From:"Irina Malenko" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To:"Editor" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject:k 8 marta - dlya International
Subject:k 8 marta - dlya International
Source: www.redpepper.org.uk
Date:Sun, 10 Mar 2002 15:45:17 -0000
Date:Sun, 10 Mar 2002 15:45:17 -0000
During the Vietnam war, a popular anti-war protest
slogan was "War is good busines - invest your son!".
Now in Bosnia and elsewhere where the U.S and
NATO is conducting it's war on the world, and "instilling
capitalist 'values' "you can add "and your daughter too"!
mart
growing across Europe during the past decade,
but rather than solve the problem the
international community has become complicit
with the traffickers in Bosnia, reports John McGhie.
Two years ago an American general serving with
Two years ago an American general serving with
the United Nations contingent in Bosnia had a
bright idea. The armed struggle between Serbs,
Croats and Bosnians had ended but the peace
was distinctly fragile. Tension between ethnic
groups ran high and no one trusted their
neighbours unless they'd fought alongside them
during a civil war that had killed 250,000 and made
refugees out of a million more.
So how to get them together? Well, free trade of
So how to get them together? Well, free trade of
course. If the great engine of capitalism could be
harnessed, people would have to learn to trust one
another. People who buy together don't die together.
The trick was finding a secure location where a
The trick was finding a secure location where a
physical market could be constructed. The
general, whose name now eludes the military,
solved this by clearing a strip of land outside
Brcko in North-west Bosnia, near the frontier with
Serbia and Croatia. With his troops ringing the area
to check for guns, a market was born and traders
moved in.
They called it Arizona. For a while it flourished.
They called it Arizona. For a while it flourished.
Stalls sold the usual household goods, plus black
market cigarettes, CDs and alcohol. Croats, Serbs
and Bosnians came by their thousand.
Today you can still buy all of these things but the
Today you can still buy all of these things but the
real business is done behind closed doors. Organised
crime has taken over the market. Cars stolen to order,
drugs, medicines and guns are all on the shopping list.
But the most serious trade is in people.
For Arizona has simply become the biggest slave
For Arizona has simply become the biggest slave
market in Europe. Its here that the former warlords
turned crime bosses of the fledgling Bosnian state
buy and sell women. Most of these women left their
homes in Eastern Europe in the belief they would
become waitresses or nannies in Italy or France.
But if they have not already been forced into
prostitution by the time they reach Arizona, they
soon will be.
The route into the country is always similar. The
The route into the country is always similar. The
women answer job adverts in local newspapers in
the poorer, usually rural, areas of their homelands.
They meet with men from an agency who promise
to accompany them and ease their passage across
borders. Wherever their starting point, the women
first enter Hungary or Rumania. There they are tricked
into handing over their passports under the ruse that
the men require them to process their visa applications.
From Hungary they cross illegally into Serbia. Then it's
on to Belgrade, where they are swiftly and brutally
disabused of any notions of waitressing.
It's at this stage that they receive some of the
It's at this stage that they receive some of the
worst treatment. Women aretold it's prostitution or
a beating, or death. Some are beaten anyway and
others are raped before being sold to a cafe or bar
owner. This man will 'employ' them for a few months
before selling them on to other gangs. These new
owners transport the women in small trucks or cars
to the border with Bosnia. Here they usually cross
the rivers that mark the frontier by night in small boats.
In a deeply ugly trade, the women are sold at
In a deeply ugly trade, the women are sold at
Arizona and a couple of other major transit posts
inside Bosnia. International police based in
Brcko said women are often put on stage in a
backroom bar, pirouetting in different costumes
while buyers inspect their flesh and look into the
women's mouths before making a bid. The more
attractive ones fetch DM2,000-DM4,000
(�650-�1,300).
Some women stay at Arizona, servicing the cross
Some women stay at Arizona, servicing the cross
border shoppers and local policemen at a dozen or
so 'night clubs' that infest the market. The rest will
be taken to cafes and brothels all over the country.
There, the 'clients' will include Bosnian men, but,
There, the 'clients' will include Bosnian men, but,
more significantly, they will also be forced to service
the vast numbers of foreigners who make up the i
nternational peacekeeping and reconstruction forces.
For the appalling truth is that the Bosnian slave markets
For the appalling truth is that the Bosnian slave markets
are propped up and abused by the very people who are
meant to be helping protect and rebuild the country. It is
a shaming fact that in a country that saw the full horrors
of civil war, some of the worst human rights violations are
today being perpetrated by the international community.
Nobody knows exactly how many women have been
today being perpetrated by the international community.
Nobody knows exactly how many women have been
trafficked into Bosnia. At the beginning of June the
estimate was 4,000-20,000 women. Brothels are
endemic. Some brothels are like the ones in Arizona
with names like 'Acapulco' and 'Romanca'. Others are
simply roadside cafes where the owner keeps a couple
of women for passing trade.
Madeleine Rees is the head of office of the UN High
Madeleine Rees is the head of office of the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights in Bosnia and the
most senior UN figure fighting trafficking. She first
gathered her evidence from women's groups who
worked with rape victims during the war. They noticed
a change in prostitution from about 1993. Prior to that
there were some local women, but afterwards it was
almost exclusively women from Eastern
Europe.
'If you look at the patterns of trafficking world-wide,
'If you look at the patterns of trafficking world-wide,
essentially you onlyget it where you're going to have
a market,' says Rees. 'It's a demand-led thing, and
basically in 1993 we had the presence of Unprofor (UN
Protection Force � the military predecessor of the
Stabilisation Force, Sfor), and undoubtedly that was
one of the pull factors.'
While inexcusable, it is explicable why Bosnia became
While inexcusable, it is explicable why Bosnia became
a trafficking destination. There were reports of soldiers
visiting brothels on a regular basis. But the war is now
over and yet the international community is still deeply
implicated in trafficking. Rees is not the only UN figure
to admit it, but given the politics of the UN she is taking
a risk in so doing.
'The presence of the international community creates
the market. Not everybody who is here goes and uses
trafficked women for sex, but some do. And some care
not at all whether they are voluntarily working as
prostitutes or whether they have been forced into it. And
then they are part of the problem,' she says.
And it is not just the soldiers of Sfor who are to blame.
And it is not just the soldiers of Sfor who are to blame.
Both UN personnel and staff from the 400 or so
non-governmental organisations in Bosnia either use the
trafficked women or, in a significant minority of cases, are
actually the traffickers themselves.
Evidence includes: a UN report, unpublished outside
Bosnia, of 'compelling evidence of complicity' of local
and international police and Sfor in 14 cases; four
other cases, one involving Sfor and three the
International Police Task Force (IPTF), where men had
trafficked women; in one small IPTF base two officers
admitted to us they regularly visited brothels where they
knew trafficked women were held; five IPTF officers were
recently sent home for being caught in raids on brothels;
a number of staff (unconfirmed reports say six) from the
Office of High Representative � the most senior UN body
in Bosnia � were also recently caught in a brothel raid;
we saw, and filmed, European Union vehicles parked
outside a well known Sarajevo brothel, and saw UN
vehicles outside other brothels; we secretly filmed a senior
US member of the international community in a brothel
boasting about how easy it was to buy a woman 'as property'.
It is chillingly clear much of the international community
It is chillingly clear much of the international community
in Bosnia has a culture of using prostitutes. The feeling
is that if the women are trafficked, well, they probably
want to be there, and many of them look happy enough
and if they get their money, what's the fuss about?
A local woman living near a brothel used by a British IPTF
A local woman living near a brothel used by a British IPTF
officer said she'd seen women coming out in tears after
apparently being beaten up. And when we visited the same
brothel we saw one girl, who said she was 18 but looked
much younger, who made it absolutely clear she wanted to
get out. We told both the local and international police about
the place but as far as I am aware the brothel is still in operation
and that young girl is still being held there against her will.
The official response to all this is that whenever men are caught
The official response to all this is that whenever men are caught
in a brothel they are sent home. But this is a reactive response
and as such is seriously inadequate. Apart from one or two
anti-traffickers there is little sense that this is a major issue. And
if the UN chiefs know what is going on, there is hardly a feeling
of urgency in combating it.
However, there are some signs of progress. Rees has teamed up
with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to start an
education programme aimed at Sfor troops. But an advertising
campaign aimed at the women themselves is hampered by lack
of resources � there's not even enough cash to staff a hot-line for
women in trouble. One success in a sea of despair is the safe
house system. When women escape and are lucky enough to run
to authorities that will not just return her to her pimp � as has often
happened � they are sent to Sarajevo. There they are looked after
by Frederick Larsson of the IOM. There is finally money for an
official safe house but until now escapees have been despatched to
different addresses around the Bosnian capital in a kind of unofficial
'Underground Railroad'. While they are in these safe houses the
official safe house but until now escapees have been despatched to
different addresses around the Bosnian capital in a kind of unofficial
'Underground Railroad'. While they are in these safe houses the
women are counselled and the paperwork is prepared to send them
home. So far only 67 have made it back.
It is dangerous work. Now that proper efforts are being made to
It is dangerous work. Now that proper efforts are being made to
try and prosecute pimps � and there've only been a handful thus
far � pimps will go to great lengths to get their 'property' back.
Ten women in the past year have been murdered. One was found
dead in the river, her mouth bound shut with tape from the
Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe � many believe
it was a signal from organised crime that they will not tolerate women
speaking out. The problems in fighting trafficking are legion. Corruption
is endemic; there is a prevailing culture where it is all right to visit
brothels and most local police are unwilling to tackle the 'low priority'
problem.
For people like Larsson and Rees it's a hugely frustrating struggle.
For people like Larsson and Rees it's a hugely frustrating struggle.
'I find this one of the most disgusting areas to have to work in,' says
Rees. 'The impunity with which men will use women in this way and
the idea that no one is really taking responsibility for it or dealing with
it should cause international outrage.' It is now abundantly clear that
the international community is part of the problem, and we must stop
it from behaving like this.
This is not some issue in a far away country over which we have
This is not some issue in a far away country over which we have
no sway. It is in the middle of Europe and the international presence
there is our responsibility. So we must take it.
John McGhie leads the Channel 4 News investigations unit at Just
John McGhie leads the Channel 4 News investigations unit at Just
TV. This article is based on an report broadcast on 8 June 2000
Also published this month in Red Pepper: The One That Got Away;
Also published this month in Red Pepper: The One That Got Away;
John McGhie interviews one woman who escaped from her pimp at
Arizona, and Sex Slavery is Spreading Fast; Simon Bebbington on
the traffic that is reaching our shores.
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