US embassy cable - 05PRETORIA4390

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PRETORIA 004390 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR G/TIP:RYOUSEY/NEUMANN, INL/AAE, AF/S 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, EAID, KCRM, KJUS, KWMN, CVIS, SF 
SUBJECT: TIP: SAG COOPERATION INCREASES UNDERSTANDING OF 
TRAFFICKING PATTERNS 
 
REF: PRETORIA 4353 
 
1.  (SBU) The International Organization for Migration (IOM) 
released new information on trafficking patterns involving 
South Africa, based on information obtained following the 
increased awareness and cooperation of local law enforcement 
and non-governmental organizations.  Overall, IOM has seen an 
increase in African victims and children (aged 13 to 18) 
seeking help through its victim assistance programs.  The 
major African patterns are from Mozambique and Malawi to 
South Africa.  China and Thailand are the major sources of 
victims from Asia, and Bulgarians dominate trafficking from 
Eastern Europe to South Africa.  South Africa is also a 
source of trafficked women to Europe, Hong Kong, and Macau. 
West African syndicates are involved with the European 
pattern.  The Triads control the traffic to Hong Kong and 
Macau.  While this information confirms that South Africa has 
a trafficking problem, IOM's expanded knowledge of these 
patterns reflects the increased awareness and cooperation of 
law enforcement officials and local NGOs. 
 
------------ 
Introduction 
------------ 
 
2.  (U) This is the second of two reports on the 
International Organization for Migration's October 20th 
briefing on trafficking in persons in the Southern African 
Development Community (SADC) region.  Reftel described the 
increased cooperation IOM's anti-trafficking campaign is 
receiving from South African law enforcement, media, and 
non-governmental organizations (NGOs).  This cable details 
information that IOM's ongoing research project has learned 
about trafficking patterns into and from South Africa, much 
of which was obtained as a result of this increased awareness 
and cooperation. 
 
3.  (U) IOM has been active in South Africa since 1999 and 
began researching trafficking within the SADC countries in 
2002.  According to IOM, at that time law enforcement 
throughout the region was aware of neither the nature of 
trafficking nor the scope of the problem.  The results of 
IOM's research were published in a 2003 report, the first of 
its kind in the region, that was distributed to 30,000 people 
in three printings.  IOM has since expanded its research 
program, meeting with NGOs that assist prostitutes and 
interviewing victims at IOM's shelters and when visiting 
brothels in Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Harare. 
 
4.  (U) These continuing research efforts have shed new light 
on several distinct trafficking patterns involving South 
Africa as both a source and destination country.  IOM is 
unable to estimate the numbers of victims involved in each 
pattern.  However, IOM has seen an increase in the number of 
African victims seeking help through its victim assistance 
programs in South Africa.  Most victims are aged between 21 
and 35, but there is also an increase among child victims 
aged 13 to 18.  Most of the false job offers used to entice 
African victims were for domestic and restaurant work. 
Details of the specific patterns discovered follow below. 
 
-------------------------- 
Mozambique to South Africa 
-------------------------- 
 
5.  (SBU) IOM believes there are two major criminal 
operations, both involving South African men and Mozambican 
men and women, managing trafficking from Mozambique to South 
Africa.  Recruitment uses two methods.  First, victims are 
enticed with false job offers.  Second, traffickers target 
female taxi passengers already traveling to South Africa. 
Border crossings are generally legal and follow two main taxi 
routes, the first going from Maputo to Komatipoort to 
Johannesburg, and the second from Maputo to Ponta d'Ouvre to 
Johannesburg or Durban.  Once in South Africa, the victims 
are taken to safe houses in the Nkomazi area near the borders 
with Mozambique and Swaziland. Victims are informed of their 
true situation and intimidated (often involving rape).  The 
victims are then sold to brothels for about 1,000 Rand 
(approximately 150 dollars), sold to rural men as wives for 
650 Rand (approximately 100 dollars), or taken to housing 
compounds to service mine workers. 
 
---------------------- 
Malawi to South Africa 
---------------------- 
 
6.  (SBU) IOM thinks this pattern operates on a much smaller 
scale and is run by individual truck drivers rather than 
sophisticated criminal syndicates.  The truck drivers recruit 
rural girls (generally aged 15-18) in Malawi with promises of 
education or jobs.  The truckers frequently rape the victims 
in transit.  Unlike the Mozambique pattern, border crossings 
are irregular and often illegal.  Victims are usually 
delivered directly to South African buyers or sometimes 
pimped by the traffickers to other truckers. 
--------------- 
Refugee Pattern 
--------------- 
 
7.  (SBU) This pattern is especially prevalent in Cape Town. 
Unemployed men with refugee status in South Africa turn to 
trafficking women from their home countries.  The victims are 
usually female relatives who are promised jobs in South 
Africa. Borders are crossed using both legal and illegal 
means.  The traffickers then register the victims with Home 
Affairs and complete applications for asylum to protect their 
investment from deportation.  The victims are especially 
dependent on the traffickers given the family bonds.  Victims 
are sexually initiated and intimidated by either the 
trafficker or customers from the same ethnic group.  They are 
then put to work as street prostitutes, usually with a 250 
Rand (approximately 40 dollars) nightly quota. 
 
--------------------- 
China to South Africa 
--------------------- 
 
8.  (SBU) Most of the Chinese victims of trafficking in South 
Africa come from the southern provinces of Guangdong and 
Fujian.  The traffickers are the "snake heads" who smuggle 
and traffic Chinese to the United States.  As in the U.S., 
the victims arrive on planes in Johannesburg without travel 
documents.  However, instead of requesting asylum like in the 
U.S., the victims voluntarily leave South Africa for 
Swaziland, Mozambique, or Lesotho.  They then re-enter South 
Africa illegally through the land borders.  Once in South 
Africa, the victims owe the snake heads 75 to 100 thousand 
Rand (approximately 12 to 15 thousand dollars) for travel 
expenses through a "debt bond."  They are then intimidated 
into working the debt off as prostitutes.  Most of the 
brothels involved in this pattern are reserved for Chinese 
customers from the local community or Chinese merchant 
sailors. 
 
------------------------ 
Thailand to South Africa 
------------------------ 
 
9.  (SBU) Thais dominate among Asians seeking IOM's help in 
South Africa.  The traffickers are often either previously 
trafficked women themselves or South African men, "pretty 
woman traffickers," who promise marriage.  However, IOM 
believes these small scale traffickers are supported by 
Chinese triads and Thai organized crime groups.  Most of the 
victims are between the ages of 25-35.  As with the China 
pattern, the victims are debt bonded to the traffickers for 
50 to 60 thousand Rand (approximately 7.5 to 9 thousand 
dollars).  The traffickers then increase their profits 
further by selling or leasing the victims to brothels for 15 
to 35 thousand Rand (approximately three to five thousand 
dollars) The victims are often imprisoned in safe houses 
managed by a Thai "mama san" when not at work.  IOM has found 
this Thai pattern in both rural and urban areas in six South 
African provinces. 
 
------------------------------ 
Eastern Europe to South Africa 
------------------------------ 
 
10.  (SBU) Bulgarians dominate the East Europeans IOM is 
seeing at shelters.  The traffickers are usually members of 
either the Russian or Bulgarian mafias.  The victims are 
generally educated but poor women who are recruited with 
phony waitress job offers.  South African visas are 
fraudulently obtained in Russia.  They are debt bonded for 12 
to 15 thousand dollars. The traffickers are exceptionally 
violent and not only intimidate victims with rape and 
beatings, but also threaten the victims' families. 
 
---------------------- 
South Africa to Europe 
---------------------- 
 
11.  (SBU) IOM identified the following pattern in Malawi, 
but has seen South African victims in Europe who were 
trafficked in the same manner.  Professional women recruit 
teenagers for work in Europe.  The victims are given 
fraudulently obtained South African passports, which usually 
take two weeks to arrange.  They are kept in safe houses 
while waiting to depart.  The traffickers avoid the major 
international airports because of suspicious officials. Once 
in Europe the victims are sold, usually to a West African 
syndicate for 10 thousand dollars.  As with the China 
pattern, the victims owe 40 thousand dollars for travel 
expenses, and the only way to pay off the traffickers is by 
agreeing to work as a prostitute. 
 
------------------------------- 
South Africa to Hong Kong/Macau 
------------------------------- 
 
12.  (SBU) South African men with ties to both the local sex 
industry and the triads serve as recruiters for this pattern. 
 They earn 500 dollars for each recruit.  The victims are 
usually strippers or prostitutes in Johannesburg.  As with 
Chinese trafficked to South Africa, victims owe a debt bond. 
They are sold to "saunas" in Macau and Hong Kong for 10 to 20 
thousand dollars.  The triads also get victims hooked on hard 
drugs to supplement intimidation with control. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
13.  (SBU) These patterns confirm that South Africa suffers 
from a significant trafficking problem.  However, the depth 
of IOM's understanding of these patterns is a sign of 
progress.  Many of the brothels IOM visits to collect 
information were first identified by South African law 
enforcement officers attending IOM's training sessions.  This 
willingness of working level detectives to share information 
illustrates how ongoing training programs are increasing 
South African law enforcement's awareness of and capability 
to handle the trafficking problem (septel). 
 
HARTLEY