Shelters in support of victims of human misery

Notwithstanding their nationalities, victims of human trafficking can today find refuge in one of two centers established in Syria, in Aleppo and Damascus. Beside shelter and food, these people are granted professional training to help them better integrate the labor market.

Nour El Din Al-Aathar - Damascus, Eurojar

Human trafficking is not common practice in Syria. Yet, Syrian authorities took preventive measures by adopting strict laws to inhibit criminals from doing such actions in the future. They inaugurated, with the support of international organizations, two shelters to accommodate victims of human trafficking from all nationalities.

Aleppo’s shelter, in the north of Syria, was established in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor and the Association for the protection against female juvenile delinquency. This center is the second one in Syria after Damascus shelter. The establishment of those centers comes in the framework of a large-scale programme funded by the European Union that aims at supporting Iraqi refugees in Syria. The programme is funded by 1.5 million Euros.

This shelter house offers medical, psychological and social support to women victims of human trafficking. A rehabilitation service through professional training is also offered to them.

The Minister of Social Affairs and Labor, Diala Hajj Aref explains:”The project takes in charge the victims of human trafficking in Aleppo and other Mohafazats. It supports them, protects them and works on finding solutions to their legal problems.” She goes on to say that Aleppo and Damascus were chosen for the establishment of the centers, because they are vast cities and can accommodate refugees from other countries seeking support and help.

The Mohafez of Aleppo, Ali Mansoura, notes that the center, “will contribute in raising public awareness on human trafficking in cooperation with organizations from the civil society.” He underlines that “Aleppo’s center consists of two dormitories, each one containing 10 beds, a clinic, a lawyer’s office, an administrative bureau, a reception hall and a restaurant.”

It is worth noting that the Syrian government worked in 2005 along with the International Organization for Migration to put an end to human trafficking, namely that of Iraqi women, especially that the number of Iraqi refugees in Syria exceeded 1.5 million.

100 million Euros
Launched in 2008, the IOM program is part of a larger engagement from the European Union to help Syria manage the huge influx of Iraqis to the country. 100 million Euros were offered in support to the education and health sectors.

Head of the delegation of the European Union to Syria, Vassilis Bontosoglou saluted the important role that the Syrian government played, in cooperation with the EU, in order to find solutions to the problem of Iraqi refugees in the country. Maria Rumman, Head of the delegation of the IOM described human trafficking as a shame in the history of humanity and a clear violation of human and religious values.

On the other hand, with the opening of the shelter house, President Bashar Al-Assad issued a legislative decree that aims at combating human trafficking, especially the one exploiting women and children. The decree foresees the establishment of hosting centers attached to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, as well as the creation of a specialized administration, within the Ministry of Interior, to combat human trafficking.

The decree also stipulates sanction measures that target those who commit human trafficking, those partners in the crime, instigators, as well as members of criminal associations that perpetrate such crimes.

The International Organization for Migration inaugurated in December 2008 the first shelter for human trafficking in Damascus. This shelter hosted more than 30 non-Syrian victims and offered them food, healthcare and psychological support, in addition to professional training.

Human trafficking can be used in a variety of situations, including domestic labor, forced labor, slavery, human organs trafficking, sexual exploitation, and children trafficking, in addition to other types of organized crimes. The IOM evaluates the annual profit from sexual exploitation of children and women to 28 billion dollars, and revenues from forced labor to 32 billion dollars. The organization underlines that 3 million people in the world are victims of human trafficking, of which 1.2 million are children. Every year, 45 to 50 thousand victims of human trafficking are transferred to the United States.