Children in India and Syrian refugees are two key references when Human Trafficking is mentioned. These two depict how priceless human life can be converted into a commodity to generate income for some self-minded individuals. Children in India showcases the intense struggles of being a child within the borders of India. These children, unlike others worldwide, are subjected to excellent voting levels. On the other hand, Syrian refugees depict the struggles that Syrians, especially Syrian women, face as refugees in foreign countries to meet their basic needs. A review of these two indicates the growing human trafficking issue that raises great concern.
According to the human trafficking book, the trafficking of human beings has been induced for various reasons. Human labor, commercial sex work, and others are some of the reasons that have now seen traffickers treating fellow humans like mere commodities. In Children in India, human trafficking majorly involves the children population of the country. The video showcases the struggles the children are naturally born into and forced to live with. India is heavily populated even though the land heavily encroaches on extreme poverty levels (Al Jazeera English, 2019). The attempt to end this vicious cycle has proven to be costly, with kids now being forced to serve as laborers while others are forced to seek a better life abroad. The children in India are now being trafficked. Trafficking in India is prominent because of ignorance, as parents are consensual. India lacks enough educational facilities to protect children from child labor. There is no border security in India to control trafficking across the Indian borders. Indian children are the most vulnerable to global issues of child trafficking. Communities in India are creating awareness to end human trafficking and rescue those who are already victimized.
Regarding Syrian refugees, the search for better living conditions has proven to be a contributing factor in human trafficking. From the book Human Trafficking, it’s clear that human trafficking can be induced by the desire to live a better life. Most victims of human trafficking are women who seek a better life for their children when they run out of options in their countries and now have to move to new countries as refugees. Such women could have been forced into poverty by unavoidable circumstances. The Syrian refugees showcase how Syrian women are forced to move to foreign countries like Lebanon in search of better lives for their kids following their husbands’ deaths in the war. These women are forced to work at nightclubs, where they are eventually drifted into prostitution as a means of earning a living (BBC News, 2017). These women are also mistreated by their owners, who lock them, depriving them of freedom. Further, they face the threat of falling victim to sex trafficking and are often arrested in police raids and deported back to their country full of torment.
The Children in India and Syrian refugees are more alike than anticipated. Poverty is seen to be the common denominator between the two when it comes to human trafficking. The Human Trafficking book explains that suffering and needing to meet needs can cause sex trafficking. Women can willingly agree to human trafficking to be trafficked to foreign nations where they seek new opportunities. Syrian refugees moved to Lebanon after being forced by the hardships of life in their countries. Syrian women with kids flock to the Lebanese streets begging for food and money. The same case applies to Children in India, where children are trafficked mainly due to poverty. The Indian children are sold to traffickers by their parents, who see this as an opportunity to give the children a chance at a better life, and the money from the sale can also be used to meet the needs of the rest of the family. The poverty issues led to the need for laborers, who majorly comprised these trafficked workers.
The Human Trafficking book reviews how trafficked humans have their lives now at the disposal of their new owners. There are restrictions to the lives of those trafficked. Human traffickers often sell their victims to people who would place some unbearable conditions and take control of their lives (Coppedge, 2016). The children in India, the children, were sold by traffickers to new owners who would, in return, then use them as laborers. The owners would ‘discipline’ the children harshly as they now dictated their lives and forced them to labor duties like selling flowers. In the Children of India, a kid explains that her owner burnt her hands when she felt ill. The same can be related to the ‘pimps’ in the Syrian refugees. The refugee women of Syria were under the protection of such men who would offer them accommodation and other petty services in return for these women working for them at their nightclubs. The ‘pimps’ placed restrictions on these women’s lives in selfish measures to protect their businesses. For example, in the Syrian refugees, a woman confirms they have to follow a curfew placed on them by their ‘pimp’ and is afraid to speak further about it due to fear.
Despite these similarities between the Children in India and Syrian refugees, their comparison also has some differences. Even though Human Trafficking does not discriminate based on gender, age, or race, and anyone can be recruited into human trafficking, children are the most victims in India. In Syria, women make up the majority of the victims. The traffickers in India mainly target children as they are more vulnerable and make up most of the population. However, this is not the case in Syria, where women are the most victims. The motive for trafficking between the two is also different. In India, the victims are mainly used as laborers, while in Syria, the trafficked victims are used chiefly for commercial sex and to lure men into clubs. There is also a difference when it comes to consent. Children in India have no say in the issue, and their parents make consensual sales of their kids. This is, however, not the case when it comes to Syrian refugees who thought this might be a suggestion by a friend or someone else; the decision lies with the women themselves. It can also be noted that while the trafficked children of India try to escape their owners and flee back home, this is unlike the Syrian women. The women of Syria are often seen to try and evade police raids that will mean their deportation back home, something they seem not to take as a relief.
Conclusively, human trafficking has raised concern in the recent past. Poverty-ridden countries are more likely to experience high levels of Human Trafficking. Children in India and Syrian refugees are essential case studies when reviewing human trafficking in their respective countries. Poverty and other reasons have played a role in steering this vice. There is some resemblance in the two case studies; however, following a close observation, some apparent cut differences can also be seen. Children in India and Syrian refugees should be used to create awareness of the dangers of Human Trafficking. Integrated methods to deal with this concerning issue affecting poverty-embedded countries should be explored.
BBC News. (2017). The Syrian refugees turning to sex to survive – BBC News. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZqHUBkLv4E
Al Jazeera English. (2019). Children for Sale: The Fight Against Child Trafficking in India | REWIND. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5QXtdLaeUI
Coppedge, S. (2016). Chapter4: The Victims of Human Trafficking. A crucial part of prevention is learning from survivors about what has helped them avoid victimization (pgs. 68-91, The Human Trafficking book).