Torture in [Romania] [other countries]Human Trafficking in [Romania Street Children in [Romania] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Romania] [other countries] |
Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery In the early
years of the 21st Century gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Romania.htm
Romania is a source, transit, and
destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes
of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. Romanian men, women, and
children are trafficked to Spain, Italy, Greece, the Czech Republic, and
Germany for commercial sexual exploitation, forced begging, and forced labor
in the agriculture, construction, and service sectors. Men and women from
Romania are trafficked to Cyprus, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Poland,
Portugal, Belgium, and Turkey, Sweden, Hungary, and Denmark for the purposes
of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. Romanian men, women, and
children are trafficked within the country for commercial sexual exploitation
and forced labor including forced begging and petty theft. - 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
Romania. 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. ***
FEATURED ARTICLES *** Revealed: kept in a dungeon ready to be
sold as slaves David Harrison in [accessed 19 December 2010] 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 Macedonia, locked in the dirty cellar and only summoned upstairs by
their masters to perform sexual services for customers who are usually drunk
and often violent. When they were found, the victims, some of whom had
been "broken in" as prostitutes in other countries on the way to
Macedonia, barely knew where they were. They had no idea what the future held
but knew that it was beyond their control. Freedom at Midnight: Human Trafficking in Paul Cristian Radu, Central Romanian
Investigative Journalism CRJI, January 10, 2003 www.crji.org/articles.php?id=4023 [accessed 2 September 2012] UNDERCOVER
INVESTIGATION REVEALS HOW YOUNG GIRLS ARE BEING BEATEN, ABUSED AND SOLD FOR A
FEW HUNDRED OF DOLLARS IN BUCHAREST’S BACKSTREETS. "Can I be sure
you're not giving me back to them?" Diana whispered from the backseat of
the car. "I'm scared." The
trembling figure, huddled in a blanket against a cold Bucharest night, had only
minutes earlier been just one of the legion of girls for sale in Romania's
human-trafficking market. Driven by
fear, her words tumbled out, "They hit me. He stabbed me with a knife.
You want to see the wound? I'm hungry. Do you like me? You want sex with
me? Can I have your kids
afterwards? "I'll be a good wife.
Do you want to marry me? You know, they starved me. Do you want me to take
off my blouse? I need to eat
something! Promise I will never be starved ever again? I want to smoke, too. And don't forget to
buy me chocolate." Diana - her
name has been changed for the purposes of this story - cost us 400 US
dollars. As part of a joint
investigation by IWPR and the Romanian Centre for Investigative Journalism,
RCIJ, we had just purchased her from a trafficker. A few days before, she had
passed New Years Eve chained and freezing in a dog cage. ***
ARCHIVES *** The Department of Labor’s 2004 Findings on
the Worst Forms of Child Labor www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/tda2004/romania.htm [accessed 19 December 2010] INCIDENCE
AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - There are indications that Romanian teenage boys and
girls are involved in the sex trade in the countries of Human Rights
Reports » 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61670.htm [accessed 19 December 2010] TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS – The IOM reported
assisting 100 trafficking victims, of whom all were female and 26 were
minors. A number of NGOs believed that many girls from orphanages were at
particular risk of being trafficked because they lacked the job skills and
training necessary to support themselves independently. Most victims were
women trafficked for sexual exploitation who had been recruited by persons
they knew or by newspaper advertisements. A friend or relative made the initial
offer, often telling the victim that she would obtain a job as a baby sitter
or waitress. According to IOM, most women were unaware that they would be
forced into prostitution. A minority of trafficked women was sold into
prostitution by parents or husbands or kidnapped by trafficking rings. There
were reports of young Romani women and girls being sold into marriage, a
traditional custom in Romani communities. Trafficking
victims endured poor, cramped living conditions. Traffickers ensured the
victims' compliance through threats, violence, and the confiscation of travel
documents. Human Rights
Reports » 2004 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2004/41703.htm [accessed 19 December 2010] TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS
– As of June, the country had approximately 34,000 children in orphanages, some
of which reportedly paid insufficient attention to the dangers of girls being
trafficked from their facilities. Persons forced out of orphanages between
the ages of 16 and 18 often had no identity documents, very little education,
and few, if any, job skills. NGOs believed that many girls from orphanages
were unaware of the danger and fell victim to trafficking networks. Women were
frequently recruited by persons they knew or by newspaper advertisements. A
friend or relative would make the initial offer, often telling the victim
that she would obtain a job as a baby sitter or waitress. According to the
IOM, most women were unaware that they would be forced into prostitution. A
minority of trafficked women were sold into prostitution by parents or husbands
or kidnapped by trafficking rings. Government officials reported that
trafficking rings appeared to be operated primarily by citizens; several
domestic prostitution rings were active in trafficking Concluding Observations of the Committee on
the Rights of the Child (CRC) UN Convention on the Rights of the Child,
31 January 2003 www1.umn.edu/humanrts/crc/romania2003.html [accessed 19 December 2010] [58] The Committee
notes the establishment in 2001 of a national Task Force on Trafficking, the
adoption of a national plan of action on trafficking, as well as the
increased efforts of the State party to cooperate in regional programs to
prevent trafficking and assist victims. Nevertheless, the Committee is
concerned that Romania continues to be a country of origin, of transit and,
to a lesser extent, of destination for trafficked children. Organ trafficking: a fast-expanding black
market IHS Jane's, 05 March 2008 www.janes.com/news/publicsafety/jid/jid080305_1_n.shtml [accessed 19 December 2010] Community leaders in Reuters, 28 August 2007 www.humantrafficking.org/updates/706 [accessed 19 December 2010] Children with at
least one parent working abroad are considered at risk by the local
authorities. These children fall victim to trafficking more easily due to
neglect and weakened family relationships. Young men and women who leave
foster care centres are also at risk, as many of
them are unprepared to live independently and have not been taught how to
make wise decisions. Teenagers coming
from vocational schools are in danger of being trafficked. The majority of
these students has a lower level of education and comes from families with
little to no economic opportunity. With few life prospects, they commonly
seek work abroad, which puts them at risk of being trafficked. New Center in www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=201344 [accessed 19 December 2010] WHY v
The number of missing children reported missing in
Romania has steadily increased from 244 in 2003, to 660 in 2004, to 750 in
2005. v
There are an estimated 100,000 homeless children
throughout Eastern Europe, including 2,000 in Romania. Child trafficking and
child prostitution are problems in Romania and represent a large threat throughout
Eastern Europe. Homeless or "street" children are frequent victims.
An estimated 5 percent of the homeless children in Romania are forced into
child prostitution. v
An estimated 30% of sex workers in Bucharest are under
18 years of age. Romania, and in particular Bucharest, is one of the key
travel destinations in Europe for child sex offenders. v
Romania is a country of origin and transit for women
and girls who are internationally trafficked from Moldova, Ukraine, and other
parts of the former Soviet Union to Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Romanian Police Break Up Human Trafficking
Ring dalje.com/en-world/romanian-police-break-up-human-trafficking-ring/30589 [accessed 19 December 2010] Romanian
authorities have dismantled a human trafficking ring that transported women
to Police said the
six-person gang recruited women in bars in villages in west Romania by
promising them well-paid jobs abroad. They took them out of the country
legally and sold them to Turks in the German towns of Stuttgart and Ludwigsburg. Human Trafficking Epidemic In Reuters, 27 Dec 2006 www.makewaypartners.org/Humantraffickingepidemicinbulgaria.htm [accessed 19 December 2010] Human trafficking
and drug smuggling were epidemic in Expert on Human Trafficking to Visit the Christian Newswire, At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 11 September 2011] The organization
Reaching Out operates a safe house in Dark side of migration Ana Maria Smadeanu
and Michael Bird, The Diplomat, 03 Oct 2006 www.mail-archive.com/romania_eu_list@yahoogroups.com/msg18419.html [accessed 19 December 2010] "I kidnap
girls from traffickers. That's my biggest pleasure,” says Iana
Matei, who runs Reaching Out, a programme
that shelters victims of human traffic.
“The traffickers don't know what's hit them. They're so used to people
being afraid of them. I take the girls from under their nose. In Romania, Matei finds out where a girl is being kept against her
will. Then she calls up the girl on her mobile, which the trafficked girls
keep for clients, and together they work out a free moment when the girl will
not be under the supervision of the trafficker. Then she plans the swoop. Reuters, uk.reuters.com/article/idUKL2864579420070228 [accessed 19 December 2010] Romanian
authorities are planning to legalise prostitution
as a way to help fight human trafficking and sex slavery, police say. Smuggler's Prey – [PDF] www.selfconnection.ca/Descriptions/9780143012597.pdf [accessed 19 December 2010] Every day, scores
of young women throughout the former East Bloc are lured by job offers that
lead to a hellish journey of sexual slavery and violence. Despite the barrage
of warnings on radio and TV, in newspapers and on billboards, desperate women
continue to line up with their naiveté and applications in hand, hoping that,
this time, they might just be in luck. Revealed: kept in a dungeon ready to be
sold as slaves David Harrison in [accessed 19 December 2010] 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 Mine for £1,300: Ileana, the teenage sex
slave ready to work in David Harrison. The Telegraph, 06 Nov 2005 [accessed 19 December 2010] This is no ordinary
business deal. I have just agreed to buy Ileana Petrescu,
a 19-year-old Romanian woman. Ileana was forced into prostitution two years
ago. I am to be her third "owner" and the first to take her out of
her home country. Freedom at Midnight: Human Trafficking in Paul Cristian Radu, Central Romanian Investigative Journalism CRJI,
January 10, 2003 www.crji.org/articles.php?id=4023 [accessed 2 September 2012] UNDERCOVER
INVESTIGATION REVEALS HOW YOUNG GIRLS ARE BEING BEATEN, ABUSED AND SOLD FOR A
FEW HUNDRED OF DOLLARS IN BUCHAREST’S BACKSTREETS. "Can I be sure
you're not giving me back to them?" Diana whispered from the backseat of
the car. "I'm scared." The
trembling figure, huddled in a blanket against a cold Bucharest night, had
only minutes earlier been just one of the legion of girls for sale in
Romania's human-trafficking market.
Driven by fear, her words tumbled out, "They hit me. He stabbed
me with a knife. You want to see the wound? I'm hungry. Do you like me? You
want sex with me? Can I have your kids
afterwards? "I'll be a good wife.
Do you want to marry me? You know, they starved me. Do you want me to take
off my blouse? I need to eat
something! Promise I will never be starved ever again? I want to smoke, too. And don't forget to
buy me chocolate." Diana - her
name has been changed for the purposes of this story - cost us 400 US dollars. As part of a joint investigation by IWPR
and the Romanian Centre for Investigative Journalism, RCIJ, we had just
purchased her from a trafficker. A few days before, she had passed New Years
Eve chained and freezing in a dog cage. Balkans Urged To Curb Trafficking Imogen Foulkes,
BBC News, news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4397497.stm [accessed 19 December 2010] Countries in Rescued from Sex Slavery - 48 Hours goes
undercover Rebecca Leung, CBS Broadcasting, Feb. 23,
2005 www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/02/23/48hours/main675913.shtml [accessed 19 December 2010] In a matter of hours, Van Sant encounters a husband and wife who claim to have a 17-year-old girl for sale. The girl is introduced as "Nicoleta" and touted by her owners as a highly skilled and profitable sex slave. Van Sant makes it clear he does not want to simply rent Nicoleta for the night, "You understand that if we come to terms, the girl is mine. She is mine. I will own her." The trafficker replies, "Yes, and then you can do whatever you want with her." Freedom House
Country Report - Political Rights: 2 Civil Liberties: 2 Status: Free 2009 Edition www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2009/romania [accessed 27 June 2012] Human Rights
Overview Human Rights Watch www.hrw.org/europecentral-asia/romania [accessed 19 December 2010] Stop Violence Against Women – Country Page The Advocates for Human Rights, 24 November
2008 [accessed 19 December 2010] Library of Congress Call Number DR205 .R613
1990 lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/rotoc.html [accessed 19 December 2010] Red light on human traffic Emma Nicholson MEP, Guardian, 1 July 2004 www.guardian.co.uk/society/2004/jul/01/adoptionandfostering.europeanunion [accessed 19 December 2010] As this
international trade in children grew, so too did the power of the criminal
gangs at the centre. Impoverished families were coerced and deceived into
giving up their children who were then effectively sold on to Western couples
under the guise of international adoption. Children from neighbouring countries were also torn from their families
as Romania became a regional focal point for this inhumane trade. Joint East West Research on Trafficking in
Children for Sexual Purposes in Edited by: Muireann
O’Briain, Anke van den
Borne & Theo Noten, ECPAT Europe Law
Enforcement Group, Amsterdam 2004 www.childcentre.info/projects/traffickin/dbaFile11169.pdf [accessed 19 December 2010] [page 34] The Romanian report says that depending on
the position of the trafficker within the criminal network, the price that
each receives for ‘selling’ a girl will vary. On the first sale, the
trafficker will receive from €100 to €400 (usually the transaction is made at
the border). The trafficker who sells a girl outside the country usually
receives up to €1,000. After this, the prices that the traffickers get will
increase with each sale. Some traffickers tend to look for children that are
already exploited in prostitution in their own country. Then they can just
buy the minors from the local pimps and sell them outside the country. Shopping for Romanian babies BBC News, 3 March 2000 news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/664916.stm [accessed 19 December 2010] She gives me three
to chose from - Andrei, Nico,
or Liviu - the ones she knows she can easily get
permission for from their impoverished parents. "I can forge their signatures if
necessary," she says. The sum of
$20,000 is mentioned and she says she can get the baby delivered, all papers
intact (her daughter is a lawyer) to my home in north London. Romania cracks down on trade of orphan
babies to the West Allan Hall, The Scotsman, 04 October 2004 news.scotsman.com/world/Romania-cracks-down-on-trade.2569163.jp [accessed 19 December 2010] Romanian
authorities have confirmed that scores of people, including at least three
British couples, are being investigated for allegedly using a legal loophole
to buy babies from In an effort to
enforce the ban, the government recently authorised
tough penalties of up to seven years in jail for families who accept money or
other goods in exchange for giving up a child. Sex and slavery John Gibb, The Observer, 23 February 2003 www.guardian.co.uk/theobserver/2003/feb/23/features.magazine67 [accessed 19 December 2010] This is what she
told me: 'I am from The outreach
worker, a tall, angular woman in jeans and an English football jersey smiles,
'You mean you were selling black-market cigarettes?' 'Yes. Some men came
while I was there and they forced me to get into their car. They were
Albanians and they drove me to a hotel in Montenegro. After a while, an
Albanian man arrived and bought me. He took me to the border with Albania. He
drove me to a place called Shiak, where he sold me
to another Albanian for 3,000 Lek (£150). Human Trade, Slave Markets, The Buying And
Selling Of People [PDF] Amnesty International, October 5, 2005 www.csuchico.edu/stop/pdfs/AIUSA%20Summary%20info.pdf [accessed 28 August 2011] VIOLENCE AND THREATS – For most of
these women and girls, as soon as their journey begins, so does the
systematic abuse of their rights, in a strategy that reduces them to
dependency on their trafficker, and later their “owner”. The realization
grows that the work they have been offered is not what was promised; their
documents are taken away from them; they may be beaten; they will—almost
certainly if they start to protest—be raped. Although some women
are not aware until they reach their destination that they have been sold,
other have seen money change hands, or have been
raped by buyers when they “try the merchandise”. Women are often sold several
times before reaching their destination. Escape is almost impossible. Without
her travel documents, a woman is likely to be arrested for immigration or
other offences. But probably more pertinently, trafficked women are usually
trapped by threats, coercion, or literally being locked inside. “We worked from 9am
to 11pm. After that he said, ‘You do what you like’, but we were locked. When
we asked to go out he said no, that we had to be here. We slept in a room
together, me and another girl. All the windows had bars.” – Romanian girl
trafficked into Kosovo. Trafficking of Women Olivera Simic,
University for Peace, Peace and Conflict Monitor, November 16, 2004 www.monitor.upeace.org/innerpg.cfm?id_article=219 [accessed 19 December 2010] BiH has become one of
the main destination countries for women mainly from All
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ARTICLES. Cite this webpage as: Patt,
Prof. Martin, "Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery - |
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