One of the first news stories I read when I arrived in East Anglia was the story of a trafficking ring that had just been smashed in Norfolk, finding two people guilty of trafficking young women from Lithuania to Great Yarmouth in Norfolk for sex, imprisoning them in a small house bang in the middle of a quiet cul-de-sac in Bradwell village.
I kept that story in my desk at work, to remind me of how urgent the fight against human trafficking is, and that it can take place in any community, no matter how small or safe we think it might be. If you want to read the whole thing, you can find it in the Eastern Daily Press.
I kept that story in my desk at work, to remind me of how urgent the fight against human trafficking is, and that it can take place in any community, no matter how small or safe we think it might be. If you want to read the whole thing, you can find it in the Eastern Daily Press.
“It’s important to emphasise also that there are more victims of human trafficking in the world today than at any other point in history and today sends a massive message out to those who would traffic humans.”-- Norfolk Police DCI Botwright
It's not the only case of trafficking uncovered in East Anglia. I've read of at least two other trafficking rungs being uncovered in the last year. But of course, that could only be the tip of the iceberg. We don't know.
Paul Cunningham, of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority, shed some light on how victims are trafficked into Britain:
"The trafficking gangs entice victims in their native countries by placing adverts in newspapers promising full-time employment and a better life in Britain.They charge their victims hundreds of pounds to get over here, meaning the trafficked worker is often in debt to the gang from the start. The debt will never be paid off. There is interest on the debt. If you do make a complaint they will know your family back home. You are loathe to come forward. It is slavery - there is no other word for it - here in 2011 in Great Britain - trafficking human beings."
Read the rest of the article here. It's a good insight into how trafficking can exist right under communities' noses.