Beckermann's Berlin Brief

I've just started a new book - Illicit - by Moises Naim (editor for Foreign Affairs), and naturally am starting to think about the black market and the "other side" of globalizaiton.

In many of my classes this semester we are discussing and researching the world's problems (Energy and climate change issues, the financing and decision making processes of global policies, the impact of globalization on states, and how to reap the gains from trade...) The book by Naim fits nicely therefore into my studies - even though its opening up a side of the world many of us - myself included - tend not to think about.

In my undergrad I researched the persistence of slavery in Mauritania – where the practice was widely ongoing well into the 1990s. The BBC ran an article today highlighting trafficking as “modern-day slavery”. Apparently some 2.5 million individuals are in forced labour, and the industry is worth some $31.6bn/year – putting it third in shadow economies – behind drugs and arms. 

And the destination for individuals being trafficked is closer to home than I realized - Western Europe, North America, Western Asia and Turkey, while the Commonwealth of Independent States are largely origin regions. 

While the UN has increasingly reported and has highlighted the issue as a global problem – affecting developed and developing nations equally. They cite that the key to eliminating the problem is identifying it – unfortunately there are still many countries who have not signed the Anti-Trafficking Protocol, which came into force in 2005, and those who have, have not instituted the legislation required to actually address the problem. 

With all of the world’s problems – I almost feel as though these 2.5 million individuals will be forgotten – as depressing as that realization is. 

I hope Naim’s book will offer some solutions to the illicit problems he brings to light – and I hope that we can do something to implement them.