NEWS AND VIEWS: A quiet little genocide for Ukraine, or time for action?

by Nestor Scherbey

This may seem a strange question to ask at a time when Ukrainian periodicals carry stories about memorials being erected to commemorate the genocidal Terror-Famine in Ukraine of the 1930s. Nevertheless, I am forced to ask some troubling questions when reading excerpts from an address by Verkhovna Rada National Deputy Heorhii Buiko, as reported by the BBC Monitoring Service in English on March 19.

According to Mr. Buiko, about 100,000 Ukrainian women have been sold as sex slaves abroad in the past few years. He is reported to have said that Ukraine is Europe's third top supplier of this "live commodity" and that some 7 million Ukrainian nationals have gone abroad to earn money about 2 million of them being women aged under 30.

A recent report has indicated that the population of Ukraine has dropped below 48 million and is expected to drop further if the severe shortage of jobs continues. A United Nations estimate reportedly states that the population of Ukraine could drop another 10 million to 15 million.

If these catastrophic statistics prove to be accurate, it is clear that Ukraine as a nation state stands to lose as much population during peacetime as it did in the 20th century Famine-Genocide and in losses in both world wars. Despite the fact that people are not being starved to death, shot, bombed or forcibly deported at gunpoint, the continued refusal of Ukraine's political elite to carry out needed and long overdue legal, tax and economic reforms that would stimulate rapid development of a robust economy, along with promotion of large-scale foreign investment in Ukraine, is having the same effect. It can fairly be said that Ukrainians are "economic deportees" from their homeland. All this, at a time when Ukraine's neighbors in Russia, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and the Baltic countries have already carried out much more significant reforms that have allowed their economies to prosper and experience growth much sooner than in Ukraine.

It is true that very significant improvements have occurred in Ukraine over the last two years as the reforms enacted thus far have taken hold. Nevertheless, a significant acceleration of such changes is needed to stem the outflow of population and disastrous social consequences that have occurred. With attraction of significant foreign investment and development of world-class export industries, the Ukrainian population could find decent jobs in their own country and the resulting improvements in the economic and investment climate might succeed in causing a significant number of the Ukrainians in economic "exile" abroad to be able to return home to mend their broken families.

The word "genocide" may seem to some to be too strong to use in discussion of these topics, were it not for a recent image from Kyiv that continues to haunt me. In the course of my work as an international business executive and, now, as a global customs and international trade advisor, I have had the opportunity to work in over 40 countries in Asia, Europe and the Americas. Last summer I finally had the opportunity to spend two weeks in Kyiv researching importation costs, logistics, product regulatory issues and various other topics needed for a U.S. multinational direct-selling firm seeking to enter the Ukrainian market through imports of mainly U.S. products.

On a beautiful sunny weekend in Kyiv last August, I enjoyed strolling the Khreschatyk and indulging my photography hobby. I reveled in the terrific changes that had occurred in the capital since my last visit in 1993 and felt that the vibrant city had finally come alive and had exceeded the charms of Prague, Budapest and other Central European cities I had explored in previous years. Hundreds of Kyivites and tourists were out on the streets and strolled in the squares or sat at outdoor cafes listening to music broadcast from outdoor speakers.

Suddenly, I noticed a very lovely if somewhat thin young lady that I guessed to be in her late 20s seated outdoors on the stone steps across from the monument at Independence Square. She stood out from the crowds because of the hopelessly forlorn expression of grief on her face that contrasted with the happy crowds in the square.

As I looked closer, it became obvious that she had been sobbing and wiping tears from her face. The sheer depth of her grief arrested my attention and caused me to simply stop and helplessly stare at her for a while. As I tried to make up my mind as to whether to approach her and ask what was wrong, a passing group of people obscured her from view and, when they passed, I saw her rise, sigh and walk away. When she did so I noticed a pattern of dark spots or blotches on her scalp at her hairline that I have heard is symptomatic of AIDS. I have never quite been able to shake the vision of that grief-stricken girl in Kyiv and wonder if she had not been a victim abroad of the sex slave trade that has now come home to die.

If we consider the possibility that she may represent some as yet unknown number of the estimated 100,000 or more of the 2 million Ukrainian women abroad as reported by Deputy Buiko, plus the fact that another report claims that 19 percent of Ukrainian youths between the ages of 15 and 29 are infected with HIV, then I believe that use of the word "genocide" may not be too strong or misplaced in this context.

What can anyone do about it? Numerous governmental and non-governmental organizations are making efforts to combat the trafficking of Ukrainian and East European women and to help those who are repatriated.

A horrific article in the United Kingdom's Observer (February 23) by John Gibb details the work of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) that operates a refuge for women in Moldova who have been trafficked abroad. It also relates the problems that exist with official efforts.

Mr. Gibb relates a story told by Fred Larsson, operational director of IOM in Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova. It seems that nine months ago an Anti-Trafficking Unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Kyiv had sent a request via Interpol to a police headquarters in England seeking information about a language school in southern England that Ukrainian police believed was a cover for organized criminals dealing in vice and child prostitution. No reply was ever received by the Ukrainian police. This example is simply one of many that cause Ukrainians to understandably feel that their women are victims of crimes legitimized by the indifference of the countries to which the women are trafficked.

While the Ukrainian diaspora in various countries must continue to try to do what it can to foster and stimulate economic reform and economic development in Ukraine by various means, it is not powerless in taking direct action with respect to the trafficking of Ukrainian women in countries where the diaspora and its institutions are found. Nor does the diaspora require anyone's permission to do so.

Recalling that our diaspora was once very capable of organizing strong human rights defense committees in the past, when Ukraine was a politically subjugated nation, a similar effort could and should be undertaken today to fight the "quiet little genocide" practiced against Ukraine's women and youth.

National Rescue Committees could be formed in each diaspora country that consist of volunteer attorneys, physicians, psychologists, social workers, immigration specialists, emergency responders and others who can directly provide assistance and essential services to these victims, once they are identified and helped with an escape from their situation.

In the U.S. and Canada, there are sufficient Americans and Canadians of Ukrainian heritage in law enforcement and other agencies who could be contacted and who would facilitate "extraction" or rescue of these women from the clutches of traffickers. Individuals of good will could open their homes to provide a temporary shelter or refuge for rescued women while arrangements to assist them with needed services and eventual repatriation are made. A toll-free hotline can be established and publicized throughout communities in North America with significant Ukrainian or East European populations through ethnic media channels to provide for a confidential contact method for these women.

Information technology volunteers could help to establish one or more database and information exchange centers about trafficking fronts and persons, and transmit such information to law enforcement agencies, including the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Security Service of Ukraine - after all, what's the point of a state having a Security Service if it cannot take any effective action to rescue or defend it's citizens abroad from international organized crime gangs and traffickers?

In terms of direct efforts in Ukraine, a number of initiatives can also be undertaken by those in the diaspora with the means and will to do so. Charitable organizations can be encouraged and supported in establishing refuge centers in major cities that will house and care for repatriated women, perhaps in a way similar to the Joshua House ministry in Lviv that takes in and cares for abandoned or abused young girls. We can also learn from experience in other countries. While working in Thailand I learned of Laddawan Wongsriwong, a 46-year-old former member of Parliament who was also a deputy minister of labor in the previous Thai government. In her work at the ministry she became the scourge of illegal labor brokers and child prostitute traffickers for breaking up illegitimate "front" companies involved with exploiting Thai overseas workers and children.

Last month she joined a diversified entertainment conglomerate called the GMM Group with the ambitious project of heading up a new direct-selling cosmetic business called the U-Star Company. She hopes to advance her public causes through this private enterprise by offering decent incomes to provincial girls throughout Thailand in the form of sales commissions or bonuses paid on sales of U-Star products.

In the case of Ukraine, there is nothing to prevent Ukrainian and foreign investors from creating new firms that open up similar opportunities for women in the villages who can start up their own small businesses with little capital, rather than falling victim to traffickers who entice them out of Ukraine and take away their passports, selling them and subjecting them to coercion.

Another country's experience that is worthy of detailed study is the Philippines. Some years ago I was involved in frequent travel to the Philippines to resolve a significant and lengthy customs valuation dispute. At the international arrivals hall of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila I was surprised to see passport control and visa lanes marked "OCW" that I later learned stood for "Overseas Contract Workers," a special 24-hour reception and services center operated by a Philippine government agency to register and provide services to departing and returning overseas Filipino workers (now called "OFWs").

It would be very instructive for the Verkhovna Rada and a number of Ukraine's governmental ministries to review the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995. It would also be very useful to review the work and services of two specialized agencies that have been established under this legislation to protect and provide services to overseas Filipino workers, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), both under the auspices of the Department of Labor and Employment. The websites of these agencies can be visited at www.poea.gov.ph and www.owwa.gov.ph.

The aforementioned Philippine law declares that it is the policy of the Philippine government to "at all times, uphold the dignity of its citizens whether in distress overseas, in general, and Filipino migrant workers, in particular and to establish an effective mechanism to ensure that the rights and interests of overseas or migrant Filipinos, whether documented or undocumented, are protected and safeguarded. It also provides for representation of overseas Filipinos in the Philippines Congress and prescribes governmental cooperation with legitimate non-governmental organizations as partners in the protection and promotion of the welfare of Filipino migrant workers.

The law makes it a crime to engage in "illegal recruitment" of Filipinos for work abroad by any non-licensed and regulated employment agents or firms or, by government officials, punishable by imprisonment for a period ranging from six years to life imprisonment, depending upon the severity of the violation and whether a minor under age 18 was recruited. Among other provisions, the law also makes it a crime "to engage in the recruitment or placement of workers in jobs harmful to public health or to the dignity of the Republic of the Philippines."

A free legal assistance and witness protection program is provided for victims of illegal recruitment at regional centers throughout the country and at Philippine embassies abroad. An office of a Legal Assistant for Migrant Worker Affairs who is appointed by the president of the country is provided for, along with a Legal Assistance Fund that is used exclusively to provide legal services to migrant workers and Filipinos in distress abroad. These specialized agencies administer programs involving registration of migrant workers, travel advisories, information and training seminars on migrant realities and workers rights for specific conditions in particular countries, mandatory repatriation of underage migrant workers, counseling and welfare assistance.

One of the ways in which women are entrapped into the sex slave trade and other migrant workers are exploited involves travel and related financial "loans" made at exorbitant rates to pay for the expenses of going abroad. The Philippines legislation established a Migrant Workers Loan Guarantee Fund to combat this problem by having the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration work with governmental financial institutions to grant pre-departure and family assistance loans on affordable terms to Filipinos leaving to work abroad, to be repaid from the proceeds of their foreign employment.

In addition, the foreign 24-hour resource centers of the specialized Philippine agencies that are maintained at Philippine embassies under a labor attaché in countries with large concentrations of Filipino migrant workers provide emergency counseling and legal services, assistance with procurement of medical and hospitalization assistance, assistance with registration of undocumented workers and visa issues, human resource development assistance, government insurance for overseas workers, gender-sensitive programs and activities to assist particular needs of women migrant workers, monitoring through master lists of departing and arriving Filipinos, maintaining blacklists of undesirable foreign firms and aliens, tracking of pending legal cases involving Filipinos and maintaining contacts with relevant host government agencies under multilateral or bilateral agreements. The government of the Philippines has long recognized the importance to the Philippine economy of its citizens who work abroad as these are officially reported to have remitted approximately $2.3 billion (U.S.) in foreign exchange back to their families in the Philippines last year, with the overseas worker often the sole support of the family.

The listing of protective and welfare measures that the government of the Philippines undertakes for its overseas citizens and migrant workers is almost too lengthy to list. These measures have not completely eliminated every possible case of exploitation or violation against Filipinos abroad; however, they have had a very major positive impact in reducing these to a minimum.

Perhaps if the Verkhovna Rada and Ukraine's government were to undertake a similar effort on behalf of its citizens, Ukrainian women would not be a "commodity of choice" trafficked internationally and a halt to this quiet little genocide of Ukraine could be achieved.

Nestor Scherbey is president of CTRMS, Ltd., a Grand Rapids, Mich.-based global trade and international compliance support services firm. He is a licensed U.S. customs broker who served as director of Global Trade Operations for the Amway Corp., where he was responsible for start-ups of new markets in over 30 countries in Asia, Europe and the Americas by launching new export operations and establishing importing subsidiaries. His firm's website is at www.ctrms.com.

He is a native of Detroit, where he was active in the Ukrainian community by leading human rights defense activities when Ukraine was part of the USSR and in helping to establish the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Warren, Mich. Mr. Scherbey was also an active member of and held various leadership positions in TUSM, SUM and the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, April 13, 2003, No. 15, Vol. LXXI

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