Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of Figures and Tables
- Notes on the Author
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Linking the Local and the Global: Understanding Human Trafficking Flows
- 3 The Pathways of Human Trafficking Flows
- 4 Neoliberal Colonialism and the Case of Cambodia
- 5 Neoliberal Accommodation and the Case of Bolivia
- 6 Neoliberal (In)stability and the Case of The Gambia
- 7 Conclusion
- Appendix
- References
- Index
1 - Introduction
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 October 2022
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of Figures and Tables
- Notes on the Author
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Linking the Local and the Global: Understanding Human Trafficking Flows
- 3 The Pathways of Human Trafficking Flows
- 4 Neoliberal Colonialism and the Case of Cambodia
- 5 Neoliberal Accommodation and the Case of Bolivia
- 6 Neoliberal (In)stability and the Case of The Gambia
- 7 Conclusion
- Appendix
- References
- Index
Summary
Faith was approached by a woman who promised her a job at a Nigerian restaurant in Italy. Faith thought this was her chance to begin a new life, especially as she saw some fellow Nigerians return from Europe better off than when they left. When Faith arrived in Italy, however, she was informed she had to pay back more than $50,000 in debt before she could leave. Her traffickers forced her into prostitution, telling Faith they would kill her if she did not comply. Faith felt like she was always in danger and was even stabbed several times. She managed to escape and now works to help other women trapped in sex trafficking in Italy. (Trafficking in Persons Report, 2018: 8)
Ashik was struggling to support his family in Bangladesh when he saw an ad for chefs in London. The recruiter said he needed to pay up front for visas, so Ashik borrowed more than 20,000 USD from moneylenders. When he arrived in London, he was put on a bus to Scotland where he was forced to work in a remote hotel. The recruiter confiscated Ashik's passport and threatened to report him as an illegal worker if he complained. Ashik was the only employee responsible for dozens of hotel rooms and tour groups. He slept either on the floor of empty rooms or in an old caravan behind the hotel. Ashik was eventually able to leave but he was never paid for his work. He is still afraid to return home because of the money he owes recruiters. (Trafficking in Persons Report, 2018: 37)
I start with these stories from the Trafficking in Persons Report. They are merely two accounts from a global estimate of millions of victims. The total number of human trafficking victims worldwide range from 24.9 million (Trafficking in Persons Report, 2019) to 40.3 million (International Labour Organization and Walk Free Foundation, 2017). The transnational and hidden nature of human trafficking makes accurate figures difficult to estimate. Nevertheless, human trafficking is considered by some to be the largest systematic abuse of human rights in the world today, and it continues to grow. For the purposes of this book, human trafficking is defined as:
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Human Trafficking in the Era of Global MigrationUnraveling the Impact of Neoliberal Economic Policy, pp. 1 - 14Publisher: Bristol University PressPrint publication year: 2022