UKRAINE: Raise in Human Trafficking at the Border

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Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, over 6.6 million refugees have left their homes behind. Most of them have settled in close countries such as Poland, Romania, and Moldova. Others have moved a bit further away to England, Germany, Finland amongst many other nations. On top of this, 7.7 million people have been displaced within the country. The war has left a huge toll on the Ukrainian elderly, children and women who make up the bulk of those that have fled since 24 February 2022. 

Unfortunately, a side effect of the influx of people, has been a steady threat of human trafficking. These heinous criminals take advantage of the fact that these Ukrainian refugees depend on the kindness of people. First they offer them help and then ruin their lives. 

Ukrainian refugees left Ukraine in droves on packed trains (Image: istockphoto.com)

VOLUNTEERS IN DROVES

In the first days of the war, there was a flood of volunteers. They were all inspired to help in some way to the Ukraine effort. These kind individuals and organisations where touched by the suffering of the refugees and wanted to help in some way. Everything from giving directions at the train station, offering free shelter and transport, or just donating goods was welcomed. 

Tired and shell-shocked Ukrainians crossed the border in droves, looking for a safe place to land. The bulk of the refugees were made up of women, some accompanied by young children. 

Now, many weeks after the war has started, there is a growing fear that many of these refugees could fall pray to human trafficking. This can take shape of criminals disguising themselves as helpful volunteers. Then, they would lure their victims with the promise of free accommodation, free transport,  or job offers. 

UNVERIFIED RESOURCES

A high percentage of the volunteers on the Polish border, which has seen the most amount of Ukrainian refugees, are unverified. These are private individuals who want to help in any way they can. This means that it is quite easy for somebody to pretend that they are volunteers.

Refugees and verified volunteers (those associated with an organisation) have created some systems that they can use to verify somebody. For example, when a refugee accepts a ride with a stranger, they can take a picture of the car registration number. They can also ask to see the ID of the driver, and then also put the phone GPS tracker on and share the location with a friend. 

These are some small ways that one can use to protect themselves against human trafficking. However, this does not always guarantee safety. Authorities have also tried to bring awareness to the situation by printing out flyers and distributing them on both sides of the border. These include information on how to protect oneself from trafficking and how to report sexual violence or misconduct. 

SCOPE OF ISSUE IS UNKNOWN

The biggest problem when we talk about human trafficking of Ukrainian victims is that the extent of the issue is unknown. This is not a new problem. But, now it has exacerbated due to the amount of women and children that are escaping. This gives a higher amount of potential victims for these human trafficking rings. 

One concern is that the controls around the borders are quite lax. The refugees are processed through the customs, and then they may get a medical check and some food. After that, they are packed into buses and onto the next destination. This gives the perfect opportunity for someone to act in a horrific way and lure these victims to an awful future.

The most commonly suspected trafficking of these Ukrainian women and children is of the sexual nature. This can be things like forced prostitution, sexual slavery or pornography. However, this can also be for forced labour for works such as construction, farm work or bricklaying and stone works. Victims can also include boys and men. 

A shocking thing about sexual trafficking, in this part of the world, is that the authorities don't take these crimes seriously. The pimps, and their associates, rarely get sent to jail. And, even if they are incarcerated, the jail terms are not that long. To the point that it is less than a drug charge. Therefore, a crime syndicate prefers to sell humans rather than cocaine or weed. 

More than half of the children in Ukraine have been displaced due to the war (Image: istockphoto.com)

RUSSIA IS TO BLAME, BUT THE OTHERS ALSO 

Another way that these victims fall prey to human trafficking is through opportunistic Russian soldiers or corrupt taxi drivers. For example, the victims are directed to flee into Russia, where they are taken advantage of by organised crime syndicates or human traffickers. There, the victims are exploited and they have nowhere to turn to. 

In Europe, the situation is not much better. There has been a huge increase in the amount of sexual crimes such as rape or misconduct towards Ukrainian refuges since this war has started. The number is estimated at over 2 million people, but this can't be verified. These crimes are reported all over the border countries such as Poland, Romania, Moldova and Hungary. 

WAYS TO COMBAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING

One effective way to reduce the risk of human trafficking was for the European Union to introduce visa-free entry to Ukrainian refugees in any EU country. For example, in Finland, the process for a Ukrainian national to start work and to register is quite easy. This reduces the need for people to seek smugglers because they have that accessibility to any country they want. 

Another way was that many countries organised that Ukrainian refugees have access to free transportation, and also to have accommodation and some basic necessities provided by the government. It is much safer for one to seek help from a verified, registered organisation with volunteers that are screened. On top of this, the people offering help have adequate training to deal with people fleeing conflict situations. 

CONCLUSION

Repeatedly, we have seen how victims of crisis are at a high risk of being trafficked. This trend can be followed for example with Syrian refugees escaping to Middle East, Turkey and Europe after the war in their country broke out. 

People who escape war are often in a very dangerous and precarious situation. They are  traumatised by what they experience, and at the same time focused on finding a safe place to settle down. Traffickers can sense their vulnerability and take advantage of that. Women and young children are statistically more sought after than men. However, this does not mean that men and boys can't also be victims. 

More needs to be done by authorities to prevent these crimes and also to increase penalties so that criminals are afraid to get caught and go to jail. 

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