The Other Side

Often times, human trafficking is seen as a one sided story.  We hear the man’s, child’s, woman’s story of being trafficked, but not the trafficker’s story. Which leaves a lot of questions unanswered. How can we get a full story about a world problem, if we only understand one perspective? Not to mention, are we ever going to have a full, complete, unbiased comprehension of modern day slavery? Depending on the stories that are told, it is very difficult to have a full view on this social issue. My goal is to describe two of the reasons that human traffickers do what they do.

Researching this, my stomach was in knots. I was curious and nervous about what I may find. Are these people as cruel as they seem? Do they really have as twisted morals as we believe? Will what I find affect my views and opinions on human trafficking?

When I found my first story, a story about a Thai human trafficker, Noi, I was engaged in hearing her reasons for trafficking these people. Her belief is that she is rescuing the people that are fleeing from their home country. Let me provide background: in Myanmar, an ethnic cleansing of Muslim Rohingyas is occurring. The people of that ethnic group are trying to escape to save themselves, their families, and their friends. They are trying to reach Malaysia, a country highly populated by Muslims that would accept them as their own. The problem is that most of the Rohingyas travel by boat, and in doing that, they have to pass through Thailand. Since they are trespassing illegally, no one is willing to help them. Through this process, it makes Noi believe that she is working a sort of charity, to help them escape “unjustified detainment, alleged sexual abuse, or death.”

In this story, a viewpoint that isn’t normally seen or thought about is presented. The fact that a trafficker feels like they are helping a person by trafficking them is a surprising thought. It is a perspective that is also probably less common than the next I am about to present, which is for business purposes.

In an interview with Inge Bell, a human trafficker, Grigorij.* Grigorji was a brothel owner and he describes what he does as a business. He states, “When there is a demand, a job gets done. […] Suddenly, more stores opened because there is this demand for girls, dancing girls, strippers, go-go girls, whatever we call them…” here it is obvious that he treats running a brothel as a means to make money. Owning it, making sure things are going smoothly, and filling a social need.

In Grigorji’s story we see that being a trafficker is a business venture, a way to make money. The reason why this perspective is so much more popular and prevalent is because of the usual saying that trafficking has a high profit, but low costs. In many countries, traffickers have built relationships with people in law enforcement, therefore the risks of obtaining consequences are low.

In just these two stories, we can see that trafficking from the trafficker’s standpoint can be either because they feel like they are doing something necessary to help out troubled people, or because they find it a way to make good, albeit dirty, money. Needless to say. They’re probably many more reasons that this practice occurs, but the documentation on these reasons are not prevalent. The only way we can fully understand the global problem of human trafficking is if we are able to get as many viewpoints as possible. From the trafficked, the traffickers, the buyers, the overseers, the law enforcement – all these positions have to be heard from to be able to make the appropriate decision to end this growing epidemic. 

*Survivors of Slavery: Modern-Day Slave Narratives, Dr. Laura T. Murphy

Picture: www.capitalnews.ca