IOM’s Busatti: We’re fighting the ugly face of globalization

International Organization for Migration Chief of Mission Maurizio Busatti

4 March 2008

International Organization for Migration (IOM) Chief of Mission Maurizio Busatti says the multi-billion-dollar business of human trafficking is the ugly face of globalization.

He says when he reflects on the size of the evils of this dirty business it is easily to feel that his efforts are in vain, but of course they don't give up. The IOM office in Turkey has been operating an emergency help line to help the victims of human trafficking, and so far they have been able to save 606 people.

Busatti, an Italian, says that he started to work for immigrants' rights after finishing university. He has worked in Albania and different countries in Africa. He says his job has taught him to appreciate many things that are often taken for granted -- even things as seemingly basic as running water. In an interview with Today's Zaman, Mr. Busatti discusses his experiences and the work of the IOM.

 Busatti says the happiest moments in his line of work are "when you feel that you are defending someone's life" and when you can "look at the eyes of victims of human trafficking and see that they are smiling again, even laughing."

Established in 1951, the IOM is the leading inter-governmental organization in the field of migration. It works closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners to fight human trafficking.

"Human trafficking is a multi-billion-dollar business. It goes all over the world. We can only talk about estimates [in this business]. This business is easy, it has unlimited flexibility. We use economic terms, just because it is useful to apply them. In this ugly side of globalization, the prices (of human beings) can go down or up depending on the quantity," he says, adding that their priority as on organization is to save the victims of trafficking and assist them.

To meet this aim, the IOM office in Turkey has been operating an emergency 157 help line from an unspecified address since May 2005. The line was set up by the Turkish government and it is operated by IOM in close cooperation with Turkish law enforcement agencies and plays an important role in rescuing trafficked persons in Turkey. To date, the helpline has saved 606 people.

A candle in the dark

"Sometimes we feel we are trying to bring to shore a boat that is at the edge of a waterfall," Busatti says. But he adds that seeing the smiling faces of the victims after they have been rescued keeps him and his colleagues going. He says sometimes he feels he cannot take any more when he sees children and single mothers forced into prostitution, but he adds: "We are always caught in a paradox. We feel that our help is marginal in comparison with the size of the evils of this industry. But, of course, it does not mean we stop assisting."

Busatti explains that in the trafficking business there are origin countries, transit countries and destination countries, but that sometimes countries can play more than one role. Turkey, he says, "has historically been a transit country, due to its geographical location." But he adds: "Its economic developments have made it into a destination country, too. Unfortunately, there is a demand in Turkey for sexual slavery. So Turkey is still a transit country, but it is a destination country, too."  Busatti then stresses that the most important qualification for IOM staff is their ability to learn quickly because human trafficking and its methods are changing very fast. "Developed communication [technologies] and accessible transportation increased the mobility [of the business]. Victims of trafficking are sometimes shuttled between different countries, sometimes in circular movements. Smugglers are learning and inventing new methods very fast and we have to stay on top of all these things," he says, adding that knowledge of international law is another requirement because the legal dimension of migration is growing everyday.

"Migration law is becoming an important and relevant human rights concern. We have to protect immigrants' human rights, economic rights and political rights and our obligation is difficult because we are facing some restrictions in the domestic laws of the states," Busatti explains. "In a way, [legal] limitations are sometimes national. Migration has a high security dimension. It also includes drug smuggling and terror. Individual states' security concerns are very legitimate, but there are very vulnerable victims who are not even able to ask for assistance," he says.

Busatti also stresses that cooperation between countries is very important. "The countries of origin, transit and destination must work together and operate together, first of all, and then rescue the victims of human trafficking and give people a second chance in life and make sure this slavery will never win."

 But for such cooperation to occur, societies must acknowledge that there is a real problem. "Why do we prefer denial sometimes? I don't think there is an easy answer. We can hardly believe that these things can be happening -- How can people see other individuals as means or objects? When we were doing our campaigns we were trying to figure out an angle, a slogan that would evoke empathy in people. ... We were trying to put people in the shoes of those who are less fortunate."

Trying to assist the victims of human trafficking and developing methods to combat it affects IOM staff psychologically, similar to other forms of humanitarian aid: "There are some coping mechanisms; I call them antibodies. But they are not always positive. Some people like us end up being addicted to other people's sufferings. We call this sort of thing a secondary trauma. Usually there are two temptations: The first one is based entirely on empathy. They are becoming like the victims in a way, and becoming more attentive and protective. The second tendency is total detachment. I will call this the 'container' syndrome. In a way, many people like us, living in a bubble, are completely alienated from their context. But the secret is to be able to perhaps develop the skill of staying between all-out empathy and total detachment..." he says.

The rewards of the job

But Busatti adds that people who work in humanitarian aid are also learning a lot about appreciating the small things in life. "You learn to appreciate having the lights turn on as soon as you flip the switch. You also learn to turn off the water tap when you are brushing your teeth. Then you teach these practices to your children. Most importantly, you learn to appreciate friendship and solidarity."

When he speaks of his family, Busatti's eyes gleam with joy. He proudly displays a family photo. Even looking at the picture is enough to make him grin from ear to ear. "Karim, my son, Aisha, my daughter and my wife Mariam. We have a daughter named Tamara who was born in Ankara. My wife is from French Guinea, and she's a colleague of mine," he says. According to Busatti, one of the positive aspects of working in such a field is the ability to raise open-minded children.

 Busatti has been in Turkey since November 2007. He had been in Albania for six years, as well as different countries in Africa, prior to moving here. Like many other UN workers, Busatti was recruited while he was working with an NGO, when he had already rolled up his sleeves to deal with the problems facing immigrants.

"I studied political science and international relations and I had been doing a of lot voluntary work. I was trained as a welfare officer, too," he says.

Busatti defines Italy's situation in the 1980s -- during which he worked as a social worker and with the confederation of labor in Italy -- as being peculiar: "During the '80s we suddenly became a welcoming society. A large number of people started to come from different countries. I started working with the welfare office of the Florence Municipality. How could we provide access to social service to the immigrants who were faced with social exclusion and criminal exploitation? There was no regular legal framework. Then I started to get into this line of work in the labor area. The confederation of labor in Italy hired me. I was basically training labor cadres about the human trafficking aspect of globalization."He points out that in those days the EU was a new phenomenon. He says illegal workers were preferred by some businessmen because they can cut costs down by 50 percent. He explains that this led to the creation of a black market for labor. The legal local workers were also suffering because of the situation. "The Union movement is interested in these concerns -- not only in Italy. Other EU institutions also began looking into the problem in terms of potential clashes between the local Europeans and the newcomers," he adds.

Busatti says that while dealing with these issues he became interested in the humanitarian dimension of forced movement. In 1989 he became part of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), leaving for Mozambique soon thereafter.

He says in Africa this business has a completely different context, which includes refugee management, natural disasters, complex emergencies, civil wars with a very high level of radicalization and political clashes.  His experience in Africa led him "to burn out." However, he did meet his wife there:

"During the difficult decade of the 1990s I was working and we were asking a lot of questions about the locations we were helping and whether we were doing the right thing. [We even thought] Africa would probably be better off if it detached itself from the developed world and tried to develop within itself. I like to tuck away my memories from my 10 years in Africa Somalia, Kinshasa and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Busatti returned to Europe in 2000, this time to another complicated location and situation: Albania. "I could apply a lot of my skills, in a different context. Albania was under a harsh dictatorship for a long time and it was isolated from the rest of the world. It was a sealed-off country that suddenly opened up. So, in less then two years, about a million immigrants emerged. It was a real challenge. Those people were seeking better lives but did not have any clue on how to get them. They were facing acceptance and integration problems. These poor and honest Albanians, who were making huge sacrifices to send some money back home, were facing stigmatization and marginalization. They were also becoming the victims of some criminal elements in their communities. The Albanians have an incredible ability to learn foreign languages, but very often once in the countries of destination the very leaders of gangs terrorizing Albanian groups were the ones causing further alienation and hostility toward Albanian immigrants in the eyes of the people of the countries they immigrated to," he explains. He also mentions that Albania was used as a transit country for human trafficking.

His years in Africa led Busatti to question many things, but one event made him very proud of himself: "We were evacuating a Tutsi group in Kinshasa. … In those days terrible things were happing, including a killing method called 'necklacing' which means forcing a rubber tire filled with gasoline around a victim's chest and arms and setting it on fire. Under such conditions we had to evacuate 2,000 people from among maybe 20,000. It was a very difficult job. A married couple came, they were doctors and they had two small children. They told us that they weren't Tutsis but their lives were in danger. We looked at each other and agreed to take them. It was the right thing to do, and we did it."

But he is left to pause: "How many people in real danger did we leave behind? You decide on someone's life in seconds."

Source: Today's Zaman