The challenge of human trafficking in the area of freedom, security and justice of the EU

Abstract

Utrecht, The Netherlands, also known as little Amsterdam, holds a thriving red light district on the outskirts where the canals are, and business is conducted on the so-called house-boats. Only one small ally in the centre of the town caters for prostitution and this is where, in 1982, I met Anna, a girl my age and of Hungarian Roma origin. She worked in this little street which is also close to the student area, in the beautiful heart of Utrecht. Over a period of 4 years I got to know parts of her story through weekly little chats. At age 13 she was sold by her father and trafficked into Germany where she worked, behind closed doors, in the sex trade for five years until she had reached maturity (18). Not being considered 'fresh' anymore, and having developed a forced drug habit, she was then re-trafficked to the Netherlands. Her resilience landed her regularly into trouble; on those days I would notice bruises and burns on her arms and legs and she would tell me that 'one fine day' she would leave. I lost sight of her after my studies ended, but when I returned a year later and tried to find her, she was gone. One of the girls told me that she had been "too much trouble ... " My acquaintance with Markus (6 years) is still ongoing since he is in foster care with Dutch friends. The story of his Bulgarian mother is similar to that of Anna's, with the difference of her being controlled by her Russian partner. Markus was picked up by the police at the age of 2, rail thin, while scavenging the garbage bins in the streets for food. It was established that he had been sexually abused. This dissertation, besides presenting and attempting to answer the research questions, is also partly written in order to satisfy a personal agenda: to generate more awareness of the subject. The use of quotes that describe situations of human trafficking are not meant to sensationalise this paper. They are there to get the attention this topic deserves and the most effective way to get an understanding of the issue is to have been trafficked, to have been in contact with a trafficked person or to read the words coming from such a person. Those words should raise feelings of horror and disgust, but most of all determination to get this fight off the ground. While no one should be submitted to any form of human trafficking, children especially deserve our most concerted effort to minimise as much as possible this hideous phenomenon. Anna and Markus are the reason for embarking upon this theme.