Page 63 - FMR64_Trafficking and smuggling & Climate crisis and local communities_2020_web

FMR 64 Trafficking and smuggling 63

June 2020 www.fmreview.org/issue64

Smuggling and trafficking from Vietnam to Europe

Mimi Vu and Nadia Sebtaoui
Vietnamese migration to Europe is a complex, fluid phenomenon where a course of action
that begins as smuggling can also involve trafficking and other forms of exploitation.
Vietnam is one of the top source countries criminal gangs use the indebtedness as
for those who are smuggled and trafficked leverage to control the migrant throughout the
into Europe. The majority are young men journey, often forcing them into exploitative
and boys from a handful of central-north and situations en route such as working in
northern provinces who undertake the long sweatshops or selling counterfeit drugs.
and dangerous journey primarily because Women and children in particular are
they believe they have better economic vulnerable to rape and forced prostitution
prospects overseas. Despite steady growth in or other forms of sexual exploitation in
Vietnam’s economy, access to opportunities transit countries such as Russia, Ukraine,
for upward mobility through education Poland, Czech Republic, Germany, the
or employment is unequal and mostly Netherlands, Belgium and France.
concentrated in urban areas. Vietnamese who First responders in Europe, including law
lack this access and who come from provinces enforcement officials and NGOs, face many
with a long history of seeking work overseas challenges in identifying and supporting
make up the bulk of migrants to Europe. potential Vietnamese victims of trafficking.
In the 1980s, Vietnam had labour export These include: insufficient Vietnamese-
and study abroad programmes with former speaking law enforcement officials and
Soviet-bloc countries, which led to the social workers; a lack of knowledge of
establishment of diaspora communities in Vietnamese cultural context, which makes
Moscow, Kiev, Warsaw, Prague and Berlin. it difficult, when conducting interviews, to
These trade and migration routes still exist make accurate age assessments and reassure
today, and Vietnam is now the ninth highest migrants of their safety; and a limited number
remittance-receiving country in the world. of official translators who have knowledge
Services facilitating migration continued of the trafficking and smuggling situation.
after the Cold War, but these are now First responders and authorities also often
operated by people-smuggling operations only know about activities within their
controlled by Vietnamese-led organised own borders, and a lack of coordinated law
crime groups in Vietnam and overseas. enforcement response allows Vietnamese-
Currently, recruitment is through led organised criminal groups to operate
word of mouth and social media and both under the radar and in plain sight.
messaging channels such as Facebook and Finally, a lack of communication and
Zalo. Following the tragedy in October coordination between countries and their
2019 in which 39 Vietnamese were found analogous agencies prevents the tracking
dead in a refrigerated lorry in Essex (in of migrants as they cross borders.
the south-east of the UK), smugglers now
charge US$50,000 or more and claim to Building trust as first responders
guarantee safe passage to the UK plus In 2018, nearly 50% of all unaccompanied
employment. Families borrow at least half minors arriving at Paris-Roissy airport
of the total amount to pay for the first stage (part of a fairly new smuggling route
from Vietnam to a European country. transiting through Haiti) were Vietnamese
If a Vietnamese person decides to nationals. The French Red Cross, acting as
borrow money and undertake the journey to ad hoc administrators for unaccompanied
Europe, they assume an enormous financial minors detained at the French border,
and psychological burden. Smugglers and asked our team to provide interpretation