There are an estimated 10,000 victims of human trafficking in Dubai, according
to the department's 2007 report. UAE officials say the figure overestimates the
problem and that they have begun to take action, passing the first anti
-trafficking law in the Middle East.
Flush With Cash
Dubai has transformed itself from a trading village to the Persian Gulf's
financial and tourist hub with lower taxes and a more vibrant nightlife than
other Gulf states. Bars heave with men drinking $10 beers and women in short
skirts.
That's attracted rich Saudis, US oil workers flush with cash after stints in
Iraq, and bankers who are paid as much as 40 percent more than those in London
or New York.
Affluence has increased the demand for laborers and housemaids, and the
development of laws to protect them from exploitation hasn't kept pace, the
International Labor Organization said in an e-mailed response to questions.
Women from Asia and Africa often sign contracts to work as maids, waitresses,
hairdressers and secretaries, only to have employers confiscate their passports
and force them to work as prostitutes, the US report said. Others work
excessive hours under the threat of mental, physical or sexual abuse until they
can pay off recruitment costs.
"Once they are there, they find that their contract is not valid," said Basil
Fernando, executive director of the Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights
Commission. "They get stranded."
Fear of Rape
Anne Valdez, 25, from Quezon City near Manila, lasted four months as a
housemaid before she ran away.
Valdez said she traveled to the UAE because wages were higher there than at
home. She was brought over by a UAE- based labor agency after signing a
contract to work for $200 a month. Her employers paid Valdez $160 and made her
work 19 hours a day.
"I couldn't leave the house the whole time," Valdez said in a Dubai coffee
shop. "I even couldn't call my family. I was scared I would be raped."
Valdez considers herself lucky. She spent 10 months hiding with relatives,
avoiding police and working part-time jobs at hotels to help support herself.
She said supervisors often made sexual advances, though they never assaulted
her or forced her into prostitution.
Valdez returned to the Philippines with no job and no savings to support her
1-year-old son, after taking advantage of a government amnesty that allowed
illegal workers to leave.
Making an Effort
Worldwide, 600,000 to 800,000 people are trafficked across international
borders each year, the State Department said. Kuwait and Qatar are ranked on
the same watch-list for cases of involuntary servitude, not sexual exploitation
as in the UAE Saudi Arabia is on a worse tier ranking than the UAE
In July, the UAE formed a committee of senior officials to combat human
trafficking, and it has opened a shelter for abused women. In the past year it
has closed 40 hotels and clubs that allowed prostitution, said Anwar Gargash,
minister of state for Federal National Council Affairs in Dubai.
"We are committed to tackling this problem on several levels through the
rigorous prosecution of criminals, preventative measures and, most importantly,
protection of victims of this crime," Gargash said.
Any crackdown on such crimes comes too late for Emily Ivy from Edo State in
southern Nigeria.
The 22-year-old was forced into prostitution by her step-sister, who lured her
to Dubai with the promise of a job in a beauty salon. She was told to pay
$15,000 to get her identification back and continues to work the bars to send
money to her widowed mother.
"I came to work in a beauty parlor for my sister," Ivy said. "Three months
later, I was told to go to the bars to sell my body. I don't want to do it
anymore. I am tired."
She has applied for a job as an air stewardess.
Fei Fei's journey to Dubai also ended badly. Once she had plans to study
English at a language school in the city, but after paying her pimp 6,000
dirhams (USD $1,600) a month, she managed to save enough money to return to
China.
"I want to change my job," she said before departing.
