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Caucasus journalists are join their efforts against human traffic

Zahir Amanov

To Iran – to collective oral sex...

To Iran – to collective oral sex

By Zahir Amanov

She was found with bound hands and feet in one of the remote houses located at the end of the district center. The goal is to sell 16 year old girl by force to one Iranian man. Later, this girl happen to be released.
She is one of 6 sisters. Though their marriage age was passing away, four of them still were not married. The boy from neighboring village declared love to the youngest sister Sona and said that will take her to Russia without requiring any dowry should she agree with his proposal, which was a godsend to her. Since Sona felt ashamed of her sisters, she didn’t reveal this secret to them. Taking into account that her parents will not agree with this affair, she left for Russia with that boy. After some happy days, it appeared that … he has other wife and children there. Disputes made Sona to spend nights with pigs, then to become a slave, and later to be proposed to other men for money. Unregistered and without language skills, this young girl didn’t know what to do. Finally, she was able to return to her home-district with the help of one of her countrymen. Not only her parents, but also her close relatives rejected her.

First of all, the Resource center, dealing with the human rights of the region, patronized her and provided with easy and simple work and rented a house for her. But she was a target of odd gaze, as if she was working and living under the pressure. So, it became impossible to bring this young girl back to the normal life. One day she run away from the house and has never returned.

Though the southern part of Azerbaijan is used as a transit road of drug and human traffickers, local population of these regions rarely become a victim. Our last month studies show that approximately 10 women from different regions of southern part are among those who voluntarily or forcefully were taken to abroad. The local tradition of these places is so strict, that, notwithstanding the reason why the woman has become a victim, there is no way back for her.
During our investigation, officials – heads of executive, law-enforcement agencies denied existence of such facts. After some conversations with informed people, we got to know that there are “dens” in four houses at the former Russian village Prishib (presently Goytepe) of Jalilabad district. At some settlement areas of first micro-rayon of Lankaran city, we were told a lot of stories about “employment centers” of owners of ancient profession.
From the driver’s narrative: “most of them are new-comers. Their composition changes frequently. They often go to Iran collectively. A woman who is a constant client, say that the Iranian market is very comfortable. For example, 5-6 women visit Iran for one day and have oral sex with more than 10 men, one by one or collectively. In comparison it needs more time and energy to earn that amount of money in Dubai or other places”.
It is not a secret to anyone that the “dens” are real polygon for future victims. Such dens become wider in more perfect forms. In spite of occasional police raids, most prostitutes confess that they have influential police friends who protect them. Even several years ago an arrested prostitute said that they maintain soccer team of the region.
According to many residents, prostitutes are livelihood for police in some places. In case of need they can be widely used to malign or blackmail someone. In south part many people know that a woman called Dodo blackmailed a shopkeeper at police’s instigation after which a criminal case was opened. The use of simplified trips to Iran by prostitutes more than norm and repeatedly, in some cases trafficking of women to Iran is not a secret anymore. Last year, on the threshold of president elections government authority used widely street women and homosexuals, to disgrace opposition leaders. This issue even was covered by central television. The newspaper “Janub xeberleri” (“South news”) devoted critical article to said case, as well.
Not only common people, but also most government leaders and appropriate agencies, though a State Program regarding this issue was adopted, are not aware of how to differentiate prostitutes from victims, the ways leading to this tragedy and its prevention ways.

As if everyone expects something to happen and then take measures. Five months ago, in the south part a woman was slashed at her house in the day-time. Though primary investigation revealed the reason of the murder as a dispute over the money, later the uncovered traces led to the trafficking of women. Presently the case is still under investigation.

Recently, the flow of tourists to the south part, dwelling of unknown people for a long period of time supposedly for treatment, working as barber or as tailor, thus having a chance to communicate with people for hours, create a favorable condition for collecting information about candidate women to be caught in net.

Though it is not as massive as it used to be during Soviet Union, but taking women to Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and sometimes deceiving girls by showing a picture of young man but taking for an old person is still a problem.

Today the traces of trafficking in women lead to remote mountainous regions. In this summer, 24 year old girl committed a suicide in Lerik district. Later it came out that she was taken to Baku in a mysterious way. But as her parents felt the danger she was taken back. She was not able to tolerate the disgrace anymore and therefore selected suicide way.

Recently, several children from Lankaran children house were given to foreigners for adoption. Some of them really were adopted by normal families, while the fate of two children is still unknown. Parents of these children haven’t rejected them at all, but because of financial problems they brought them to this school. Now they can’t find their children. The case is under investigation by law-enforcement agencies.

It is still possible to count more facts. Main concern is that enlightening of people does not cover whole masses. Transmission of electric energy to regions with long breaks, lack of independent channels telecasting to mountainous places, ignorance of Latin graphics by more than half population, limited coverage area of NGOs create serious problems in this area.

Seminars and writing competitions organized by International Center for Journalism, and their regular coverage by our newspaper is the only hope for certain people. Not long ago, a girl called to our editorial office and stated that she was deceived by her fellow-villager. He run away to Russia. Some people from the village are aware of this love-affair. Parents see a way out from the existing situation by making her a home-prisoner, and forbidding her to go not only to work, but also to weddings. The girl wants to escape and go anywhere and requested for the help from us. Of course, we conducted appropriate work with this girl, and we even found a friend for her. The main disaster is that many people do not know to whom address in such cases.

Though our newspaper, within its means, assists those people who need help, we can’t achieve all our desires. As the root of the problems in the provinces is much deeper, even the most common works require a lot of energy.

It is possible to achieve more influential and efficient results by selecting 3 pilot regions and publishing once or twice each week a newspaper on this issue.

The investigation work was done with the initiative of ICFJ and with financial support from US State Department