Nov 02, 2019 – Migrating without papers can be dangerous. In the last five years, around 19,000 people have died while attempting to reach Europe – almost all of them on the Mediterranean Sea crossing. According to the Missing Migrants Project of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), migrants’ deaths in Europe in 2019 have been mainly caused by suffocation, drowning, and vehicle accidents.
A typical form of deceit involves individuals being promised they will earn £1,500 GBP per month working in a Vietnamese-owned nail salon in London, with their monthly living expenses capped at £500 GBP.
According to the report Precarious Journeys: Mapping Vulnerabilities of Victims of Trafficking from Vietnam to Europe, law enforcement frequently assumes that vulnerable migration represents smuggling rather than trafficking. This means that the migrants, even children, are treated as criminals, which only adds to their vulnerability and distrust in the authorities. As reported by Precarious Journeys, which was prepared by Anti-Slavery International, child rights organization ECPAT UK, and the anti-trafficking Pacific Links Foundation, “Many victims are being arrested for crimes they are compelled to commit.”
