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| Does reverse human trafficking exist in America? |
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By Fe Seligman NATIONAL CITY, Calif. – Consider this story. Maria (not her real name), a 14-year-old resident of National City, was reported missing last year. Her mother immediately contacted the Bilateral Safety Corridor Coalition (BSCC), a 60-member coalition of community partners and agencies in San Diego, Imperial and Los Angeles counties that are committed to stop human trafficking. Marisa Ugarte, the agency’s Executive Director, knew right away that this was a case of reverse trafficking. She called Juan Briones, her key contact in Tijuana, and asked his help. Briones, a retired legal prosecutor who used to work for the District Attorney’s office in San Diego County, is now a leading partner of BSCC and has taken the lead role in rescuing Maria and other victims of reverse trafficking. Using his contacts with the international unit in Baja California, Briones was tipped that Maria was in La Esperanza. When he reached La Esperanza, Briones could not find her. He later learned from Maria’s mother that her daughter had called her with a Calixco phone number and that she was in a house with people taking cocaine and methane. When the local police authorities were able to track and locate the house, Maria had already left for another town, about 5,000 miles away from National City with a man named Eduardo. Luckily for Maria, Eduardo turned her over to police authorities when he was “tipped” that she was being pursued by police officers. Thanks to BSCC and Briones, Maria now lives safely with her family in National City. What is reverse trafficking? Reverse trafficking is the illegal sale of U.S. citizens outside America. These women and children are kidnapped in their place of residence in America , taken to Mexico, and then sold for prostitution or slavery across the globe. Marisa Ugarte was one of the first key advocates to learn of this illegal operation. “How many U.S. citizens do you think are being kidnapped to Mexico every year?” Marissa Ugarte asked. “350,000 a year! These are minors and children. Mexico has been cited as the second place for pornography in the world and first place for child exploitation.” Ugarte, however, passionately implored that before any country judges Mexico, each political leader needs to ask: Who is truly getting the money? “Not Mexico alone! It is those countries that have created this demand,” Ugarte exclaimed. An international organized crime Ugarte stressed that for anti-human trafficking programs to work, countries need to understand that human trafficking is an international organized crime. Countries affected by human and reverse trafficking are encouraged to forge strong partnerships. This includes developing strong laws and policies that will enable each country to track each missing child; provide direct assistance to victims; and develop the appropriate protocols to ensure that prosecution against the perpetrators are provided in a timely and judicious manner. On a positive note, working with District Attorneys and police enforcers in Tijuana, BSCC has been able to locate successfully missing girls in San Diego and has taken them safely to their families. A good example is the case of Maria. “This success story is not the work of one individual,” Briones said. “We need to work bilaterally. Local leaders, police and federal officers, NGOs of U.S. and Mexico need to develop protocols and work as one to make this cause work.” While we are seeing some progress in the cause of preventing human trafficking, it is not enough according to Ugarte. “We are losing,” Ugarte said. “For one simple reason: We are not organized. We are fighting a crime that is highly organized.” Ugarte urged each one to see that human trafficking has no borders. As such, both U.S. and Mexico need to work together as partners and begin to actively engage in discussions that will lead into building bi-national and universal laws, policies and protocols in dealing with victim identification and victim assistance as well as providing a timely and judicious prosecution of traffickers. ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) |