Causes and Factors Facilitating Human Trafficking in Ethiopia: The Case of Bati Town, Amhara Regional State

Abstract

Human trafficking is nowadays becoming a global concern due to its multifaceted causes and consequences affecting the life of thousands of people including men, women and children. This study aimed at analyzing the causes and factors facilitating human trafficking in Bati town of Oromo Administrative Zone, Amhara regional State. The specific objectives included identifying the major causes of human trafficking, identifying the major facilitating factors and mapping the transit and the major destination areas. The study employed a descriptive research design. The primary data for this study were collected from 232 migrant respondents selected using the random sampling technique and six key informants selected purposively. Questionnaire and semi-structured interview were used to collect data from migrants and key informants respectively. Descriptive statistic such as mean are used to analyze the data. Migration out of Bati town is initiated by both pull and push factors. The push factors include family and individual characteristics. Furthermore, economic disparities between the origin and destination areas, and the resultant variation in job opportunities in the destinations attract people to migrate. The survey results show that out of 232 respondents 89.65 percent migrate out of Bati town because of attractive labor demand in place of destination. In addition to this, the absences of legal travel agencies intermingle with the legal process, the lengthy time it takes and the increasing number of false promise makers in the town are the main factors that aggravate the issue of trafficking in the town.The results of study revealed that 39.65% of respondents prefer illegal migration due to the absence of real legal travel agencies in Bati town and the surrounding zonal towns. The study also indicated the role of informal groups and false promise makers. Generally, the study concluded that the problems of human trafficking are related with economic issues. Therefore, stakeholders are recommended to come up with job opportunities for citizens and to make people more aware of the risk and consequences of trafficking. Finally, the findings of this study demonstrate the magnitude of the problem and could be used to tackle the challenges with the involvement of all actors.

Key Words: Bati town, Human trafficking, Migration, Socio-economy, False promise makers

¹ School of Geography and Environmental Studies, HARAMAYA UNIVERSITY, ETHIOPIA
² School of Geography and Environmental Studies, HARAMAYA UNIVERSITY, ETHIOPIA (Corresponding Author) E-mail address: awlakml@yahoo.com

1. Introduction

Human migration has long been considered as an element of population dynamics which can have significant consequences on both areas of origin and destination. Migration is a global phenomenon that involves the movement of people legally or illegally for various reasons. Human trafficking is one form of migration, and migration is a response made by persons to cope up with different economic, socio-cultural, and political crises (Gudetu, 2014). Trafficking in person is defined as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of threat, use of force or other means of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person for the purpose of exploitation (OHCHR, 2013).

According to ILO (2017), there are more than 40 million victims of human trafficking worldwide. A large number of women and children suffer from different types of inhuman abuses and exploitation because of human trafficking. Women who have been trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation suffer from a significant higher rate of HIV and STDs, tuberculosis and permanent damage to their reproductive systems.Lack of vocational and economic opportunity for the youth, inaccessible educational opportunity, traditional migration of adults within the framework of economic activity, high demand of cheap labor in the informal economic sector these and other related factors encourage African children trafficking (UNICEF, 2001; Todres, 2006).

Trafficked women and children are engaged in sex work for their livelihoods, and the number of student drop out and unemployment rate is increasing in the study area due to human trafficking. Lucrative promises made by illegal agents, poor educational background of emigrants as well as peer and parents pressure are major facilitating factors for large number of trafficked people (Seid, 2013).

The findings of a study by Hailemichael (2014) showed that such economic conditions as poverty and a desire to improve one’s economic condition coupled with lack of employment and low payment for domestic works forced many young Ethiopians to look for opportunities in a foreign land and to end up in trafficking. Bati town is not only an origin of migrants but also serves as a transitional zone. An Ethiopian case study evaluation of trafficking in person for labor purposes identified eight very high and high incidence areas, among these Bati town was ranked as the most exposed and affected by human trafficking (ILO, 2006). Hence, the primary objective of this study was to examine and explore the socio-economic impacts of human trafficking in Bati town of Amhara Regional State. It had the specific objectives of identifying the major causes of human trafficking and the major facilitating factors, as well as the transit and the major destination areas.

2. Description of the Study Area

Bati is a town in north central Ethiopia located in the Oromo Administrative Zone of the Amhara region. The town is found 417 Km far from the capital city of Ethiopia (Addis Ababa), 41 km from the industry town of Kombolcha and near to Djibouti’s Ghelaelo province. The town has a latitude and longitude of 11o11' North and 40o1'East with an elevation of 1502 meters above sea level. It is the largest town in Bati Woreda. The town was a municipal administration since 1943, and from 2007 onwards with five rural Kebeles and four town Kebeles, Bati is designated as a town administration (BTGCO, 2013).

Based on the figures from the Central Statistical Agency (CSA, 2007), Bati has a total population of 24,754 of whom 11, 975 are men and 12,779 are women. As per 2014’s estimation, the total population of Bati was 32,442. Bati, similar to other Ethiopian towns, is a place where different ethnic groups live together peacefully. The oromo ethnic group predominantly constitutes 92% of the residents of the town followed by Amhara 7% and others make up 1%. The major spoken languages include Oromiffa, Amharic and Afarginya. Large numbers of the inhabitants of the town are Muslim (about 95%), followed by Orthodox Christians (3%) and others (2%). The topography of Bati is 28% valley, 20% mountains and 42% up and down. The town is almost entirely bounded by Bati zuria woreda and in the west by Kalu Woreda. Bati’s annual average temperature ranges from 27°C to 30°C and due to the shortage of rain in the area sorghum and groundnut are the dominant crops and the most dominant vegetation are acacia, grass and Jatrova.

Figure 1 Location Map of the Study Area
Source: GIS Data Ethio-GIS 2014

3. Research Methodology

To obtain relevant information for the study, the investigator adopted a descriptive research design which includes both qualitative and quantitative approaches.This research design allows for describing the existing situation, life histories, characteristics and investigating phenomena. Primary data sources were used in this study. The data were collected from 232 migrant respondents selected by applying random sampling technique and six key informants from stakeholders selected by using purposive sampling. Pre-tested questionnaire and semi-structured interview were used to collect data from migrants and key informants respectively. Descriptive statistic such as mean and percentage were used to analyze the data.

Bati town has nine kebele administrations and of these four kebeles were the target of the study. The kebeles were selected based on their relatively large number of returnee migrants as well as prevalence of human trafficking practice as observed through personal observation and the information obtained from Bati Town Government and Communication Office. The sampling frame of the study was the total number of returnee migrants in both kebeles. To determine sample size for the survey, Kothari (2004) formula was employed (Table 1).

4. Results and Discussion

4.1. The socio-demographic characteristic of trafficked persons

The survey indicated that 46.55% of trafficked persons from Bati town started or completed their primary education. Data from the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs also shows that of the total migrants for the year 2012, more than 85% were students who either dropped or quit schools at primary level (MoLSA, 2013).

As far as marital status is concerned, divorced people were more vulnerable than others. In other words, unhappy marriage could lead people to migrate. Early married persons also migrate to escape the marriage. Married people constitute 27.58% and there may be association between having a large family and children being trafficked. With regard to the vulnerability of unmarried people it was found that this category consists 27.15% and this can be related with individual interest, peer and family pressure.

The result of the survey indicated that 125 respondents (53.88%) were between the age of 15 and 18 and these are more vulnerable as well as misguided and misinformed age group. Thirty seven or 15.9% of respondents trafficked were aged between 19 and 22.

4.2. Personal motive and decision making in human trafficking

4.2.1. Individual interest towards trafficking

The survey result as shown in Table 2 indicated that 208 (89.65%) respondents were not personally interested to leave their homeland. This implies that the interference of a third party is a major factor. An insignificant number of respondents 24 (10.34%) had been thinking about leaving their villages from the study area.

4.2.2. The dominant decision maker in human trafficking

Table 3 shows that 34.91% and 34.05% of the migrants (trafficked persons) have left their homeland due to the active involvement of peer and family pressure respectively. For the remaining 11.2 and 9.48 percent, the decision was made by brokers and relatives respectively. Most of the research argues that the decision in human trafficking is generally made by relatives, friends and family who play a major role in internal trafficking, on the other hand for international boundaries the role of brokers and illegal employment agents have aggravated role in affecting the decision of the individual in human trafficking (Eshetu, 2003).

Not only the result of questionnaire but also the statement of the interviewed key informants confirmed that the role of other people is very important in the victim’s decision to migrate abroad:

“ ….. the promise given by the broker has influenced the migrants to decide to go outside in a hurry. ” (key informants)

4.3. Reasons for migration

4.3.1. Push factors

The findings of this study show that 96 (41.3%) respondents confirmed that they were forced to migrate due to family characteristics which include the disintegration of family through either death or divorce. Adopoju (2005) strengthens this idea by stating that the death of both parents is linked to more intense poverty, increased pressure on children to work and drop out from school. Another family characteristic that increases vulnerability to trafficking is a large family size. Having a large family is linked with children’s economic participation, since adults in large families may be unable to meet the family’s basic needs alone and thus may require their children to work.

As indicated in Table 4 below, 38 % of the respondents confirmed that people migrate away from their homeland due to individual interest. This is due to their expectation to maximize their own benefit and to increase the income of the family through remittance. Community characteristics also contributed to people’s vulnerability to trafficking as it consists 20.25% which includes, lack of protective service for children trying to escape an a abusive home, employer or early marriage, lack of recreational and social opportunities in the communities, that makes migration an attractive alternative.

4.3.2. Pull factors

The survey result (Table 5) shows that out of 232 respondents, 89.65 % of them migrated out of Bati town because of the attractive labor demand in the place of destination. Berhanu (2002) stated that economic disparities between regions also lead to more migration flows, as countries that are more affluent draw up the potential workforce of poorer countries as a source of labor.

4.3.3. Other factors

As shown in Table 6, (39.65%) respondents prefer illegal migration due to the absence of legal travel agencies in Bati town and the surrounding zonal towns. The absence of real legal travel agencies is in a position to make the business of human trafficking in person from Ethiopia more sophisticated, organized and widespread (Alemtsehai, 2009). The remaining 34.91% confirmed that the process of legal requirement is a major factor which pushes people to engage in illegal migration. In addition to this, 19.32% of respondents confirmed that they were drawn into illegal migration because there was no requirement of legal documents (Table 6). According to Adopoju (2005), most trafficked people are unable to present legal documents like birth certificate, education certificate, passport and other documents; to escape from this, people prefer illegal migration.

4.4. Major preferred areas of destination for migrants

The national surveys shows that the Middle East is a popular destination for Ethiopian women and children due to its geographical proximity, high demand for domestic workers, large number of Ethiopian community living there and also traveling under the pretext of annual religious pilgrimages (Kebede,2001;RMMS,2014). Similarly, about 99 or 42.67% of respondents in this survey agree that Saudi Arabia is the major preferable destination for Bati town migrants. This is related with the crucial role of local brokers and travel agencies who coordinate extensively religious pilgrimages especially during the period just before the religious holidays to send victims (Table 7). Another 21.98 % respondents confirmed that the second popular destination is Djibouti because of the large number of Ethiopian community living there. According to Belayneh and Tekle (2000), Djibouti is not only a destination but also the major route to reach the Middle East serving as a transition zone. The remaining 17.24%, 9.48% and 8.62% of respondents preferred Beirut, Lebanon and Yemen as destinations respectively.

4.5. Impacts of human trafficking

4.5.1. Economic Impacts of human trafficking

Now a day, trafficking in person is illegal all over the world and as a result we do not have accurate statistics on the amount required for trafficking process. The United Nation Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC (2006) has pointed out that human trafficking operators estimated profits are between USD 7- 10 billion annually and victims of trafficking have lost this amount of cost. As shown in Table 8 ,76 or 34.38 % of respondents confirmed that victims of trafficking are required to pay from 15,001 to 20,000 Ethiopian Birr for trafficking process per person and 33.93 % respondents paid between 10,001Birr and 15, 000 birr. Furthermore, 15.51% of respondents confirmed that migrants of Bati town pay 20,001 to 25,000 Birr for trafficking process which is the highest payment when compared with the others. To this end, on average a returnee of Bati town paid 15,079 Ethiopian birr per person for facilitating trafficking process which was equal to 753USD in 2014 (Table 8).

4.5.2. People’s experience and societal impacts of human trafficking

Trafficked victims are stripped of their human rights.Trafficked persons are subject to all types of human rights violations, not least of all the rights to life, liberty and freedom from slavery. Trafficked children are deprived of the right to grow up in a protective environment, and to be free from sexual exploitation and abuse less considered are the rights to adequate health care, education, a decent work environment, and freedom from discrimination,and others (Todres, 2006; ILO, 2017).

According to Annan, et al.(2006) victims are kept in very poor conditions with substandard clothing and food, unhygienic living conditions and no provision for health care. They are also physically and sexually abused by their employers. During the interview the above stated problems were mentioned by the respondents.

4.5.2.1. People’s perception towards the societal impacts of trafficking

As indicated in Table 9, large number of respondents (209 or 90.08 %) had awareness about the socio-economic impacts of human trafficking in the town. Whereas, the remaining respondents (23 or 9.91 %) seem not to have any information about the impacts of trafficking.

4.5.2.2. Social impacts of human trafficking

Human trafficking is the possession or trading of humans for the purpose of engaging them in slavery and sex work through the means of force and coercion (Adopoju, 2005; ILO, 2017). The impact of trafficking on communities has not been systematically documented in the town, but some of the expected impacts of trafficking on the communities have been confirmed in this study. As shown in Table 10, 22.02 % of respondents confirmed that unemployment was the primary problem of the town. In this regard, victims stated that until they get the chance to work aboard they were not engaged in any employment due to the absence of job opportunity in the study area. In addition to this they state that they came back home without developing any marketable skill and knowledge which means they were not competent enough to find a job as returnees. The second largest group of respondents 21.53% confirmed that the societal experience in the town is deteriorating due to the increasing commercial sex. Especially women victims who came from surrounding rural kebeles and from neighboring woredas chose not to return back to their place of origin and instead stay in the town engaged in commercial sex work.

Another point to be noted here is that 19.14% of the respondents stated that the victims were deprived of education opportunities and all human rights from the beginning to until they return leading to a deterioration in public safety. As shown in Table 10, 20.57% of respondents stated that loss of human resources from source communities result in reduction in economic development due to fewer productive workers as well as few persons left behind to give care for children and the elderly. Finally, 16.74% of the respondents stated that delinquency and crime are the other societal impacts of human trafficking. According to Oucho (2006) human trafficking encourages organized crime networks and increase in other types of trafficking including trafficking in drugs, weapons and stolen goods.

4.5.3. Health impacts due to human trafficking

Trafficked persons were asked in this survey about the health problems they suffered. Accordingly, large proportion of respondents (119 or 59.78 %) confirmed that they came up with STDs due to their involvement in human trafficking which resulted in forced commercial sex work and abuse in almost all stage of trafficking process. Mostly trafficked persons are poorly educated, their awareness about STDs is limited thus leading to increase their vulnerability. On the other hand, especially women who have been trafficked in to sex trade often may not have access to or are not allowed to use condoms or other methods of birth control and may only have irregular gynecological examination. Such women face the risk of unwanted pregnancies and miscarriages. The physically immature bodies of young girls are extremely vulnerable to injuries and such injuries increase the risk of infection in STDs (Adopoju, 2005).

The remaining (39 or 19.59%) respondents stated that they were infected with malaria, which is related with mode of transport.The majority of migrants from Bati travel through arid area of Afar region and Djibouti. Most of the time people travel on a lorry or on foot with absence of basic needs and lack of medical services which increase the risk of being infected in malaria especially during transition. Some of the respondents (15.50 %) face mental health problem which is the result of physical abuse and beatings, sexual abuse and rape in destination area. Anxiety, mistreatment, lack of good medical service when return to their homeland all these leads to sever mental or emotional health consequences. The other insignificant proportion (5.03 % ) responded that they observed loss of body parts or became physically disable (Table 11).

4.6. Difficulties faced by trafficked people during each stages of the trafficking process

All the victims of trafficking face extensive exploitation and abuse during the different stages of trafficking. The most prevalent forms of exploitation and abuse experienced by Ethiopian woman and children are emotional, physical and sexual in nature (Bezabih, 2008; Gudetu, 2014). As shown in Table 12, about one- third (35.77 %) of trafficked migrants from the town have worked under exploitative conditions. This includes migrants obligated to work without rest continuously. Victims who were trafficked to the Middle East faced labor exploitation. They begin their work on 5 A.M. in the morning and continue working up to 1 P.M. in the night during the whole week (Alemtsehai, 2009). Another important finding shows that 13.36 % of respondents faced challenges related with getting social services such as shelter, medical care, and clothing especially during transit and destination areas, this increases the risk of health problem. On the other hand 15.51 % of the migrants stayed without any job; this begins from the origin (Bati) town up to destination area. According to Bati Town Government Communication Office’s (2013) annual report about 50% - 75% of trafficked people stay from 3 to 6 months in the town doing domestic work without any payment in the houses of the transistors. The finding from key informant’s interview also confirmed that labor exploitation begins in the town. While 13.36 percent of respondents suffered from the absence of daily consume, 11.63 % of respondents said they were frequently beaten, raped and threaten. It is possible to conclude that due to human trafficking, citizens were physically and psychologically abused and affected as well as became hopeless, when they return back to their homeland with drug addiction (Table 12).

4.7. Livelihoods of returnee migrants

As shown in Table 13, large numbers of returnee migrants (34.91%) were engaged in urban informal sector which could be related with their lower educational level and limited business management skills. The second largest proportion of migrants (30.6%) became family dependent when they came back to their homeland. Another point noted is that 21.55% of respondents confirmed that the victims participated in daily wage labor; on the other hand, an insignificant number of migrants (5.17 %) were engaged as government employee as they had better educational attainment.

5. Conclusion

The findings of the study confirm the prevalence of human trafficking is in Bati town. Lack of opportunities, limited income, and community and family characteristics are the common reasons to trafficking in the study area. Moreover, the highly lucrative false promise by brokers, which draws an attractive image of life in the destination areas, and absence of legal labor travel agencies, could be taken as aggravating factors that exposed victims to trafficking. In addition to this family members, friends and relatives had played a significant role in the decision making process. The study also found that there is no any formal agreement and there is no direct contact between the victims and the employers. It also shows that the chain of informal groups especially brokers select target groups through contact with families, friends, relatives or other nearest person of the victims.The study found that the heavy workloads, long working hours, serving more than one family, restriction of movement, deprivation of basic needs reduction and denial of salaries, and sexual harassment had exposed the victims to physical, social, emotional , health and economic problem. The study concluded that human trafficking causes loss of human resources, social demographic imbalance, denial children access to education and negative effect on labor market. It is also related with criminal activates, number of informal economy activity increase, and it is also one reason for community breakdown.

The study revealed that economic issues expose people to illegal migration, therefore providing employment opportunities is essential to address the problem. Furthermore, encouraging the establishment of legal travel agencies could help to minimize human trafficking.

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support they received from the Ministry of Education through Haramaya University to conduct the study. The authors express their gratitude to Dr. Tegegne Sishaw for his encouragement and comments. Furthermore, the authors would also like to thank the anonymous reviewers, language editor and Editor-in-Chief of EJSS for their valuable comments and suggestions which helped to improve the quality of the paper.

References