2013-02-08 09:13:17

Stopping human trafficking in the Mediterranean


(Vatican Radio) The OSCE’s Special Representative for Combating Human Trafficking has been meeting with Italian and African authorities in Rome to discuss the extent of this modern day scourge and find effective ways to combat it.

The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Maria Grazia Giammarinaro is in Rome for a high level seminar Friday at Italy’s Parliament focusing on irregular migration in the Mediterranean region. The seminar was called to shed light on the “often-hidden exploitation of migrants,” highlight the need for the protection of their human rights and the implementation of common commitments on human trafficking.

Speaking to Tracey McClure ahead of Friday’s seminar, Giammarinaro said “contrary to what is commonly perceived, irregular migration through the sea is a just a small part of irregular migration. At least the assessment is that in the whole Mediterranean region, ten percent of the arrivals are by sea. But of course this phenomenon, which is the most visible, is also the most horrible in terms of loss of human lives. For example, according to the UNHCR, the UN agency for refugees, there are 1,500 people dying or missing in the attempt of reaching the European Union through the Mediterranean Sea.”

“In addition, so many others get lost in the shadow economy. Their situation of social vulnerability is also linked to their irregular migration status (and this) is used, and of course misused, by intermediaries, organized crime, smugglers, traffickers and unscrupulous employers. So in other words, we want to shed light on this reality. The reality of people who try to achieve a better life for themselves, for their families, and (end up) getting trapped in a situation of exploitation, sometimes in slavery like conditions.”

But the exploitation of migrants, Giammarinaro says, is not always hidden.

“We can see exploitation in fields, agriculture, in construction sites. (We see it) less in domestic work because this is a really hidden form of exploitation in many situations. But the problem is the perception of exploitation is very often missing. For example, it is very easy to hear people saying:… they, the third country nationals, are paid less than nationals but anyway, they are better off than they were at home. And this is a very, very dangerous cultural pattern because this is justification of exploitation. And this amplifies the perception that these people, migrant workers, can be subject to extreme forms of exploitation.”

Giammarinaro illustrates the example of migrants working in the agricultural area as being particularly vulnerable to exploitation:

“In the tomato picking for example, there are… a few investigations underway showing how this exploitation can be really devastating for a human being. Because when a person is obliged to work fourteen hours a day without a salary because he or she has to pay back the debt to the smugglers for the travel or for very little salary and they are not able to send anything home. And of course, this for many is the basic reason why they migrate: to support their families. And they live in inhuman conditions, without electricity and in very remote areas, and in addition they have to pay enormous amounts of money for simple things like a bottle of water to the intermediaries that place them in exploitative jobs. And this is reality. This emerged from investigations underway for example in Italy.”

Listen to Tracey McClure’s extended interview with Maria Grazia Giammarinaro in which she describes the on-going effects of the Arab Spring on irregular migration, the increasing power of organized crime, and how countries can more effectively combat the phenomenon:
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