Report on sexual slavery within the UAE.

The United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) remains a destination country for men and women trafficked for the purpose of involuntary servitude and commercial sexual exploitation.

Read the full article here.

Relevant links (with excerpts):

Human trafficking from Armenia to Dubai, UAE

… when she arrived in Abu Dhabi she was taken to a brothel where a pimp told her that he had bought her for $7000. From that moment on she was to work as a prostitute until she paid off her so-called debt. After three months of captivity, Tanya managed to escape. She bolted to a police station and recounted her story. Incredibly, she was charged with prostitution and sentenced to three years in a desert prison. In 2001, psychologically crushed and ashamed, Tanya was released. Nothing happened to her pimp. Branded a prostitute by the Muslim nation, she was summarily deported back to her Ukraine.

Private sector ‘can help combat human trafficking’

He said T.S. and M.K. used the victim’s poverty to subjugate and exploit her into working in the sex industry unwillingly. “The couple bought her from an unidentified person for Dh4,300 after she reportedly abandoned her sponsor. When she refused to have sex with customers, she got brutally beaten by the female suspect,” said the Attorney General.

New study shames human traffickers

Countries in the Middle East have been named as the worst culprits of human trafficking.

A new report by an international trade unions’ umbrella organisation says Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen are notorious destinations for women trafficked from Kenya.

Its report, ‘Trafficking in Persons — The Eastern Africa Situation’, notes that women and children were favourite targets for well-organised trafficking rings, which operate freely for lack of solid laws against the vice.

Stress on global network to fight human trafficking

A teacher in her home country, Noora says she was tempted by the promise of a good job and salary in Dubai. It was the first time that she had ever left her home country and her job and visa were arranged by a man she was put in contact with by a friend from her home town.

In her early 20’s at the time, Noora was told to expect a representative from the school where she was to work to collect her from the airport. Instead, she was met by a couple who took her to their home in Sharjah and locked her inside a room in a high-rise.

“The first couple of days were a blur. I kept asking when I was starting my job. The wife laughed and said there is no school - that I had to work as a prostitute,” she remembers. “I was terrified and couldn’t do anything. I was powerless.”

UAE: Probe begins into Indian Human Trafficking Racket

The 54 year-old visitor identified as A.K.S, 50, and his wife identified as M.S, were waiting for a connecting flight to Paris when they were arrested. They were reportedly carrying fake passports of two young boys accompanying them.

The data recorded in the passports of the two minors showed them to be the sons of the accused but upon questioning, the couple denied being the parents, claiming they had been asked by some people in Mumbai to hand over the children to someone in Paris.

From PBS Frontline:

Four years ago, I began a photo project on the sex trafficking of young women in Eastern Europe. I interviewed and photographed girls who had escaped. Some had been trafficked to Turkey and Russia. Others were taken as far as the United Arab Emirates, lured by the promise of legitimate jobs and a brighter future. Once they arrived in the new country, they were priced and sold, and their documents taken away. The young women told me they were forced to service mechanics, soldiers, priests, butchers, tourists, and even U.N. personnel who were supposed to protect them.

I grew up in Eastern Europe and met Vika on my second reporting trip to Moldova. (You can hear Vika’s story in the FlashPoint slideshow, Moldova: The Price of Sex.) She told me she had been trafficked to Dubai, at times serving 30 clients a day. She quickly learned the only English words necessary to keep her owner from hitting her: “How much?” and “With or without plastic?” Once, without plastic, her luck ran out and she got pregnant. It didn’t matter. Her pimp kept her working for the duration of her pregnancy.

After hearing Vika’s stories, Dubai became a place I felt I had to see to understand.

Read the rest of the article here.

Gulf Daily News reports this morning:

A HUMAN rights society is stepping up its campaign to combat sex trafficking in Bahrain through the Internet.

The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights is already investigating the perpetrators behind websites that are offering sex to customers here and in other Gulf countries, and now with the same technology it hopes to help solve the problem.

It believes raising awareness about sex trafficking and offering victims a way out are the keys to making a difference.

The society plans to approach companies, bloggers, recruiters, organisations and others to post on their website a banner in various languages that will contain information about sex trafficking and useful contacts for victims.

Similar information will be sent through an e-mail campaign.

The society also hopes to produce a film exposing sex trafficking in Bahrain.

“I want this issue to be discussed in the community, on websites and in the media,” said BYSHR president Mohammed Al Maskati.

“We opened the file and will continue to work on this. We want to do something to help these women.”

The move follows the group’s discovery that women from Europe, Middle East and Asia were being brought to Bahrain and advertised for sex through more than 50 Arabic and English websites.

The BYSHR’s investigation found more than 1,000 pictures of girls who were all below the age of 25.

The main website advertising sex in Bahrain is based in the US, but the GCC co-ordinator is thought to be operating from here, noted Mr Al Maskati.

It has more than 13,500 members, which includes pimps, prostitutes and customers.

“We are monitoring the sites and found within just two days 1,200 members had been added,” he told the GDN.

“Now we are starting to see websites advertising sex in Bahrain that are established Africa.”

Mr Al Maskati said Bahrain’s amnesty scheme that allows illegal workers and residents to leave the country without penalty is an ideal opportunity for victims of sex trafficking to free themselves.

However, he said, some of these women were unaware of the scheme and even if they knew about it they were prevented from going.

“Some women don’t know about amnesty, they don’t have access to a newspaper or TV, or speak Arabic or English, so how would they know where the ministry and police are?

“Also the women may owe the sponsor money for her ticket and visa and will be forced to pay him back before he lets them go.”

Mr Al Maskati called for authorities to implement a better monitoring system of expatriate workers in Bahrain.

He said authorities needed to conduct thorough checks to ensure expatriates were employed in the job for which they had been issued a visa.

“Someone called me to say an Indian sponsor had married an Indian women and brought her to Bahrain so she could work as a prostitute and every month she has to give him BD200.

“There are also some Bahrainis who marry four women and create a small network advertising them for sex.”

Anyone with information about sex trafficking through the Internet in Bahrain and the Gulf, or who needs help, should contact Mr Al Maskati on 39813867

Cross-posted on the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights.

Following up on this previous report, BYSHR notes:

The second report on Human Trafficking case
By: Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights

August 15th, 2007

Introduction:

Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) has recently published its first report on “Human Trafficking in Bahrain” (1). The report referred to Human Trafficking gangsters interested in misusing women all over Bahrain. One of the regular visitors of chatting websites told BYSHR about his own experience and how he discovered that they are prostitution websites. The moderators of these websites offered him girls for sex from Bahrain and from all over the world.

BYSHR believes that the prostitution business is organized by local networks in Bahrain that have strong ties with international networks. They provide prostitution service via the Internet. Therefore, BYSHR will continue its struggle to eliminate such networks by unveiling the files of “Human Trafficking – Sexual Misuse of Women” in Bahrain. The association shall reveal all the information it holds about sexual misuse of women on the World Wide Web.

How do women are misused for trafficking:

The victims coming from foreign countries are seduced with tricky plans. Usually, they arrive to Bahrain with gratefulness to those who brought them here. They can hardly identify where they exist because of their incapacity to use the local language. They do not have any one to resort to when the “Human Trafficking” hide their passports and identity documents. Then, they are seduced by offering to upgrade their living standard, provide appropriate job vacancy, and ensure a better future to their families in their origin countries.

Read the rest of the entry.

According to Gulf Daily News:

A BAHRAIN human rights group has launched an investigation to unmask the perpetrators behind more than 35 websites offering sex to customers here and in other Gulf countries.

Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) president Mohammed Al Maskati said they were concerned about women who were being brought here on promises of lawful employment only to find themselves victims of sexual exploitation.

He said women from Europe, Middle East and Asia were being advertised for sex through more than 35 Arabic and English websites.

One of the main websites, he said, was based in the US, but the GCC co-ordinator was thought to be operating from Bahrain.

“We found that it is more difficult to access these sites in countries such as the UAE and Kuwait, but they are easily accessible from Bahrain,” he told the GDN. “We think the co-ordinator is from Bahrain, but we don’t yet know who it is.

“We know the network is registered in the US but we think there is an agency in Bahrain because girls living in Juffair, Manama and Adliya are being advertised for sex.

“Our team found more than 1,000 pictures of girls who were all below the age of 25.

“We think there is a Bahraini girl on the website, but we can’t confirm this because they only use nicknames.”

Read rest of the entry.

Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights just published a report concerning human trafficking within Bahrain. It first introduces the problem as a very grave one, and then goes on to highlight a way in which local “gangs” are possibly using the internet for sexual exploitation:

The start – finding them:

“There are websites for dating between females and males in different countries all over the world. Some of these websites are interested in Gulf countries, including Bahrain. On one of these websites, there are more than 1000 photos for young ladies from different nationalities. Most of them are under 25 years-old,” (M.H.) told Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR).

“I signed up at one of these websites and I was happy to find a way to contact girls in Bahrain and in other countries so easily. When I reviewed the website, I found dozens of photos for various girls. I did not expect to see photos for naked girls. That is why I wonder how come this website is only for dating,” M.H added.

Websites:

BYSHR - with the help of a web navigation specialist – succeeded to discover the countries which launch such websites. BYSHR reached a conclusion that most of these websites are operated from the United States of America with nick names; so that the webmasters may not be arrested for Trafficking in human.

Advertising websites:

M.H told BYSHR that “some Arab and non-Arab websites – the nonsexual ones – post pop-up advertisements. These advertisements only appear when the user clicks a certain link. They include photos for naked girls and under the photo a sentence saying that they want to have sex. Most of the locations shown in these photos are in Bahrain.”

The report concludes with the following demands, which we wholeheartedly support:

BYSHR Demands:

1. Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights calls for unveiling the sources that misuse girls for prostitution in Bahrain.

2. Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights calls for legislating new laws to eliminate Trafficking in human in Bahrain, particularly those related to sexually misusing women.

3. Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights calls for discovering how such girls can access Bahrain to do their prostitution business.

Read the rest of the report here.

According to Reuters:

RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has criticised U.S. charges that it is guilty of human trafficking, saying a U.S. State Department report was misleading and ignored Saudi efforts to stamp out the practice.

Saudi Arabia was among 16 countries listed in an annual report released last month on the world’s worst offenders in failing to prevent people being sold into the sex trade and servitude.

The countries are subject to possible sanctions, including the loss of U.S. aid and U.S. support for World Bank and International Monetary Fund loans.

Withholding loans and aid is not a concern for Saudi Arabia, whose economy is booming on high oil prices, but the Islamic state is trying to shed its image as a human rights abuser.

“Examining the American report on human trafficking, we felt that it was misleading … It contains descriptions, opinions and understandings that are not necessarily true,” Turky Al Sudairy, head of the government’s Human Rights Commission said in a statement published in Saudi newspapers.

“While we accept that there are some who mistreat (domestic) workers, and this is not acceptable, there are laws that stipulate punishment and the Commission will not hesitate to reveal practices and violations.”

Around a third of Saudi Arabia’s 24 million population are foreign residents, mostly blue-collar workers from Asian countries. Over a million work as housemaids, and reports of abuse are common. Saudi employers often retain their passports.

Sudairy said the authorities had taken stringent measures to regulate the labor market, which he said was subject to abuse by recruitment agencies. He said Saudi Arabia has laws to prevent child labor.

“The efforts being exerted have not finished yet and we cannot claim such a thing,” Sudairy said.

“Cooperation before writing reports would help to make many things clearer and lead to more objectivity and precision, since the (U.S.) report ignored recent developments.”

Sahar Al Haideri, a Mosul-based reporter who was murdered there last month, reported the following story recently featured in the Middle East Times:

MOSUL, Iraq — Asma’s family was facing dire financial problems when a man in his 60s came to her father with an offer that they could not refuse: he said that he would hire Asma for $200 a month to help take care of his wife, who was handicapped.

Asma’s mother is blind and her father is disabled, leaving them struggling to make ends meet. The man assured the couple that Asma could visit them, and that he would raise her with his daughters. The impoverished family took him up on the offer, but Asma, 17, had no idea what was in store for her.

“My work was not only in the kitchen; I had to have sex with [the] son of the man who hired me and his four or five friends,” she said in an interview after fleeing a life of sexual slavery. “I left my father’s house a virgin and now I am …”

She stopped speaking. Her father said nothing except, “I put my trust in God.”

The deteriorating security situation and absence of law and order has allowed sexual slavery to grow in Iraq, with traffickers able to sell victims without fear of punishment.

According to the US State Department’s Trafficking in Persons Report, issued in June, Iraqi women and children are forced into prostitution and trafficked inside Iraq and abroad, to countries like Syria, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and Iran.

In the volatile northwestern city of Mosul, near the Syrian border, girls and young women from poor and illiterate families are particularly vulnerable to sexual exploitation. Many of those hired as domestic servants end up becoming sex slaves.

Khaled, 45, who readily admits to involvement in the sex trade, wears jeans and a yellow T-shirt with four or five rings on his fingers and bracelets around his wrist. This reporter witnessed him speaking to a client about whether he preferred a brown or white girl or woman as a sex slave.

“I know some families who are ready to have their daughters work to earn a living for them,” he said. “Some ask me if [their daughters] can only work in kitchens, while others try to close their eyes and pretend that they have no idea that their daughters are being used as prostitutes.”

Other women seek Khaled out on their own, but do not always know the full extent of his business.

Zaineb, 20, is a thin and beautiful woman with light-coloured hair. She felt financially responsible for her family because her father was arrested by the US military, her mother was ill, and she had younger sisters that needed support. Zaineb got a job through Khaled, but to her horror discovered that she had been forced into prostitution.

“I [have to] sleep with different men each night,” said Zaineb, who managed to contact IWPR. “[My boss] and his friends always take me to a farm, where they get drunk, and then have sex with me. I cry, asking for help from my father and mother, but how can they hear me?”

Victims of sexual slavery in Iraq have little support from the police or the courts. Iraqi law only criminalizes the sexual exploitation of children.

Many women are tricked into sex slavery in Iraq with the promise of a new life in the Gulf.

Khaled convinced 18-year-old Alia’s family that a man in the Gulf wanted to marry her, and paid for her passport and new clothes.

“Like any other bride, I was happy,” she said. “But I discovered after I traveled to the Gulf that the bridegroom was a nightclub manager who used many other Iraqi girls for prostitution. I managed to flee after 10 humiliating months.

“I was screaming when one of [the men] had sex with me; they considered me a slave that they had bought. I lost my dreams, hopes, and future.”

The state department report noted that the Iraqi government did not prosecute any trafficking cases this year, nor did it offer protection for victims or make efforts to prevent or document trafficking. It also said that efforts needed to be made to “curb the complicity of public officials in the trafficking of Iraqi women.”

The names of people mentioned in this story have been changed to protect their identity.

[Cross posted from Mideast Youth]

I don’t think I need to remind anyone here that sex trafficking is a huge issue in the Middle East, especially the Gulf. My concern is not women who choose to do this for their own personal reasons. My concern is women and young girls who are forced to do this on a daily basis with no form of support or help whatsoever.

This kind of corruption is almost always dismissed as “something that exists in every society,” so fighting it is apparently “useless.” This is not an excuse. This is a poor reaction to a major crisis that shouldn’t exist today. The fact remains that it does exist, and it’s happening right here in front of our eyes while we dismiss it, justify it, and ignore it in silence or ignorance. At this point we’re old and aware enough to say: no more. We need to make a bigger effort in raising awareness about what’s going on. We need to be the voice of those who clearly don’t have one in our societies.

Recently I found this alarming documentary focusing on the sex trafficking of Armenian women and girls into Dubai. Do watch:

And this (part 3):

You can watch all the other episodes here.

The woman in the first video justifies this in her own way, claiming that prostitution is a choice that many women can escape, this is factually incorrect. I personally came across many women - Bosnian, Russian, Pakistani, and especially Albanian - who were smuggled here due to war and instability within their own countries. It wasn’t by choice. Many of them came here thinking they were going to end up as waitresses, housemaids, business partners, etc. As soon as they arrive, they have their passports taken away from them, and their lives as sexual slaves begin…

The police? Not an escape. Firstly there are many policemen in the region involved in human trafficking. Secondly, many women get in further danger because if they don’t present a passport or valid documentation (which they usually don’t have access to), they get imprisoned for being within the country illegally and for taking part in prostitution. An example is this excerpt taken from a book:

…. when she arrived in Abu Dhabi she was taken to a brothel where a pimp told her that he had bought her for $7000. From that moment on she was to work as a prostitute until she paid off her so-called debt. After three months of captivity, Tanya managed to escape. She bolted to a police station and recounted her story. Incredibly, she was charged with prostitution and sentenced to three years in a desert prison. In 2001, psychologically crushed and ashamed, Tanya was released. Nothing happened to her pimp. Branded a prostitute by the Muslim nation, she was summarily deported back to her Ukraine.

[Source]

Choosing between years of prison and sexual slavery is not a proper and fair choice, and thus there should be more active organizations that try to tackle this growing issue. We aim to be one of them.

It’s not just women and girls being enslaved. For the past few years, many cases involve young boys from Pakistan, Nepal, Indonesia, etc. Very rarely do news agencies ever make an effort to report such grave crimes against humanity.

For more information, you can always refer to our campaign against this. It’s not the best, but right now, it’s the least that we can do to help.

If you are interested in being an author with us at Sexual Terrorism, please let us know. We are looking for an editor-at-large or contributors to help us keep the site updated and to help its readers stay aware of what is going on in our societies.

Click here for an extensive trafficking report (PDF)

As moclippa notes:

Looking at the Tier ranking, Bahrain made Tier 2 between 2003-2004, and has since steadily fallen back, hitting Tier 3 once again in 2007, the first time since 2002.

Recommendations for Bahrain Include:

“The government should enact a comprehensive anti-trafficking law that criminalizes all forms of trafficking in persons and assigns penalties both sufficiently stringent to deter the crime and adequately reflective of the heinous nature of the crime. Bahrain should also ensure that victims are not punished or deported for unlawful acts committed as a result of being trafficked, and should offer protective services to all victims of trafficking, including women coerced into prostitution and both female and male victims of forced labor.”

“Bahrain made no discernible progress in preventing trafficking this year. The government initiated no new campaigns to prevent trafficking, but continued to distribute multilingual brochures on workers’ rights and resources to incoming workers. The government should ensure that recruitment agencies and employers are aware of the rights of foreign workers to prevent their abuse.” (60)

Tier 3 is composed of:

Algeria, Equatorial Guinea, North Korea, Sudan, Bahrain, Iran, Oman, Syria, Burma, Kuwait, Qatar, Uzbekistan, Cuba, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela.

Click here for a full report.