At Risk of Human Trafficking and Exploitation
To begin this article, I would like to share with you the experience of a Ukrainian student who is presently in one of our schools in Ireland. Daniela (not her real name) who is fifteen years of age comes from the city of Rivne, a beautiful city in the northwest region of Ukraine. The following is an account of her story:
‘I lived a normal life, went to school, walked with my friends; everything was cool. On February 23rd, my sister celebrated her birthday. Later that night my mother woke me up telling me the war had begun. I was stunned. We immediately started watching the news. There was major panic in the house. At 6:00 am, my parents went to the supermarket; the shelves were beginning to become empty. The first couple of weeks were very difficult. With every sound of the sirens, we hid in the shelter; in the evening, we closed the windows with blankets so that if something exploded, the wreckage did not fly at us. Every night passed in fear.
On March 14th, the Russians hit the TV station. I could see from my window approximately twenty dead people. There are so many horrible stories true stories that have happened here in Rivne. For example, the Russians in front of her parents raped a teacher from Brovary and then they took her to some place in Russia. Or the girl who was shot in the face in front of her little sister. There is no safe place in Ukraine. My life is divided into two periods; the first is before the war, the second is after.’
Daniela is acutely aware that she is one of the ‘lucky ones’. She, her mum and grandmother were able to escape quickly as she has an uncle living in Ireland for the past number of years. She worries about her dad every day, and thinks about her neighbours who are sheltering in basements and hideouts. Daniela still gets frightened when she hears aeroplanes flying overhead.
Since the beginning of the present crisis in Ukraine, more than eleven million Ukrainians have been displaced from their homes, fleeing destruction and bombing. According to the UN refugee agency, as of April 24th, the number of Ukrainians who have fled their country since Russia’s invasion two months ago is approaching 5.2 million. Women and children account for 90 percent of those who have fled abroad. Many are exposed to the risk of trafficking and exploitation. Traffickers know refugees are desperate to go to a safer place. They are quick to offer assistance to cross the border to people who are on the move. This, in many cases, is the beginning of human trafficking, the trade in and exploitation of human beings for some kind of benefit.
Children, especially unaccompanied children, are particularly vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation. Up to 5 million of Ukraine’s seven and a half million children have been displaced in the past two months. 2.8 million children are displaced in Ukraine while over another 2 million are in other countries. The killing, wounding, and traumatizing of children still in their homes in Ukraine continues. Because of the present chaos and devastation, the risks of child trafficking are huge. Wars provide opportunities to trafficking gangs both nationally and internationally.
As of April 24th, 2022, approximately 28,000 Ukrainian refugees have come to Ireland seeking sanctuary. Many families, parishes and community centres have welcomed people by preparing a space for them.
Already there is a number of documented unaccompanied children living in Ireland. This presents a huge concern as the current identification system to identify potential child victims of trafficking is not fit for purpose. You may have read in recent weeks about the call from a number of civil society organisations, including MECPATHS, on the Irish Government to reform the system (National Referral Mechanism) that identifies human trafficking in Ireland. This revision is more than essential at this time because of the expected rise in exploitation of women and children fleeing the situation in Ukraine.
As you are aware, MECPATHS addresses the issue of child trafficking. The heightened vulnerability of children travelling to Ireland from Ukraine highlights the urgency of awareness and education programmes. Our priority is to educate frontline professionals who, through the nature of their work, are more likely to have contact with a victim of child trafficking. Training is offered to groups, including those in Hospitality, Travel & Tourism Colleges, Private Security, Immigration, Social Work & Policy Schools, Law Enforcement, Aviation and Children’s NGOs. We outline the indicators of child trafficking and how to report it.
Over the past number of weeks, MECPATHS has received requests from the Ombudsman for Children, the ISPCC, Minister McEntee and The Department of Justice to join with them in offering awareness and educational programmes on child trafficking to frontline professionals. Recently (30.03.22) on Irish television, Ann Mara of the MECPATHS team was interviewed on the issue of human/child trafficking in the context of the Ukrainian crisis. Please click here to listen.
At the end of April, we were both delighted and grateful to hear that MECPATHS had received an Irish Enterprise Award 2022 for our work to counter child trafficking.
At this time, it is humbling that Mercy is involved though the MECPATHS team in highlighting the need to raise awareness about the critical issue of child trafficking and the necessity to legislate for safe and just structures in this area.
May we continue to support the MECPATHS team and hold the Ukrainian people, especially the children, in our thoughts and prayers at this tragic time in their history.
Patricia O’Donovan
MECPATHS Mercy Congregational Co-Ordinator
