Global human trafficking roundup (August 18, 2010)

NORTH AMERICA

Washington: Department of Justice said that Seattle and Portland are two of the twelve hub cities of human trafficking in the U.S. The primary reason is attributed to the easy access from I-5 corridor that spans from Mexico to Canada according to the report. 

California: Ebay takes down the U.S. access to sex trafficking allegation. The access was blocked after the CEO of Craigslist pointed their finger at eBay in response to the allegation of sex trafficking and prostitution on its website. The CEO of Craigslist further argued that Craigslist puts significant efforts into moderating inappropriate website unlike eBay in his response to the allegation. According to the report, eBay however is planning on taking down these types of sites to ensure that its sites are in alignment with family-friendly values. 

EUROPE

Ukraine: Sex trafficking is growing in the capital city of Ukraine, Kiev. After the global financial crisis, more women and children are forced into prostitution. Regardless of advocacy activities against human trafficking, sex trafficking seems to be unstoppable, according to the report. 

Ireland: Authority announced that 16 people have been arrested this year for sham marriages. According to the report, nine out of the 16 people arrested have been removed from the country. The authority also mentioned that they have received more serious allegations including human trafficking in regards to marriage fraud. 

ASIA

UAE: Three individuals were arrested for trafficking a Moroccan woman to UAE for prostitution. The three individuals from Lebanon, Morocco, and Egypt. The Moroccan victim in her twenties came to the UAE through a woman who was supposed to help her find a job in the country. But, upon arrival, her passport and other documents were taken away, and the traffickers took a picture of her in a red dress. She was also confined in a room and forced into prostitution by the traffickers. But, she was able to escape the traffickers and report to the police while going out to met customers.  

South Korea; Juicy bars suffer hostess shortage after the Filipino government prevented Filipino women from working at Juicy bars in South Korea. The number of hostesses in the juicy bars operating around the U.S. military zones sharply dropped about 50-60 percent since the crackdown. The crackdown by the Filipino government on hostesses in juicy bar occurred after a news article exposed human trafficking and prostitution among the juicy bars. 

AFRICA

Tanzania: People with Albinism are sold and mutilated in Tanzania. A Kenyan man was arrested for attempting to sell an albino man earlier this week. The arrest was made during the sting that the police pretended to be a businessman buying albino body parts. Albino body parts are prized among the witchdoctors who claim that the body parts have special power. According to the BBC report, the Kenyan man lured the fellow Kenyan man with Albinism to come to Tanzania with him with a promise of a job as a truck driver's assistance.