Table Of Content„Everyone knows what slavery is, from school, from television documen- taries, or from g Thomas Schirrmacher
n
the movies. The abolition of slavery belongs to the triumphs of history. It is an integral ki
c
component of the path to human rights, democracy, and a free society. And it belongs fi
to history. That is, however, a huge mistake. This is due to the fact today there are more af
Tr
slaves now than in any other prior century. And most of them have been treated and n
a
moved around like goods on the global market. m Human
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While classical slavery was abolished in the Western World by the first great human H
rights campaign in history, modern day slaves lack an advocate such as one finds in the r
debate over global warming. For that reason I am thankful to my readers that they are ta- ce
a
king time to inform themselves essentially ‘in a nutshell’ about one of the worst present m Trafficking
day atrocities that exists. The victims will also be thankful, because only through the aid rr
of a large groundswell on the part of civil society can the battle against human trafficking chi
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again be placed among the highest priorities on the political agenda.“ s
a
Prof. Dr. theol. Dr. phil. Thomas Schirrmacher, PhD, ThD, m
o The Return to Slavery
DD, is professor of the sociology of religion at the State h
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University of the West in Timisoara (Romania), Distinguis-
hed Professor of Global Ethics and International Develop-
ment at William Carey University in Shillong (Meghalaya,
India), as well as president and professor of ethics at Mar-
tin Bucer European Theological Seminary and Research
Institutes with branches in Bonn, Berlin, Zurich, Inns-
bruck, Prague, Istanbul and Sao Paolo. Schirrmacher has
held guest professorships and has given special lectures 2
1
at universities on all continents.
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Schirrmacher is chair of the Theological Commission of
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the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), director of the Inter-
i
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national Institute for Religious Freedom (Bonn, Cape Town, Colombo) and Ambassador e
for Human Rights of WEA; the WEA represents churches with 600 million members alto- S
gether. He also is a member of the board of the International Society for Human Rights.
s
Schirrmacher regularly testifies in the German parliament and other parliaments in Euro- e
pe, as well as in the EU in Brussels, the OSCE in Vienna and other international bodies. u
His has written 102 books; three of his newest books are Fundamentalism, Racism, and s
s
Human Trafficking. He has earned four doctorates, in missiology and ecumenical theo-
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logy, in cultural anthropology, in ethics, and in sociology of religion, and received two
l
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honorary doctorates from the USA and India.
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sponsored by: l
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W
e
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ISBN 978-3-86269-070-1
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ISSN 1867-7320
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Verlag für Kultur und Wissenschaft
(Culture and Science Publ.) W K
K
V
Dr. Thomas Schirrmacher V
Thomas Schirrmacher
Human Trafficking
The WEA Global Issues Series
Editors:
Geoff Tunnicliffe,
Secretary General, World Evangelical Alliance
Thomas Schirrmacher,
Director, International Institute for Religious Liberty and
Speaker for Human Rights of the World Evangelical Alliance
Volumes:
1. Thomas K. Johnson – Human Rights
2. Christine Schirrmacher – The Islamic View of Major Christian Teachings
3. Thomas Schirrmacher – May a Christian Go to Court?
4. Christine Schirrmacher – Islam and Society
5. Thomas Schirrmacher – The Persecution of Christians Concerns Us All
6. Christine Schirrmacher – Islam – An Introduction
7. Thomas K. Johnson – What Difference does the Trinity Make
8. Thomas Schirrmacher – Racism
9. Christof Sauer (ed.) – Bad Urach Statement
10. Christine Schirrmacher – The Sharia: Law and Order in Islam
11. Ken Gnanakan – Responsible Stewardship of God’s Creation
12. Thomas Schirrmacher – Human Trafficking
13. Thomas Schirrmacher – Ethics of Leadership
14. Thomas Schirrmacher – Fundamentalism
“The WEA Global Issues Series is designed to provide thoughtful
and practical insights from an Evangelical Christian perspective into
some of the greatest challenges we face in the world.
I trust you will find this volume enriching and helpful in your Kingdom service.”
Dr. Geoff Tunnicliffe, Secretary General, World Evangelical Alliance
Thomas Schirrmacher
Human Trafficking
The Return of Slavery
Translator: Richard McClary
Editor: Thomas K. Johnson
Editorial Assistant: Ruth Baldwin
The WEA Global Issues Series
Volume 12
Verlag für Kultur und Wissenschaft
Culture and Science Publ.
Bonn 2013
World Evangelical Alliance
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ISBN 978-3-86269-070-1 / ISSN 1867-7320
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Bonn – Zurich – Innsbruck – Prague – Istanbul – São Paulo
www.bucer.org
Contents
Preface ........................................................................................................ 7
I Latest Findings on Human Trafficking................................................. 9
1. Introduction ............................................................................................... 9
1.2 Facts and Numbers ................................................................................ 12
1.3 The How and Why of Human Trafficking ............................................ 21
1.4 Why is Criminal Prosecution so difficult and unsuccessful? ............... 36
II. Exploitation of Labor and Sexual Exploitation ............................... 43
2.1 Human Trafficking for Labor Exploitation (without Sexual
Exploitation) ........................................................................................ 43
2.2 Child Trafficking for sexual Exploitation ............................................. 49
2.3 Trafficking in Women for Purposes of Sexual Exploitation ................ 53
III: Practical Section ............................................................................... 65
3.1 What can an Individual do against Human Trafficking? ...................... 65
3.2 The Role of Counseling Centers ........................................................... 71
Links and Literature ............................................................................... 75
About the Author ..................................................................................... 83
Books by Thomas Schirrmacher in chronological order (With short
commentaries) ..................................................................................... 83
Biography .................................................................................................... 96
Preface
Everyone knows what slavery is, from school, from television documen-
taries, or from the movies. The abolition of slavery belongs to the triumphs
of history. It is an integral component of the path to human rights, democ-
racy, and a free society. And it belongs to history. That is, however, a huge
mistake. This is due to the fact today there are more slaves now than in any
other prior century. And most of them have been treated and moved around
like goods on the global market.
While classical slavery was abolished in the Western World by the first
great human rights campaign in history, modern day slaves lack an advo-
cate such as one finds in the debate over global warming. For most mem-
bers of the media, the fact of the unsavory business of forced prostitution is
not worth more than a report which, after all is said and done, provokes a
bit of shock, disgust, and titillation.
“Anyone who kidnaps another and either sells him or still has him when
he is caught must be put to death” (Exodus 21:16). Even if we no longer
respond with the death penalty for human trafficking, this Old Testament
provision demonstrates how old the problem is and that we are dealing
with one of the severest offenses committed by humanity. For that reason I
am thankful to my readers that they are taking time to inform themselves
essentially ‘in a nutshell’ about one of the worst present day atrocities that
exists. The victims will also be thankful, because only through the aid of a
large groundswell on the part of civil society can the battle against human
trafficking again be placed among the highest priorities on the political
agenda.
I Latest Findings on Human Trafficking
1. Introduction
I could be standing in front of the Colosseum in Rome, the Leaning
Tower of Pisa, under the Eiffel Tower in Paris, on Charles Bridge in Pra-
gue, or even in front of the largest temple in Nepal, at night at the market
in Bangkok, or at the airport in São Paulo. No matter where I am, I am
offered the same imitation brand name bags and watches by dark-skinned
foreigners. Only very few people suspect that what is involved here is pre-
dominantly people who are forced to sell imitation brand name goods un-
der appalling conditions and do not receive any of the proceeds them-
selves. It is a matter of a global, well-organized combination of human
trafficking and brand name imitation goods rings run by excellent manag-
ers1 with large production sites in China. And this happens in front of eve-
ryone’s eyes.
My research has led me to such different locations as Managua, Qatar,
Bangalore, Tokyo, Bangkok, Pattaya, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Entebbe,
Cape Town, New York, Prague, and Amsterdam. It has to do with the
darkest side of humanity. Actually, it would take a book each to deal with
the various sub-topics such as child pornography, bonded labour, forced
marriage, flat-rate brothels, and child soldiers in order to do these issues
justice and to express the horrors relating to them. I have a bad feeling
about only mentioning some of these topics on one half of a page. One
really needs to get into the basics of what would have to be done against
the poverty, the gap between rich and poor, and the oppression and vio-
lence against women, without which one could not even conceive of the
global increase in human trafficking. (A number of topics, such as child
poverty, have been addressed in the Compact Series.)
However, the point is actually to present the problematic nature of hu-
man trafficking in a manner that is compact, as the name of the series sug-
gests, and it is more important for the reader to gain a foundational over-
view than it is to bring every detail up for discussion.
Due to reasons of space, in this book I have completely dispelled with
the history of slavery, human trafficking, and forced prostitution. Likewise
I have dispelled with the moving and successful history of the anti-slavery
movement in the 18th and 19th centuries. In the near future I will be pub-
lishing a short book specifically dealing with this topic. According to Will
1 Also according to Naim: Schwarzbuch, 2005, p. 129.
