Stop! Human Trafficking!

Migrants Tough Journey to Dreams

Mexico is a country of origin, a country of transit. Human trafficking starts in the
Mexican territory. Migrants are subjected to all kinds of abuses: extortions, kidnapping, human
trafficking, drug trafficking, labor and sexual slavery. Men and Women are brought here,
thinking they could have been given a decent job, but once they get here, their papers are taken
away by the illegal immigration broker as a means of extortion. They are threatened and
blackmailed to pay them. That is how migrants are tricked into illegal business: they are used for
carrying drugs as mules from Central America through Mexico and all the way to US, they are
also viewed as merchandise to sell for sex slavery, etc., and thats how human trafficking
happens. Human trafficking is psychological slavery, and a modern form of slavery. Imagine
being called merchandise and being forced into prostitution after you have been tricked into
making the dangerous journey across Central America in the hope of a better life before being
stopped en route in southern Mexico and forced to work for nothing. This was the nightmarish
reality for migrants.
A paper published in the Journal of Comparative Economics mentions that human
trafficking is the sad but obvious consequence of migration pressure in a world of closed borders,
which has created a breeding ground for criminal organizations and exploitative employers.
Based on the recent studies, Mexico is currently in the middle of an economic crisis:
growth expectations are low, unemployment is high, and poverty is about 50% of the population.
Economic and geographical circumstances make Mexico an ideal terrain for traffickers.
Nonetheless, there are other factors that exacerbate the problem. Due to the more strict policies
to restrict the immigration trend, most of migrants without documentary papers, they are
voluntary. It is easier to move persons from one place to another than drugs, it is a matter of
mobility.
The illegal immigration broker make migrants believe that they are worthless that they
have no value and useless. They lowered their self esteem, abused and blackmailed them. They
wants to squeeze money out of the migrants. Organized crime has taken control of the flow of
migrants. Migrants know that they have to pay for the right of the space on the train to pass , but
sometimes giving money is not enough, they get kidnapped or killed. It gets very hard after they
leave their own country. They are robbed and assaulted. Some of them fall and the train goes
over their legs, or they get killed at once when they try to take train to reach the border.
However, they are not scared because they know why they are doing it. Its worth, because what
they are doing is to help their children, and their family despite the fact that 1/4 of them can
make it ultimately.
According to Mr Alejandro Solalinde, a missionary who works in a shelter in Ixtepec to
give humanity aid to the migrants, right now, migrants have protections in Chiapas and Oaxaca.

But in north areas of Mexico, such as in Veracruz, Tierra Blanca, migrants situation is worse.
They are being commercialized, sold and trafficked. Rather than being seen as people, they are
seen as merchandize, they are living in a world where the human being doesnt matter. No one
will look of them, no one will complain.
Mexico also passed a law against human trafficking in 2007. In Tapachula, Chiapas,
according to Alejandro Vila Chavez, a prosecutor in the Special Prosecutors office specialized in
crimes committed against immigrants. the general population Law considers those who traffic
with migrants as criminals. The prosecutors job is to protect those migrant victims from being
trafficked. Migrants can come to the Department of Justice to ask for help. In addition, they also
have programs to look for criminals. The Prosecutors Offices aim is to make sure the migrant is
not a victim of crimes in the border. However, convictions are still rare. Saul Arellano, analyst at
the CEIDAS think tank, says the law is a step in the right direction, but it would have to be
matched by stronger efforts in terms of law enforcement and organizational efficiency. On the
other hand, according to a study by Oxfam and our presenter Andriana, the immigration program
activist from IBERO university, the bigger problem for the country is widespread impunity. This
institutional crisis combined with the security and economic crises reveal a systemic flaw that
exacerbates the problem dramatically. It could be said that one thing leads to another.
According to the recent studies, Mexico still has fertile terrain where the law is
insufficient to trap criminal organizations that trade humans with total impunity. Though there
are increasing volunteering programs and activists to be committed to protect and advocate for
migrants, it is imperative that US, Mexico and the central American countries make joint efforts
to address such issues.
There should be a social integration program and an integral program to address the
issue. A state-run and internationalrun programs should be founded. More importantly, a
thorough understanding of the economic conditions that swell the ranks of border crossers could
contribute to developing a viable solution. (Pizarro, 2002).

References:
http://internationalpoliticalforum.com/mexicos-growing-human-trafficking-scene/
http://acelebrationofwomen.org/2011/05/adele-butler-women-of-spirit-forced-to-be-sex-slavesin-mexico/
http://f3magazine.unicri.it/?p=257
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzEUHF1KPY8