CEE Story From The Mission Field

Human Trafficking

November 20, 2007

“Earn money abroad. Waiters, housemaids, and managers needed for world-renowned hotel chain. Immediate openings. Potential to earn thousands.”

Natasha couldn’t believe her eyes. She’d been looking for employment ever since she graduated, but she could find no jobs in Moldova. This newspaper advertisement was an answer to prayer. “Why not try it?” she thought to herself. Most of her friends found jobs in other countries. Why shouldn’t she? She picks up the phone and makes the call.

Two weeks later, Natasha sits in a small, windowless room with a foam mattress on the floor and a bare bulb giving off insufficient light. Her head is shaved, and she has bruises all over her body. The door opens, and a man quietly slips in and undresses. Natasha shrinks into a small ball—this is not the job she applied for.

Tricked and sold into slavery, Natasha has no where to turn for help.

Epidemic

Over the past decade, the trafficking of human beings has reached epidemic proportions. No country is immune. The search for work abroad has been fueled by economic disparity, high unemployment, and the disruption of traditional livelihoods. Traffickers face few risks and can earn huge profits by taking advantage of large numbers of potential emmigrants, like Natasha, searching for a better life.

Human trafficking is believed to be growing fastest in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Europol estimates that the industry is now worth several billion dollars a year. Some 2.5 million men, women, and children are victims of trafficking. It is estimated they produce more than $31 billion a year in illicit profits. On a global level, this represents about $13,000 per year for each trafficked person.

Due to the “hidden” nature of trafficking activities, gathering statistics on the magnitude of the problem is a complex and difficult task. The following statistics are the most accurate available, but they may represent an underestimation of trafficking on a global and national scale.

Each year, an estimated 600,000 to 800,000 men, women, and children worldwide are trafficked across international borders. Of this number, 70 percent are female and 50 percent are children. The majority of these victims are forced into the commercial sex trade.

Trafficking in human beings, however, is not confined to the sex industry. Children are trafficked to work in sweatshops as bonded labor, and men work illegally in the “three d-jobs”—dirty, difficult, and dangerous.

The Great Escape

Irina dreamed of making money to help her husband support the family. She was offered a job in Turkey through a friend. Upon arrival, she was placed in a room of an abandoned casino with three other girls. Periodically, a guard entered the room and took one of the girls to a client. The girls were not paid any money. They were often severely beaten by the guard and clients.

One day, Irina and one of the other girls managed to pry open the window in the room. They jumped from the second–story window to the alley below. A kind stranger bought her a ticket back to Moldova. Once home, however, she felt dirty and out of place. Even though she never talked about it, family and friends knew what she was forced to do in Turkey, making it difficult to adjust to life back in Moldova.

For the few victims who escape their captivity, life does not necessarily get easier. The assistance, support, and rehabilitation of victims are significant problems, particularly in countries such as Moldova, where resources are often limited. Very few ministries or organizations work in rehabilitation.

Vladimir and Yulia Ubeivolc stumbled into their rehabilitation ministry, called The Beginning of Life. The Baptist couple worked with local schools in teaching about abstinence and drugs. When police asked school officials if they knew of an effective counselor, the Ubeivolcs’ name surfaced. The police apprehended a pimp and found 22 women held hostage in his apartment. They asked Yulia, a counselor, to rehabilitate the prostitutes.

“Three have returned to their parents, and their parents accepted them. Three others are trying to stay away from their old life,” Yulia said. “It’s a day-to-day thing. They have to get new cell phone numbers because clients call and plead for sexual favors. It’s a temptation because of the money, and they don’t know where their next meal will come from.”

Vladimir adds that rehabilitation is not only new to them but to most in Moldova. The first meeting of organizations and churches to discuss how to help trafficked victims re-enter society took place in the fall of 2006. In an effort to get churches involved in reaching out to victims, they plan to host workshops in centrally located villages throughout the country. Statistics show that 40 percent of those trafficked end up back in the trade because they do not feel they fit back into normal society—especially those who were sexually exploited.

“We need for churches and believers to rethink their attitude toward these victims,” Vladimir said. “There is a large population of Moldovans who have been taken into trafficking, and they just need to feel loved.”

Pray for Moldova

You can help make a difference in the war on human trafficking. Vladimir and Yulia Ubeivolc ask you pray for:

*A change in believers’ attitudes. Pray they will want to reach out to Moldovans who have been trafficked and escaped.
*Pray for the victims of human trafficking. Pray for ways of escape. Pray that they will find their way back home. Pray for them to find a new perspective on life and find hope through Jesus Christ.
*Pray for pioneers in the rehabilitation ministries. It can be spiritually and physically draining.
*Pray for the training workshops taking place throughout the country.