The identification of victims in Poland – selected aspects Center of Migration Research Warsaw University

Work schedule 1.Collecting and analysis of secondary data 1 – 4 months 2.Preparing the questionaires and structured intervievs Conducting the research with officials and the other activists Case studies Analytical works

Initial remarks about trafficking in Poland Poland is country of destination; country of transit and country of origin. The weakness of official statistics and low level of identification trafficking at all;

Why the official data are not quite credible ? The narrow understanding what forced labour is by Polish law enforcement authorities; The huge disproportion between number of victims identified by Polish law enforcement and number of victims identified in country of origin after return from Poland.

What forced labour means according to Polish law ? Polish national law does not use the notion of „forced labour” Poland is bounded by ILO Conventions which constitutes that forced labour means „all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily.”

Consent of victim and official statistics Case of N. /La Strada Poland/ Mrs. N from Ukraine (26 years old) came to Poland to work in gardening. The employer took her passport and intimidated her. He did not paid her. She received very poor food and had to work very hard. After few months she escaped with her passport. On the border she gave testimony but the public prosecutor has denied bringing the indictment against employer because of her initial consent for described above conditions. In particular the public prosecutor underlined that there were any intermediaries. She came directly to this employer.

Finished criminal proceedings on trafficking in Poland

Disproportion – IOM Kiev data on trafficking victims

High risk groups in Poland on the basis of secondary data NationalsSectorsSources of information Belarusiansagriculture, domestic work, begging reports Moldoviansbeggingreports North Koreans ??shipyard, agriculturemedia Romaniansbeggingreports Ukrainiansagriculture, domestic work, begging reports, media Vietnameesessales, barsreports, public authorities, media

North Koreans case In 2006 the biggest Polish newspaper revealed that in Polish shipyard were legally working citizens of North Korea as welders. According to newspaper they were guarded by political officer from communist party of North Korea. They could not leave the shipyard and flats. They could not speak with journalists. The shipyard denied that they were working involuntarily. Few weeks later the same newspaper revealed that Head of Polish – Korean Friendship’s Society gave “special gift” from Korean government in order to his activity: 30 citizens of North Korea who were worked in his orchard as trainees (in such a way they didn’t have to achieve permissions for work). In this case the employees were guarded by politician officer also.

Begging – the kind of forced labour A woman, 24, from Lutsk and two her daughters (four and three years old) were sold into slavery in Poland. For this purpose, she received a foreign passport and was promised employment as a housekeeper at a salary of $200. In Katowice, Poland, she was forced to beg together with her children, One daughter stayed with the mother, the other was held as a hostage. The girls were beaten harshly because they could not sit in a wheelchair all day. The younger girl was beaten so hard that she could not walk at all. The children stayed hungry throughout the day; at night they received a piece of cheap sausage. They were lucky: the Police found them and deported them home. (Ecpat, International Ukrainian Institute Of Social Research „The Situation Of Children In Ukraine And Their Vulnerability To Commercial Sexual Exploitation”)

Begging (“Child Trafficking – The People Involved “ IPEC, 2005). Because the family had no money, Oleg, 16 years old, had few friends. Suddenly a New and, perhaps, the only friend appeared in the boy’s life. Mike introduced himself as a representative of a church and talked with Oleg about his future, career and family. Mike suggested Oleg should go to Poland to a friend who worked there managing a recreation centre where the boy would be able to work, earn money and also have a holiday. Mike arranged travel documents for Oleg. Oleg and Mike travelled by train. Three other children travelled with them but Oleg had no chance to talk to them. In Wroclaw (Poland) they were taken to sleep in a home that impressed the boy very much. Next day they were taken to the outskirts of the town where they were told that they had to pay back the money for the travel to Poland. They were told what they should do. It turned out that what had been envisaged for them was begging in the streets of the city. Oleg was ashamed to do it. Now he had no choice.

Main findings We focus on immigrants in Poland and Polish in selected EU countries; Data avalaible in Poland are not enough – we need also sources in countries of origin; We have to pay special attention to begging.