Somali Women Wonder Where Their Boys Went

Not only in Minneapolis/St. Paul are young Somali men (so young, each one is almost a child victim) mysteriously disappearing, it’s happening across the globe.  In a recent article from the StarTribune by James Walsh and Richard Meryhew, entitled, “Jihad draws young men across globe back to Somalia,” www.startribune.com,  it appears that the recruiting of these men is actually world-wide.

The disappearance of almost 20 men here in Minneapolis in the last few years alerted officials and the FBI to the possibility of recruitng to fight in Somalia.  Since Ethiopia (Christians) attacked Somalia (Muslims) some of these men left the Twin Cities to go back to fight in a group called El-Shabaab.  (People think)  It’s a form of human trafficking.

You may ask why law enforcement here was worried about what happened in Somalia.  If the Somali young men could be recruited to fight in Somalia, could they be recruited to fight back here for a war on America.

Having represented the Somali community for many years in the courts, I’ve found them to be warm, intelligent people.  However, they do not trust many others outside their own tribe.  Even within the Somali community, there are disagreements among the tribes, with some people feeling they are better than others. 

If I have difficulty communicating with them (many speak English) because of this distrust, imagine how difficult it is for law inforcement to get reliable, accurate information about the disappearance of the young men.   To a great degree, law enforcement depends on informants for information.  The word sounds bad but can include almost anyone with access to the community. 

So the common theory is the young men are recruited to fight in their homeland.  What if this theory is correct but incomplete?

Could there be more to the disappearances than we’ve discovered so far? 

Let me know if you think there’s more going on than merely freedom fighting in Somalia.  I’ve got an idea that formed the plot for my new book, “The Concealed Enemy,” coming out in Fall of 2010.  What do you think was really going on with the disappearing men?

Tracking Human Traffickers

Third in a Series

In previous posts, I’ve talked about the vast underground world of international criminals who traffick in many illegal items–including humans.  Most are women and children who are sold into prostitution, the sex trade, and slavery for labor.  The criminals operate in a world wide web–but not the one you’re familiar with.

They link themselves together for business pusposes, hooking up and dropping links, as they are needed.  The criminal networks require a variety of job skills: transportation, logistics, financing, inventory control, labor, knowledge of border penetration points, and knowledge of laxity of law enforcement efforts.  The profits from this trade worldwide, run into the billions.  So, that makes something obvious: with the potential profits in a fairly low-risk endeavor, wouldn’t these networks attract the best and brightest criminals? 

The answer is yes!

Governments around the world know of these networks of course, but what is being done to stop them and their activities?

Unfortunately, many countries lack the resources and will to fight them.  Often, the officials in many countries are bribed or even work for the networks.  In 2000, the United Nations passed the protocol against “Smuggling of Migrant People by Land/Sea/Air.”  It hasn’t been ratified yet because most countries don’t even have laws against smuggling!

In the United States, we defend our borders and work hard to stop the criminals, but we’re hampered by a number of disadvantages that the criminals don’t face.  Even our most sophisticated federal agencies, dedicated to sealing our borders and finding the criminals, are modeled on organizational forms that are decades old.  For instance, when organized crime ran rampant during Prohibition, the criminals formed themselves into  top-down pyramid-shaped  groups that mirrored the federal agencies seeking to destroy them.  Both criminal and official groups operated slowly, methodically, and efficiently. 

Today, the criminal networks are web-like, flexible, morphing into new organizations by the minute, as the needs change.  People, money, contraband, and purposes can change rapidly.  For instance, criminals used to specialize in one product, drugs, let’s say.  The federal agencies could investigate that network with time on their hands and predictable activities by the criminals.  Now, the web-like networks may traffick drugs one day and stolen monkeys the next day. 

It’s difficult for bureaucracies to keep up with the changes.  Most of the federal agencies are the old top-down management in pyramid form.  They react slowly to change. 

Is it possible to form net-like organizations in the federal agencies?  Remember, we’re dealing with power brokers, budgets, Congress, pressure groups, unions, and many other players in order to effect change.  As you can imagine, it’s difficult and takes a lot of time.  And when we go beyond our borders to third-world countries, the situation is much worse.

At least, in this country, we recognize the necessisity to seal our borders…something that’s really impossible to do.  But I think the awareness of the need, gives us some protection.  We coordinate between local and federal law enforcement so if a criminal net pops up somewhere, the feds can be alerted quickly.

Still, it remains a challenge that will only increase in effectiveness.  We must figure out ways to fight back.  Do you have any ideas?

Tracking Human Traffickers in Korea

Part One in Series

Former President Bill Clinton successfully lobbied for the release of journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee from North Korea.  Writing about this at the Women’s Media Center blog, Journalist Ji-Yeon Yuh raises a fascinating and probably accurate question:  What were the two journalists really doing in North Korea?

The North Korean government caught and convicted them of illegally entering the country.  They had to enter illegally because they were tracking the trafficking story of women out of North Korea and into China.  It seems like a problem far away with little we can do to make a difference.  That’s wrong.

The US State Department estimates that as many as 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders every year and that a total of perhaps 27 million are presently enslaved because of trafficking.  Here’s the scary part for us:  the majority of profits generated ($15.5 billion according to the International Labor Organization) from trafficking comes from industrialized countries–like the United States.

Eighty percent of humans trafficked are women and girls, usually sold into the sex industry.  I know from personal experience…well, let me explain that!

As a lawyer, I have worked in the juvenile courts in Minnesota.  Like all other states, we have a child protection effort, supported by laws, child protection social workers, and prosecutors to enforce the laws.  Most cases involve local parents who are not parenting adequately or present harm to the children. I have been invovled in cases where several young girls have come to Minnesota on a “temporary” basis, mostly from countries in Africa. They’ve been promised jobs and good schools.  When they get here, instead of the promises, they find themselves coerced into the sex industry. 

Ironically, instead of police finding them, they show up in child protection.  Every girl I’ve ever represented has come here, sponsored by an “uncle” who offers them a home, food, and clothing.  When the igirls fail to show up for school, are referred for medical problems, or are stopped as runaways/vagrants, the county government reacts by protecting them from their “families.”

The girls are offered counseling, safe housing, education, and support.  Usually, that works to get them out of the trafficking trap.  But often, I’ve had clients who say they want to get out, are frightened of their “uncles,” and start to take advantage of services.  But then, they fail to come to the next court appearance.  The “parent/uncle” who has been ordered to return and accept services to stop the child abuse disappears also.  My suspicion is they simply move to a different county.  For instance, in Minnesota, if the uncle were to move across the Mississippi River from Minneapolis to St. Paul, he’d be in another county jurisdiction and could start the network all over again.

Some ask, “Can’t the uncle be prosecuted for being a pimp?”  Sure, if you can find anyone to testify against him.  Child protection at least offers the girls an opportunity to escape–if they can and want to.

Internationally, human trafficking generates #32 billion a year in profits according to the Internatinal Labor Organization.  Think about that…doesn’t it seem likely to attract the best criminal minds in the world?  And besides women, what other things are they bringing into the US?  Could they threaten our national security?  Is our government capable of fighting them?  More about this in my next post.