“This war eats up our lives,” explains RINJ Women Ukraine director Alona Adamovich. “It’s love, social cooperation & altruism vs. hatred, separation & greed.
“Following up on one of our complaints, the Ukrainian Border Services arrested some of the people from a criminal ring that has been organized for many months by heads of Ukrainian government medical institutions. They are selling newborn infants to foreign buyers for about fifty to 76 thousand euros. Many of these mothers had been raped. The ring is a scandalous rape, extortion and human infant trafficking organization. We are promised that the offenders could receive sentences of up to 20 years. We want life,” added Alona in an angry tone. “But that is how it is going here. They caught maybe a quarter of the people and caught none of the ring leaders at the top who are protected by Zelenskyy,” she added.
Woman in Kiev reads USAID sponsored poster educating mothers on how to spot risks of child trafficking. “In the Philippines, the biggest challenge is parents who sell their kids to raise money to feed siblings,” reports Karina Angeles from Manila. “In Ukraine, kidnappers will grab any fit human body,” explained Lana, an EMS worker in Donetsk republic. Photo credit: USAID via The RINJ Foundation.
On the subject of infants, midwives in Ukraine have one big complaint. “The rapists are so bold they want to take the infant when born. That’s because, the child, they have already sold,” said Leah, a security guard at a birthing clinic, during an interview
“It’s not unusual for Ukrainian men to find their way to any of our birthing clinics and to try and snatch the baby. Certainly, they are not in a position to take care of the child. We simply don’t allow them access no matter what the new mother has to say because the risk to the other occupants of the clinic and the clinic’s sterility comes first. We make a policy of arresting intruders and disarming them, and then denying access. We do this because we need to avoid these criminals using their weapons to kidnap the next woman who wants care at the clinic. This has happened in the past which is why the rule was made and included n our protocols. Infants leave literally latched to their mothers and with armed guards and may only be dropped off at pre-screened safe locations. Otherwise, the mother and child go to one of our shelters. If you want our free services, you don’t get to bring danger to other mothers and babies. Moms understand this and we have never encountered a serious objection,” explained the seasoned security operative from the contracted supplier to The RINJ Foundation.
When asked about the accusation that the RINJ Women were operating in the shadows of Donbass, Ukraine, Leah replied, “I was the partner of Lori who was killed at one of our rape clinics here by thugs trying to stop a raped girl from telling her story and identifying her rapist. Since Lori passed, the rules were made even stricter by my CO. If armed men are seen within 400 meters, a call must be made to either take them down or monitor them in case they get to the inner perimeter which is 200 meters. We have many people here now and they have plenty of war zone experience. If armed men enter the inner perimeter there will be a fight and attackers will be surrounded and disarmed. If not disarmed, we will defend ourselves and our protectorate with a force commensurate with the attack,” she replied.
“Rape clinics, birthing centers and women’s shelters have become a target for Ukrainians during the period from October 2014 to now,” explained Alona Adamovich who approved the interview with Leah and verified that her information contained no specific leads to the whereabouts of vulnerable care centers and vulnerable persons.
No-bombing / no-shelling map. Some 1,000 women humanitarian workers and volunteers in Ukraine have been switching roles and locations in order to allow some tired workers to take some leave and visit with family or friends in the warm damp summer in Ukraine. Image courtesy Mapbox. Photo Art/Cropping/Enhancement: Rosa Yamamoto / Feminine-Perspective-Magazine
Ukraine and the Philippines have been the worst child trafficking centers in the world. America controls Ukraine and occupies military bases in Philippines. Americans are notorious for leaving behind fatherless children and unwed mothers in the countries they occupy.
The World Atlas suggests “Human trafficking is a multi-billion-dollar business and one of the fastest-growing illegal industries on the planet.”
According to USAID, Ukraine has been a source, transit, and destination country for human trafficking since the early 1990s.
Men, women, and children are trafficked for the purposes of forced labour, begging and sexual exploitation. The main countries of destination for trafficked Ukrainians have been European nations, Turkey, America, as well as internal human trafficking within Ukraine. The problem has been exacerbated by Russia’s military operation in Ukraine in support of Donetsk and Luhansk independent republics under attack by Ukraine since May 2014.
Even before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Ukraine was already facing an increase in the scale of human trafficking caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing displacement from Ukraine’s war against the people of Donbass who broke away from the country after the American-backed coup that ousted a democratically elected leader in 2014 and installed a pro-American leader.
Children became the most lucrative targets for traffickers.
The population of Ukraine, mostly living in Internally Displaced Person (IDP) camps, is extremely vulnerable. Fraudulent labor intermediaries or fake recruiters may take advantage of the war to exploit at-risk persons.
Prior to Russia’s invasion on 24 February 2022, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Mission in Ukraine estimated some 300,000 Ukrainians had suffered from human trafficking since 1991. An estimated 46,000 Ukrainians were trafficked during 2019-2021; 29,000 abroad and 17,000 inside Ukraine.
“Our latest report shows how the pandemic increased vulnerabilities to trafficking in persons, further undercutting capacities to rescue victims and bring criminals to justice,” said UNODC Executive Director Ghada Waly.
“We cannot allow crises to compound exploitation. The UN and the donor community need to support national authorities, most of all in developing countries, to respond to trafficking threats, and to identify and protect victims especially in states of emergency,”
She fought to end all violence toward women and children.