The modern day practice of slavery known as human trafficking was the main topic of discussion the last few days in Prince Rupert. As law enforcement officials explained how the problem is continuing to grow world wide, with Canada a growing destination for those moving bodies from afar to North America.
The Daily News featured details of the conference findings on the front page of Thursday’s paper.
MODERN DAY SLAVE TRADE A MASSIVE PROBLEM FOR COAST
Experts say illegal cargos of people as prevalent as gun smuggling
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Pages one and three
If people think it is unlikely they will ever see humans being locked up and shipped like cargo through the North Coast, they only need to consider that it has happened before, said Const. Jagdev Uppal of the RCMP Border Integrity Unit.
Only eight years ago back in 1999, 129 Asian migrants were abandoned in a ship off the Queen Charlotte Islands.
Speaking at the Youth Safe Conference on human trafficking and sexual exploitation in Prince Rupert last night, Const. Uppal noted human trafficking – the modern day form of slavery- is so prevalent that it is on a par with illegal arms trafficking as the second-largest illegal activity in the world, only behind drug trafficking.
“That stuff definitely goes on here,” he said.
In the 1999 case, the migrants were found on a boat where conditions were so deplorable, one woman had died on the trip, it is likely the migrants were headed for Canada in order to be smuggled across the border into the U. S.
According to the United Nations 600 to 800 people are trafficked into Canada annually. While 1,500 to 2,200 are moved through Canada to the U. S. said Const. Uppal. And it’s important to note that human smuggling is different from trafficking, he said.
“If there’s consent, it’s smuggling. Once you lose consent, it’s trafficking,” he said.
These people leave their country looking for a better life and end up a slave performing labour or being sexually exploited by the criminal underworld.
They are essentially, made a slave by removing their passports, threatening their families back home and abusing them physically, sexual and emotionally, he said.
“Often, their fear of police is exploited, said Const. Uppal. “We often think, why don’t they come and talk to us but in their country maybe police are corrupt.”
However, Canadian law enforcement agencies have new tools to stop criminals involved in human trafficking, including sections of the Criminal Code that make it illegal to traffic people and sentences of up to 14 years in jail for trafficking and life for assault or sexual assault.
And Uppal noted there has been a change in how law enforcement handles the migrants themselves.
“These people before weren’t treated as victims, they were treated as criminals themselves,” he said. “Police are now looking at the people who got there here, at how they got into the country.”
Often, women who are trafficked also end up being sexually exploited in massage parlours, bawdy houses and other business fronts for prostitution.
The Children of the Street Society, a theatre group that talked about sexual exploitation earlier in the evening, noted that for every person being sexually exploited on street corners, there are another four that are not seen.
However, those being sexually exploited don’t have to come from other countries, it can happen to anyone who is not aware of the dangers, they said.
“This happens in your community, this happens in every community,” said Neil Arao, a workshop facilitator for the Children of the Street Society.
They noted the average age of those entering the sex trade industry is 14, and they are lucky if they see their 21st birthday.
“The average life span for someone in the sex trade is seven years.”
The Children of the Street Society went on to hold workshops for some 400 students in Prince Rupert on Wednesday in order to provide them with information about avoid getting drawn into the sex trade.
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