TV series and films depict human trafficking as a problem of developing and emerging countries. Young men and women from South Asia or South-eastern Europe are cooped up together in dark containers. “The reality is much more subtle”, says a social worker for the service Infotraite. The initiative in Luxembourg helps victims of human trafficking, assists them in managing their life here and preparing their court case. Their co-workers want to stay anonymous for the protection of the victims. “There are a lot of chains, but they are imaginary chains. The perpetrators bring the person here, they take away their passport and isolate the person. The person becomes dependent on the perpetrator and often, they don’t even know that they are victims, they don’t know the Luxembourgish laws.”
Human trafficking happens in Luxembourg. People are exploited in forced labour, on construction sites and in restaurants, in prostitution and domestic work. Infotraite as well as the association Time for Equality want to raise awareness about the issue. For Rosa Brignone, founder and president of Time for Equality, sensibilization is the key to prevention. “We want to raise attention especially to the sector of domestic work and the possible exploitation of especially women because it is the most hidden part of the phenomenon. It’s much more difficult to look at what happens behind closed doors, in families.”
A sensibilized society could help uncovering labour exploitation. Infotraite says: “Everyone can detect a victim of human trafficking. When you have a person in front of you and you think this might be a person who is human trafficked, you can always contact us, or if you think there is imminent danger, you can always contact the police. Afterwards, it is the police’s job to identified the person.” Only identified victims are admitted in Infotraite’s assistance program. They must commit to filing a report, get a limited residence permit and are under protection by the judicial police until the court case is finished.
If you see something suspicious, don’t hesitate to call the police or the Infotraite hotline directly. www.stoptraite.lu, +352 24460 3220, info@traite.lu.
Photo: Cade Martin, Dawn Arlotta, USCDCP on Pixnio.