Human Trafficking in the Sinai

In the world of transnational organized crime, human trafficking is the fastest growing business (Naim). Human trafficking involves the “recruitment, movement, and delivery of migrants from a host to a destination state,” the migrants being “exploited continuously after their delivery” (Shelly). One of the most terrible examples of this is in Northeastern Africa in the Sinai desert. Human trafficking in this region did not begin until 2009, but since then has grown rapidly and has earned transnational criminals a great deal of money. It is a problem so pervasive that it even earned a mention from President Obama in a speech at the Clinton Global Initiative. A report released about a month ago by Tilburg University based on over a hundred interviews of survivors details this brutal practice.

Of the many victims of human trafficking in the Sinai desert, about 95 percent are Eritrean. Some sneak over the border to either Sudan or Ethiopia where they hope to begin a better life. Once they arrive, they end up in camps where they can obtain a legal status giving them the ability to work. However, while they are waiting, they are often abducted by armed members of the Rashaida tribe. Other Eritreans pay guides to smuggle them across the border and bring them safely to towns in Ethiopia, Sudan, or Israel. However, there fates are the same, and the smugglers instead bring these refugees over the border and sell them to Rashaida tribesmen. Once the refugees have been taken hostage, the Rashaida transport them to the Sinai where they are sold to Bedouin tribesmen.

This is when the most harrowing part of the trafficking begins. While living in atrocious conditions in Bedouin camps, ransom is demanded from hostages in order to secure their release. They are given phones to call their relatives, and once they have their relatives on the line they are subsequently tortured. Hostages, which include women and children, are beaten, raped, electrocuted, and water boarded as their family members listen. Family members are forced to hear the unimaginable screams of pain inflicted upon their family members in order to motivate them to raise money for their release.

Once several of these calls take place, hostages’ families sometimes have raised enough money to ensure their family member’s release, a sum which has recently been as high $30,000-$50,000. Families often have to sell everything they have in order to put together enough money. If the money is raised, hostages are released. If it becomes apparent that the family of the hostage is too poor to pay, then the hostage is usually killed within a few days.

This phenomenon fits superbly with the description of transnational organized crime outlined by Louise Shelly and his coauthors in their article Global Crime Inc. First, human trafficking is in fact transnational organized crime because it fits all of the requirements of the definition. An organized group is trafficking a large amount of citizens of several states across multiple borders in order to obtain financial payments in the form of ransom money from the relatives of the hostages.

Next, Shelly argues that transnational crime cannot continue unless there is the existence of money laundering in order to bring illicit funds into the licit economy and corruption so that those implicit in the criminal activities are not arrested. Both of these exist in relation to human traffickers in the Sinai. One news agency reports that “A network of financial laundering supports the ransom collection” (Human Trafficking Devastating the Sinai). The tribesmen recruit Eritreans to collect the ransom money from the families of the hostage takers. They then bring this money to Israel where they launder it and transfer it back to the hostage-takers. If this was not done, it would be impossible for groups to continue their crimes because they would be unable to hold and invest their money in the licit economy without it being noticed by government officials.

Corruption is the second activity that must be present for transnational organized crime to operate effectively. In Eritrea, this is extremely prevalent. First, the Eritrean Border Surveillance Units are paid off by Eritreans so that they can safely cross the border. Otherwise, the Surveillance Unit is instructed to shoot anyone they see crossing the border. If the Surveillance Unit could not be bought by Eritreans, they and their smugglers would be unable to cross the border in the first place. However, reports indicate that the corruption in Eritrea goes well above this. The involvement of “senior members of the Eritrean security services … in the trafficking of weapons and people from Eritrea into Egypt (the Sinai) via Sudan” is apparently quite prevalent (Human Trafficking…). This gives Eritreans access to difficult to acquire exit visas. However, as soon as they leave the country they are abducted by tribesmen tipped off by government officials.

However, in Sudan, Ethiopia, and Egypt where the rest of the smuggling takes place, government corruption either does not take place or is yet to be uncovered. For now, it appears that the governments of these states are too weak to deal with human traffickers in any capacity and corruption is not necessary. This is one weakness of Shelly’s model for transnational organized crime - failing to realize that the weakness of states like Sudan, Ethiopia, and Egypt (ranked 3^rd, 17^th, and 31^st respectively on the 2012 Failed States Index) are enough for transnational criminal groups to carry out their illicit activities.

In order to explain how Transnational Crime continues to exist, Shelly has two explanations relating to the local and the international levels. The first, dealing with the local level, is the lack of civil society. In the four countries where this human trafficking takes place, civil society is virtually nonexistent. The 2012 Failed States Index gives civil society in Eritrea and Ethiopia a “poor” rating, the lowest possible rating, and Sudan and Egypt a “weak” rating, the second lowest rating. Due to the lack of civil society, crime can flourish with impunity and few take notice of it or bring it to the attention of the world.

On the international level, Shelly believes that globalization is another significant force leading to the prevalence of transnational organized crime. In Eritrea, globalization has scared the government into becoming a closed state. Today, they have a command economy and have pursued policies that have discouraged foreign investment and have left almost no private enterprises remaining (CIA World Factbook). As a result, Eritrea has the 6^th lowest GDP per capita in the world and the 172^nd highest GDP. To find work, Eritreans attempt to flee the country and travel to nearby Israel, Ethiopia, and Sudan, (ranked 52^nd, 73^rd and 76^th in GDP, respectively) during which they become victims of human trafficking. Globalization overall has also managed to weaken most other states, giving the human traffickers in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt the space that they need to flourish.

It seems unlikely that human trafficking in the Sinai will be dealt with anytime in the near future. As long as the severe corruption within the Eritrean government continues, human traffickers on the other side of the border with have ample amounts of refugees to traffic. Sudan and Ethiopia need to better police refugee camps to stop this trafficking. However, once again due to their weakness and inability to hold a monopoly over the legitimate use of violence, this seems unlikely. Furthermore, Egypt must begin to prosecute Bedouins who torture abducted refugees and hold them hostage in brutal conditions until ransom is paid. It will be interesting to see if the Egyptian government does attempt to attack to stop these transactions as it becomes a more stable state. However, for the near future, human trafficking in the Sinai shows few signs of slowing.

Works Cited and Consulted

CIA World Factbook. “Eritrea.” Cia.gov. 2012. 5 November 2012.
< https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/er.html>

“Failed States Index.” Foreignpolicy.com. 2012. Fund for Peace. 5 November 2012.
<www.foreignpolicy.com/failed_states_index_2012_interactive>

“GDP-per capita (PPP).” CIA World Factbook. 2012. CIA. 5 November 2012.
<www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2004rank.html>

“Human Trafficking Devastating the Sinai.” In Depth News. 2012. 5 November 2012.
<http://www.indepthnews.info/index.php/global-issues/1175-human-trafficking-devastating-the-sinai>

“Human Trafficking in the Sinai.” EEPA. 2012. European External Policy Advisors. 5 November 2012.
<http://www.eepa.be/wcm/dmdocuments/publications/report_Human_Trafficking_in_the_Sinai_20120928.pdf>

Naim, Moises. “The Five Wars of Globalization.” Foreign Policy Magazine. February 2001.

Shelly, Louise, Picarelli, John, Corpora, Chris. “Globalized Crime Inc.” Thomson Wadsworth: New York, 2007.