Human trafficking and smuggling are often seen as quite similar actions; however they’re much different. Trafficking is a human rights issue which usually involves smuggling, deception, and abuse. Smuggling can be used for humanitarian good, but otherwise is for profit, involves crossing international borders, but more importantly consent has been given consent to the smugglers. Though they are compared and sometimes seen as similar acts, they have notably different characteristics. Smuggling and trafficking have similarities such as significant complexity and vast amounts of profit, though there are more differences such as the laws involved, deception in trafficking, trafficked individuals being victims, and slavery used in trafficking; yet the two activities get mixed up. Often human trafficking includes aspects similar to smuggling, one aspect being the complex system required to operate the outfit. The system which operates these smuggling and trafficking organizations involves a hierarchy of people (Lecture 10, February 7). The top levels of management are rarely known to the lower levels in the chain. This individual or company sits in the back while others do the dirty work. This position contracts work to a recruiter who will handle the transportation arrangements. The recruiter position handles directly with the smuggled or trafficked individuals. Other positions include debt collectors, which are often violent and forceful, sometimes groups which are paid by each person they get the money out of. Government officials are often part of this system in which they offer services to ease the migration into a country, for example creating forged documents or legal documents for illegal immigrants (Lecture 10, February 7). The complex systems of smuggling and trafficking humans involves many people, often said to be ran by large organized crime groups such as the Russian Mafia (Finckenauer 2001, 175). With connections with political personalities and control over local gangs, the mafia would be able to hide individuals in safe houses and hire others to do the dirty work while reaping the rewards. Through complex systems like this, smuggling and trafficking is a very profitable business (Finckenauer 2001, 179). Depending on how efficient the operation is, trafficking is said to be a $10billion a year business (Dying to Leave, 2002). Henry zheng who was smuggled to the United States from China paid $25,000 which led him to debt (Dying to Leave, 2002). According to the film Dying to Leave, costs to get to the USA from China is around $60,000 to the smuggled, allowing the smugglers to make a net profit of around $48,000 (Dying to Leave, 2002). Due to the force and deception human trafficking profit margin is much larger; organizations can make $150 million for bringing 7,000 people across the Mexican border (Finckenauer 2001, 173). With profit of these sorts the organization that run the operations are surely to create new means of transporting, recruiting and in some cases exploiting individuals to continue high profit margins. While both activities break laws, only trafficking dehumanizes people (Dying to Leave, 2002). Though both smuggling and trafficking are unlawful a difference between the two is that trafficking is a human rights issue and smuggling is a migration issue (Lecture 10, February 7). Human Trafficking coercion demeans the individual violating the individual’s human rights. Smuggling, being a migration issue doesn’t have use of coercion, international migration laws in place to keep that individual out. Human trafficking uses deception for a number of reasons, one being to be perceived as an opportunity to the individual, a hope for a better life (Dying to leave, 2002). When individuals are smuggled, they are not deceived, they know where they are going, and arrive there (Dying to leave, 2002). This was not the case with Nina Matveyenko who wanted to go to Italy for a better life and had heard about someone who could help her get there. The person deceived Nina and she was trafficked as a sex slave for three years (Dying to leave, 2002). With cases such as Nina’s, deception leaves the individual open to becoming a trafficking victim. In the process of human trafficking, individuals are the victims, in the process of human smuggling; the victim can be seen as the country, not the individual. When an individual is part of trafficking, they are clearly the victim due to the force and abuse involved. According to the Dawn News service, in the cases with organized crime rings, smuggled individuals from Bangkok become sex workers in North America or Europe (Finckenauer 2001, 173). Smuggling and trafficking do not compare on this level as the victim are different in both scenarios. Trafficking can lead to slavery, one kind of slavery becoming a sexual slave (Finckenauer 2001, 177). For women, becoming a sex slave who is usually sold or traded. Men are sometimes slaves to work hard labor. Other times they are forced to carry illegal drugs (Finckenauer 2001, 177). Prostitution in Greece landed policemen arrested due to their role in masterminding a trafficking ring for women, making them into sex slaves (Finckenauer 2001, 177). Not only were the women deceived by policemen, they were forced to become sexual slaves, dehumanizing them and exploiting them. These similarities and differences between human smuggling and trafficking establish that the two processes are more different than alike. As turning an individual into a slave or victim becomes apparent dehumanization of the individual has taken place, thus making it a trafficking issue. Though they both have a complex structure and deal with large amounts of money, the differences come when the treatment and expectations of the individual is studied.
Works Cited Chin, K.-L. (2001). The Social Organization of CHinese Human Smuggling. Dying to Leave (2002). [Motion Picture]. Finckenauer, J. (2001). Russian Transnational Organized Crime and Human Smuggling. Lecture 10. (2008, February 7). Spencer, D. (2001). Smuggling Migrants through South Texas.
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