Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery Poverty drives the unsuspecting poor into the
hands of traffickers Published reports & articles
from 2000 to 2025 gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Poland.htm
Poland is a source
country for men and women trafficked to Italy, Austria, Germany, Belgium,
France, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Israel for purposes of forced
labor and sexual exploitation. It is also a transit and destination country
for women trafficked from Moldova, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, Belarus,
Russia, Sudan, Senegal, Uganda, Kenya, Djibouti, China, and Vietnam for the
purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. Women from Ukraine, Bulgaria,
Mongolia, and Vietnam are trafficked to Poland for purposes of forced labor,
forced begging, and debt bondage. - U.S.
State Dept Trafficking in Persons Report,
June, 2009 Check
out a later country report here and possibly a full TIP Report here |
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CAUTION: The following
links have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in
Poland. Some of these links may lead
to websites that present allegations that are unsubstantiated or even
false. No attempt has been made to
validate their authenticity or to verify their content. HOW TO USE THIS WEB-PAGE Students If you are looking
for material to use in a term-paper, you are advised to scan the postings on
this page and others to see which aspects of Human Trafficking are of
particular interest to you. Would you like
to write about Forced-Labor? Debt
Bondage? Prostitution? Forced Begging? Child Soldiers? Sale of Organs? etc. On the other
hand, you might choose to include precursors of trafficking such as poverty and hunger. There is a lot to
the subject of Trafficking. Scan other
countries as well. Draw comparisons
between activity in adjacent countries and/or regions. Meanwhile, check out some of the Term-Paper resources
that are available on-line. Teachers Check out some of
the Resources
for Teachers attached to this website. HELP for Victims La Strada ***
FEATURED ARTICLE *** Human Trafficking
Ring Raided in Associated Press AP,
Rome, 19 July 2006 www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_wires/2006Jul19/0,4675,ItalyHumanTrafficking,00.html [accessed 2
September 2014] www.theguardian.com/world/2006/jul/20/italy.internationalcrime [accessed 11
February 2018] "Gangsters
working in Poland recruited people looking for seasonal jobs picking fruit
and vegetables in Italy through announcements in local newspapers,"
Bienkowski told a news conference. He said workers had to pay travel
costs and a one-time work-finders fee of up to $280. But once in Italy, their
situation quickly deteriorated. The workers were promised $6.30-$7.50 per
hour before leaving, but received only $1.25 an hour after arriving,
Bienkowski said. They were quartered in barracks with horrible sanitary
conditions and had to pay for food and board, which pushed most of them into
debt. Tales of sex and
sadness from inside Amelia Hill, The
Observer, 23 December 2007 www.guardian.co.uk/society/2007/dec/23/communities.socialexclusion [accessed 19
December 2010] 'I'D BEEN DREAMING
OF A FUTURE AS A WIFE AND A MOTHER' - 'I had been working as a waitress, dreaming of a future as a wife and mother,' Alma says. 'This man shared my Muslim religion. I trusted him. When he locked me in his house, took away all my money and possessions, I was terrified. But when he forced me into a car and had a friend drive me to a foreign country where I didn't speak the language or know anyone, I was beside myself . My family went to the police but after a week I knew they wouldn't take me back because, according to our religion, I was ruined. 'He beat me and made me live with another girl who spied on me. She wouldn't leave me for a second and reported to this man if I did anything that looked like trying to escape. He forced me to work in the brothel, but the clients complained because I just cried all the time. The manager asked me what was wrong. I didn't have the language to express myself, but eventually I managed to explain. I don't think she felt sorry for me, but she saw that I wasn't going to earn her brothel any money because I would never willingly work. She helped me to escape and I went to the police. This has damaged my life in all directions. I have no dreams now and no hopes. I have nothing.' ***
ARCHIVES *** 2020 Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices: Poland U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor, 30 March 2021 www.state.gov/reports/2020-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/poland/
[accessed 21 June
2021] PROHIBITION OF
FORCED OR COMPULSORY LABOR There were reports
that foreign and Polish men and women were subjected to forced labor in
construction, agriculture, and restaurants and that
children were subjected to forced begging (see section 7.c.). PROHIBITION OF CHILD
LABOR AND MINIMUM AGE FOR EMPLOYMENT Some children
younger than 18 engaged in hazardous work in agriculture, primarily on family
farms. Migrant Romani children from Romania were subjected to forced begging. Freedom House
Country Report 2020 Edition freedomhouse.org/country/poland/freedom-world/2020 [accessed 5 May 2020] G4. DO INDIVIDUALS
ENJOY EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY AND FREEDOM FROM ECONOMIC EXPLOITATION? The law provides
meaningful protections against abusive working conditions and child labor,
especially in the formal sector. The authorities work to combat human
trafficking, but women and children are still subjected to trafficking for
sexual exploitation and foreign migrant workers are vulnerable to conditions
amounting to forced labor. Human trafficking
gang sentenced to six years NDS 7thspace.com/headlines/359712/uk_human_trafficking_gang_sentenced_to_six_years.html
[accessed 19 December
2010] www.gov.uk/government/news/human-trafficking-gang-sentenced-to-six-years [accessed 22
February 2019] The UK arm of the
gang, based in the Burngreave area of Sheffield, had sought to lure genuine
Polish workers to the UK on the promise of paid work and a better life. In
reality the workers would find themselves being forced to work up to 12 hours
a day and then housed in a derelict property at night, unable to leave. The scam worked by
recruiting the workers via newspapers and the internet in Poland, and then
asking them to pay money up front for accommodation and the necessary
documentation they´d need to work in the UK - on average between £300-£500
each. On arrival they´d be picked up from the airport and then taken to the
Halcar Tavern, Carwood Grove in Human trafficking
in Agence France-Presse
AFP, www.iol.co.za/news/world/human-trafficking-in-poland-on-the-rise-un-1.444830 [accessed 19
December 2010] Human trafficking
in Trafficking for
labour and prostitution is already endemic in Poland, said Ezeilo, adding
that data from the police indicates that cases of human trafficking are
"growing by the day."
Despite the growth, inspectors did not have the "necessary
capacity" to deal with the issue. Combating
Trafficking for Forced Labor Purposes in the OSCE Region Mark P. Lagon,
Director, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons Hearing Before the
U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, Washington, DC,
October 11, 2007 www.csce.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContentRecords.ViewTranscript&ContentRecord _id=397&ContentType=H,B&ContentRecordType=H&CFID=18849146&CFTOKEN=53 [accessed 10
September 2011] 2001-2009.state.gov/g/tip/rls/rm/07/93496.htm [accessed 11
February 2018] Last year, press reports
indicated that in Poland, announcements in local newspapers lured workers to
Italy for seasonal jobs picking fruit and vegetables. They were promised an
hourly wage of up to $7.50, only after paying a finder’s fee and travel
costs. Once in Italy the reality was much different. Nearly 100 Polish
workers were forced to live in barracks with no sanitation or running water,
fed only bread and water and were paid just $1.25 an hour. With these meager
wages, they were unable to pay the room and board and were pushed into debt.
Attempts to resist were met with severe beatings and torture. Suspected human
trafficking gang leader nabbed in Poland Deutsche
Presse-Agentur (German Press Agency) DPA, rawstory.com/news/2006/Suspected_human_trafficking_gang_le_11152006.html [accessed 19
December 2010] RELATED:: euobserver.com/social/22128 [accessed 11
February 2018] In July, a joint
operation saw Italian and Polish police free more than a hundred Polish
citizens that were being held in Nazi-style labour camps in Italy's Apulia
region, close to the cities of Bari and Foggi. Polish prosecutors investigating the
Italian slave labour camps using Polish nationals began questioning victims
in the case in mid- October. Polish
justice officials believe that up to 1,000 Poles may have been used as slaves
in Nazi-style agricultural labour camps in the Apulia region that forms the
heel of Italy's boot. UK anti-human
trafficking campaign Bogdan Zaryn,
Polskie Radio, 26 April 2006 www.webcitation.org/query?id=1149293610873686 [accessed 19
December 2010] The British authorities argue that Poland’s accession to the EU has made it that much easier for traffickers to recruit their victims.” It’s estimated that roughly 10,000 Polish women have been the victims of domestic and international human trafficking mills. Jolanta Plakwicz from the Polish Feminist Union thinks that the figure is much higher. Flesh Peddling The www.warsawvoice.pl/WVpage/pages/article.php/5682/article [accessed 19
December 2010] Human trafficking
and slavery are not a thing of the past; they are a frightening reality of
today. The number of detected cases of
trafficking in women and children forced into prostitution is growing. Over
the past nine years various organizations and police in Poland have been
approached by 1,511 women; in 2003 alone, there were 261 reports WHOM THEY SEEK - Ideal victims
for recruiters are women who cannot speak foreign languages, have never been
abroad and have no knowledge of the law, so that when they are expelled from
Poland, they will be helpless.
Procurers know well where to look for such women. They choose first
and foremost those who are greatly affected by a lack of money and those who
have looked for a job for a long time. The best candidates come from broken
homes or have poor contact with their parents. That provides a kind of a
protection for the pimp: when problems arise, the woman has no one to turn
to. The candidates do not have to be young and beautiful. Procurers recruit
both 16-year-olds and women over 45. ENAWA Annual Report
on Violence Against Women in 10 Countries Sources: World
Organisation Against Torture OMCT & AVIVA, July 31 2003 nyc.indymedia.org/media/text/violence_a.txt [accessed 28 June
2013] In Unaccompanied
children in Poland - new program by Nobody's Children Foundation and Polish
Office of Repatriation and Aliens Child Centre for
Children at Risk in the www.childcentre.info/projects/traffickin/poland/dbaFile11163.html [accessed 19
December 2010] www.childrenatrisk.eu/blog/unaccompanied-children-in-poland-new-program-by-nobodys-children-foundation-and-polish-office-of-repatriation-and-aliens/ [accessed 11
February 2018] New Polish law on
providing protection for refugees staying in the territory of Poland that
came into force in November 2003 includes an innovative regulations on
procedure of admitting a refugee status to unaccompanied minors. The
act obliges the state authority among others to: * creating a special
“friendly” conditions of minors interviewing * guarantying the
presence of psychologist during a minors interview * preparing by
psychologist an opinion about the interviewed minor’s
psycho-health condition Research based on
case studies of victims of trafficking in human beings in 3 EU Member States,
i.e. Belgium, Italy and The Netherlands [PDF] Commission of the
European Communities, DG Justice & Home Affairs, , Hippokrates
JAI/2001/HIP/023 At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 10
September 2011] 2.8.1.4. THE World Congress
Against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children United States
Embassy At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 10
September 2011] CHILDREN OF And so the
trafficking of children from Eastern Europe into the countries of the West
has grown. Once in Western Europe, the children are often passed through
paedophile networks until they effectively disappear. The Department of Labor’s 2003 Findings on
the Worst Forms of Child Labor www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/tda2003/poland.htm [accessed 19
December 2010] Note:: Also check out this country’s report in the more recent edition DOL
Worst Forms of Child Labor GOVERNMENT
POLICIES AND PROGRAMS TO ELIMINATE THE WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR - In September
2003, the Government of Poland approved a national plan to combat trafficking
that coordinates the efforts of the government, the private sector, and
NGOs. In cooperation with the Global
Program Against Trafficking in Human Beings of the United Nations Office on
Drugs and Crime, the government has also started a project against
trafficking in persons. The project aims is to strengthen criminal justice
responses to trafficking and to enhance the coordination among the criminal
justice system, civil society, and other organizations to prevent trafficking
and control the involvement of organized crime. INCIDENCE
AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - There are also reports that girls are trafficked to
and from Concluding
Observations Of The Committee On The Rights Of The Child (CRC) UN Convention on the
Rights of the Child, 4 October 2002 www1.umn.edu/humanrts/crc/poland2002.html [accessed 19
December 2010] [48] While noting the
increased efforts of the State party to cooperate in regional programs to
prevent trafficking and repatriate victims, the Committee is nevertheless
concerned that The Protection
Project – Poland [PDF] The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS),
The Johns Hopkins University www.protectionproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Poland.pdf [accessed 24
February 2016] A Human Rights
Report on Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children ***
EARLIER EDITIONS OF SOME OF THE ABOVE *** Human Rights
Reports » 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61668.htm [accessed 10
February 2020] TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS
– Traffickers targeted young, unemployed, and poorly paid women, particularly
those with weak family ties and support networks. Traffickers attracted
victims through methods including fake employment offers, arranged marriages,
fraud, and coercion. Some victims believed that they were accepting
employment abroad as waitresses, maids, or nannies. While traveling to their
purported destinations, traffickers confiscated their passports and identity
papers and exerted control over them through fear and intimidation.
Traffickers threatened victims with violence, and those who resisted or tried
to flee were raped, beaten, or intentionally injured. As many as 90
percent of those trafficked in the country had false travel documents, and
the trafficking operation usually involved a network of criminals. One
criminal would recruit the victim; a second would provide false travel
documents and traffic her across the border; and a third would supervise her
work with clients, functioning as a pimp. Arrest statistics indicated that
approximately 25 percent of traffickers were non-citizens. Unlike in previous
years, there were no reports of large-scale auctions of women in All
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ARTICLES. Cite this webpage as: Patt,
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