I was motivated to write about this topic by the recent coverage of the BBC on the domestic workers' situation in the Sultanate of Oman. Whether you call it trafficking in persons (TIP) or human trafficking, it remains a grave violation of human rights and a serious global issue that affects many countries, including Oman. As a policy analyst and a person who has volunteered and worked with trafficked persons in Oman and listened to several stories for long hours, I have observed that while so many parties mean well, there are issues of context, semantics, and, of course, perspectives.
No matter how sympathetic we are, we will not be able to fully understand what goes on in the minds of victims. A human trafficking victim (or even for that matter a potential victim) often has a mindset of fear, distrust, and, worst, denial. Then, once they fall into the trap of being trafficked, they become hostage to an additional complication: conflicting obligations of family, lenders, self, contractual, legal, etc. Moreover, foreign victims have the additional concern of deportation, imprisonment, or, simply, stigmatisation and loss of future employment opportunities. Hence, they do not use available remedies or redress mechanisms provided for by governments or NGOs, whether in countries of origin or destination countries. That has been the case in Oman, from my experience.
The above situation is further compounded by a lack of awareness or limited resources. While I am certain that several of us have noticed the numerous times the posters and billboards as well as multi-lingual flyers that have been circulated by the OHRC and the National Committee for Combating Human Trafficking, they do not always reach the target audience. We, as individuals who claim to be of good standing, have a duty as fellow humans to relay such information to TIP victims and provide them with a reason to dispel their mistrust. This duty stems also from being good citizens to assist the country in fulfilling the objectives of laws and response mechanisms that have been put in place by testing their resilience and adequacy.
Continuing on the above point, I remember the several sessions I had with trafficked persons who had no idea about locally and legally available remedies either because of their education level, the above-mentioned fear and distrust, or the fact that they live in camps or very controlled areas. In addition, a lack of resources in their native languages or simply an inadequate number of support staff or capacity of shelters has contributed to their plight. That is particularly true in the case of embassies. They tend to have limited human or financial resources. Several NGOs and private donors in Oman assist in trafficked cases, which has been helpful. Also, there is a good number of volunteers, Omanis and expatriates alike, who help either as interpreters, lawyers, or just friends to talk to.
One final point to be added here before I move on to another aspect of this matter is gender. Often the focus has been to protect women victims. Shelters provided, whether by authorities or foreign embassies, cater mainly, perhaps understandably, for women. Only in documented trafficked cases, where victims come forward, do they manage to use the facilities provided. The majority of those tend to be women. A lot of the undocumented trafficked cases are usually men. There are several reasons for that such as social and familial expectations to persevere and continue to provide fuelled at times by a lack of sympathy from respondents.
On the other side of the equation, let us not demonise employers. We do have some honest and genuine employers who are also victims, albeit not in the eyes of the law. They need protection because they take the brunt of all the duty of care and diligence called for by anti-human-trafficking laws and regulations in Oman. They can also be preyed on by workers and recruiting agencies, both at home and abroad.
Recruiting agencies play a pivotal role in the trafficking process. They can deceive victims at home even before arriving in Oman. They can also deceive employers by giving a false impression that all papers are in order and that the offer and acceptance part of the employment relationship is also set in place. That is why international legal frameworks require authorities in source and destination countries to mitigate such risks and address vulnerabilities by close supervision of the recruitment process. Destination countries tend to get most of the blame since they are usually rich countries. Moreover, the abuse is more visible in destination countries than in source countries. A case in point is the requirement upon employers to demonstrate that they have exercised their duty of diligence before the discovery of a trafficked case and their duty to care once a case has been discovered.
In conclusion, while a lot has been done during the past decade, challenges remain in addressing TIP in Oman. Factors such as limited victims awareness of and accessibility to available resources, gaps in implementation and enforcement of anti-trafficking laws, and the complex nature of the crime pose obstacles to effectively combatting the issue. In my opinion, enhancing victim identification and assistance mechanisms are key areas that require further attention and can make a transformative impact on the lives of potential victims and Oman’s TIP records.
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