During a recent visit to Washington, my daughter Leonora told me the story of P., a 15-year-old boy from a small town in Africa, who worked for hours on end in a gravel pit with hundreds of other children, extracting gravel, constantly in physical danger, subsisting on manioc flour or maize with chili peppers; without shelter and suffering constant pain and hunger pangs.
When P.’s older brother, an exploited child turned trafficker, was sent home on a recruiting mission, donning a brand new radio and scooter, parents were only too eager to offer their children, unaware what was in store for them.
This is only one of thousands of similar stories my daughter has come across in her work with “Terre des Hommes,” a nongovernmental organization (NGO) working against human trafficking, the modern form of slavery, which numbers 27 million persons worldwide, more than double the number of those deported in the 400-year history of the trans-Atlantic slave trade to the Americas.
I often think of P. as I listen to rhetoric about freedom, about human rights, equality and justice, while the trafficking and sale of human beings is the third-largest source of revenue for organized crime, just below gun and drug dealing, and growing at alarming rates.
Born and raised in Greece, the world’s oldest democracy, and serving as its ambassador in the capital of the world’s strongest present-day democracy, surrounded by leaders and representatives from practically every corner of the world, I am convinced Washington is an appropriate venue for an international discussion on this savage practice. According to the United Nations, this phenomenon involves the movement of its victims “from poor environments to more affluent ones, with the profits flowing in the opposite direction.”
I hold hope someday the stifling poverty and despair that give rise to this trading in human beings might be alleviated or tempered, but I am also a realist and know that is a long way off.
And for this reason, I hope to see those of us who enjoy more privileged lives face up to our moral responsibility and take a long and hard look at our own societies, and combat the demand for such a deplorable practice. There can be no human trafficking if there is no demand for its victims.
The sale of human beings shames us all and strikes at the heart of humanity, negating the values that form the moral fabric of our society. The victims of this lucrative business are held in bondage and become reluctant carriers of health risks across borders, as HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases are rampant among women and girls forced into prostitution. There are 127 countries of origin, mainly developing countries, 137 destination countries, mainly in the industrialized world, and approximately 98 transit countries.
My own country, Greece, is no exception to this affront to human life and dignity. Situated in the midst of a region that erupted in the 1990s, sending forth a huge influx of refugees, a country of 10 million people received more than 1 million immigrants, a 10 percent increase of its population in less than a decade, a huge demographic change that brought the phenomenon of human trafficking.
In the early stages of this exodus in the 1990s, Greece struggled through. Border patrols and fencing proved futile and punishing the victims of trafficking was neither successful nor fair.
Finally, authorities in Greece stopped and took a long and hard look at our own backyard, and decided that if we cannot change the world, we will at least change ourselves. New laws and a National Action Plan were put into action focusing not on the victims but on demand. Specifically, article 323 of Law 3064 provides that “those who knowingly accept the services of a victim of trafficking” are held accountable and imprisoned.
Information campaigns aim at public awareness and encourage individual citizens to face their moral responsibility, sensitizing them to challenge and eradicate the stigma often attached to victims of trafficking, a stigma that further compounds the intense trauma they suffer.
Greece’s policies are yielding results because they are thorough and comprehensive, covering the entire spectrum of actions relating to human trafficking and shifting focus from blaming the victim to the systematic prosecution of offenders. They also provide a range of services and shelter to ensure incorporation of these victims into mainstream society, either in Greece or their country of origin. In a nutshell, Greece’s approach involves political will, carrying out comprehensive legislation, and public awareness.
Victims under 18 have access to cross-cultural education programs, while victims up to 23 years of age are entitled to vocational training. Greek law ensures the safety and security of victims at their place of residence, which requires extensive training and sensitizing of Greek law enforcement agencies at all levels through seminars for police, judges and public prosecutors.
Ernest Allen, head of the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children, says Greece’s actions in combating the trafficking of humans provide a model for the rest of the world, a sentiment echoed by Dr. Mohamed Y. Mattar of Johns Hopkins University and Rep. Carolyn Maloney, New York Democrat and chairwoman of the House Human Trafficking Caucus, at a recent panel discussion on human trafficking held on Capitol Hill. The discussion included the co-chairwoman of the Human Trafficking Caucus, Rep. Thelma Drake, Virginia Republican, Rep. Dianne Watson, California Democrat, and Rep. Gus Bilirakis, Florida Republican.
The criminalization of demand in Greek legislation inspired the drafters of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, who essentially reproduced the provision in their text.
Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyanni, sums up the Greek approach to this worldwide phenomenon: “We are proud to note that our efforts have yielded noteworthy results. Yet more remains to be done. We have a common duty to stop those who view others as a commodity, which can be easily sold to the highest bidder.”
Alexandros P. Mallias is the ambassador of Greece to the United States. He is a recipient of the Martin Luther King Legacy Award for International Service and a distinction from B’nai B’rith International.
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