 6
Sep 2005 iwpr.net/report-news/macedonia-row-over-escaped-trafficker [accessed 19 February 2011] A notorious human
trafficker’s escape from jail has highlighted flaws in the Macedonian
judiciary which could hamper the authorities’ efforts to stamp out organised crime. Dilaver “Leku” Bojku escaped from the minimum-security Struga prison, where he was serving a six-month sentence
for forcing a woman into prostitution, on June 20. Struga prison director Dragan Petreski and senior
prisons official Ljupco Sapcevski
were both dismissed five days later and are now facing criminal charges over the
incident, as is a Macedonian security guard present when Bojku
made his dash for freedom. But
Macedonian prime minister Branko Crvenkovski has placed the blame for Bojku’s
escape firmly on the republic’s judicial system, which is perceived to be
inefficient and in need of a radical overhaul. Ohrid Police Saves Nine
Victims of Human Trafficking Irina Gelevska,
Reality At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 8 September 2011] Two days ago, the
local police in Ohrid discovered a young Romanian
girl (16), who was forced into prostitution in the night club "Playboy." The girl, a victim of human trafficking,
informed the police that 8 Ukrainian girls work as sex slaves in the same
night club. 535 Registered Victims of Human Trafficking
in Irina Gelevska,
Reality At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 8 September 2011] Five hundred thirty
five women have been sold and forced to prostitution in Girl, 15, Sold to Work as Slave In the
Brothels of Dominic Kennedy, Reality At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 8 September 2011] A sex slave aged 15
can be bought for as little as £1,300 it emerged, after a Romanian girl who
had been prostituted across Natasha, age 15,
came to the notice of traffickers and soon she was forced to become a
“dancing girl” in a nightclub in the south of Macedonia, where, for six months, her duties included stripping
and having sex with clients. She
escaped this club when she was purchased, without her knowledge, by Jorgi, an Albanian pimp, for 4,000 German marks (£1,300). He forced her to
telephone saunas and massage parlours, finding the
numbers from the back pages of the magazine What’s On In London. He drove her
to and from work, pocketing the cash that she was paid. “I was working morning, afternoon and
evening. Sometimes I would get home at 7am and would have to start work again
at 11am,” Natasha said. “I hated all
the men I was working for. But if you didn’t do what they were saying they
would always get angry and hit you and swear at you.” After Jorgi hit her she would cover the bruising with make-up
and go to work again. -
htcp Irina Gelevska,
Reality At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 8 September 2011] Between August 2001
and November 2001, Macedonian Police discovered 328 [trafficked] women in the
raids in the night bars in the West and Northwest of the country. 12% of them
are young girls aged 14 to 16. A Skopje shelter, run by IOM with the
assistance from the police, accepted 6 girls under age of 18 during this
year. UNICEF's child
protection officer Carry Nill says that the problem
of child sex slavery in Macedonia worsened during the last two years. Macedonia is known
as a country on the route of trafficking women for prostitution [in Western
Europe], and also as destination country for this kind of organized crime.
Since the last year's security crisis in the country, Macedonia becomes a
lair for children trafficking as well. Trapped in Pravda.Ru, 11.05.2002 english.pravda.ru/news/russia/11-05-2002/42461-0/ [accessed 19 February 2011] MSNBC reports that
on buses and cars and crossing borders on foot Natasha followed a path to sex
slavery trodden by thousands of other hapless women, passing, under the
watchful eyes of a gang of Balkans thugs, through Natasha says that
she was forced to sleep with more than thousand men during her nine months in
Veleshta. Besides the Albanians and Macedonians,
there were men from France, Germany and the United States, she said,
referring to soldiers from the NATO peacekeeping mission in Macedonia and
nearby Kosovo. They were as bad as the
rest, Natasha said. They did anything they wanted to us. And besides, if Meti heard me asking them for help, he would have killed
me. MSNBC: Albanian Nationalists Profit From
Sex Slavery and Drugs in Reality At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 8 September 2011] Tanja said that their
bosses paid a lot of money for them so that girls were supposed to repay the
debt. However, the repayment didn’t end in a month, but prolonged for a year.
Another Ukrainian woman Oxana says that she tried
to run away couple of times, but she was violently prevented from doing so.
After one unsuccessful attempt, her owners beat her up for a week. Her face
was made blue and she had several broken ribs. All
material used herein reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107
for noncommercial, nonprofit, and educational use. PLEASE RESPECT COPYRIGHTS OF COMPONENT
ARTICLES. Cite this webpage as: Patt,
Prof. Martin, "Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery - |
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Torture in [Macedonia] [other countries]Human Trafficking in [Macedonia Street Children in [Macedonia] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Macedonia] [other countries]