UNMIK ON AIR

18 December 2003

“Child Trafficking in Kosovo”

(By Valon Syla)

Since the end of the conflict in 1999, Kosovo has experienced an increase in both adult and child trafficking mainly for the purpose of prostitution.

Statistics released by the International Organization of Migration, 40 of the 300 plus victims of human trafficking assisted by the IOM were minors under the age of 18. Kosovo is no longer just a transit center but rapidly becoming a source, and according to Save the Children, minors are increasingly becoming the target of traffickers in human flesh.

Hello and welcome to UNMIK on Air,

One year ago an Albanian citizen was detained at Prishtina airport by UNMIK police while trying to smuggle a 17-year-old boy from Albania. Albania, like Ukraine and Moldova, is of course notorious as a source country and most of the data about trafficking in Kosovo concerns victims trafficked into Kosovo. But Kosovo cannot afford to be complacent, warns Save the Children, since it possesses many of the social, economic and political traits characteristic of sending countries. These include the artificially inflated economy of post-conflict Kosovo, political uncertainty, organized crime and porous borders.

With unemployment soaring, traffickers lure teenagers with false promises of jobs in countries such Italy and Germany. What awaits them is forced labour, sex slavery and in a few cases the horrific trade in human organs. With winter nights setting in and frequent power cuts, the road to school, especially for children finishing only around 7.30 pm, is increasingly dangerous. Eleven-year-old Ariana from Faik Konica primary school recalls a night when she was walking back from school.

11-year-old girl: “ I was afraid once, at night, I was with my friend Deja and an unknown man followed us, he started to run after us we escaped and entered into a restaurant, and one man went out of the restaurant and frightened the stranger who was chasing us.”

More than thousand pupils walk out every night from their primary schools in Prishtina. Those who are not accompanied by their parents or older brothers walk alone with the fear that they will be whisked away in the darkness.

Labinot Salihu heads Kosovo’s Youth Network that coordinates the various youth centers across Kosovo. He says that the late school hours put children at risk.

Labinot Salihu: “This is one of the factors that puts children at risk from traffickers, but unfortunately schooling in Kosovo is such, and it gives traffickers an opportunity to target children. An effective method of prevention would be changing the school hours.”

But it’s not just the school hours. Many young people remain unaware of trafficking and associated criminal networks according to Save the Children.

Spokeswoman Arta Hadri Jashari believes that raising awareness of trafficking is the best way to fight this scourge.

Arta Hadri Jashari: “We have organized direct sessions with children to inform them about the consequences of trafficking. This concerned children in the 12 to 17 year age bracket. Around 10 thousand children were included in this campaign.”

While Kosovo is nowhere near Albania for example, statistics released by UNMIK police are nonetheless disturbing. From February 2000, more than 26o kidnappings have been reported, more than 50 of them during the year of 2003 alone.

But the abuse of children goes beyond trafficking for sexual purposes, according to Labinot Salihu of Kosovo’s Youth Network. Children are in danger, but not from traffickers alone.

Labinot Salihu: “Trafficking is misunderstood in Kosovo, anytime this term is mentioned people think that it has to do something about prostitutes. The occurrence of children begging for money and selling cigarettes also means child trafficking many children in Kosovo are forced to beg, sometimes not only in the city where they live. Because as I heard a very organized network controls the children selling cigarettes and these minors are used by people for their personal profit”

One can argue however that by placing oneself in the hands of smugglers, even voluntarily, an individual has already ceded control of his or her fate and is therefore vulnerable and an easy prey to nefarious treatment. Migrant smuggling can therefore degenerate into trafficking in people.

The cocktail of social disintegration, poor education, poverty and the immense progress that still has to be made in terms of the rule of law, means that Kosovo’s kids are prime targets for traffickers and other exploiters of the young. And until those conditions change, raising awareness about the dangers remains a vital component of prevention.

Arta Jashari: Save the Children has plans to continue with the awareness of the children from 12 to 17 years old, also we aim to inform the potential clients which could use the services of the trafficked persons. But also cooperation with governmental institutions will include a new subject that will inform students on trafficking occurrence.”

Arta Jashari of Save the Children ending this edition of UNMIK on Air. Thanks for Listening.