People Smuggling in the UAE - Research Paper Example

Name : xxxxxxxxxxx Institution : xxxxxxxxxxx Title : People Smuggling in the UAE Tutor : xxxxxxxxxxx Course : xxxxxxxxxxx @2012 Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction 3 1.2 Aims of the research 4 1.3 Research questions 4 1.4 Scope of the research 4 2.0 Literature Review 5 2.1 Factors that influence people smuggling 7 2.2 People Smuggling in UAE 7 2.3 The people smuggling process in UAE 8 2.4 Approaches Adopted to combat people smuggling in the UAE 10 3.0 Methodology and Ethics 12 4.0 Analysis and findings 13 5.0 Conclusion 15 References 17 1.0 Introduction People smuggling is a crime that is currently growing internationally. This illegal practice has exposed majority of immigrants to unaccepted risks. It is believed that most smuggled migrants are usually exploited and their lives put at risk. Several cases have been reported in which smuggled migrants have died due to suffocation in containers, died in deserts or at the sea. Regardless of these risks associated with smuggling of people, the number of people being smuggled across international borders is still increasing. The increase in the number of people being smuggled across international borders is due to globalization and conflicts in home countries (UNODC, 2009). According to IOM (2011), for the past two decades conflicts and globalization have enhanced international migration flow. However, even though there has been an increase in international migration flow, migrants do always find it hard to legally access the destination country due to restrictive migration policies and essential technological and human resources deployed at international borders. This therefore normally forces many migrants to look for criminal groups that are specialized in people smuggling. Migrants do always pay heavily for their journey to be arranged by the criminal groups. The dangerous journey can be short and direct, but at times it can be long and indirect. The time spent travelling do also varies. The journey can take few days, months or even years. Smugglers do always use land, air and sea to illegally transport people across the border of destination country. However, the journey can easily be cut short and even become disastrous if detected by border officials. In most cases, migrants are exposed to harsh, dangerous and even deadly conditions. The harsh or deadly conditions have never stopped migrants from paying criminal groups to organize their way through international borders. The criminal groups are always well organized, thus making it hard for border officials to detect and record criminal activities such as people smuggling. In UAE, for instance, it is not easy to detect criminal activities such as people smuggling. The available information at the border is too scattered and incomplete thus making it hard to accurately show the number of people smuggled every year and the routes and methods utilized by the criminal groups. 1.2 Aims of the research To determine the trend of people smuggling activity for the past five years To found out the organization of smugglers of migrants To determine the methods used by criminal groups to illegally transport migrants across the borders To found out the things that attracts many people to migrate to UAE To find out how UAE fight the increasing activity of people smuggling 1.3 Research questions Have people smuggling activities been increasing for the past five years? How organized are the smugglers of migrants? What are the methods used by criminal groups to illegally transport migrants across the borders? What are the things that attract many people to migrate to UAE? How does UAE fight the increasing people smuggling activity? 1.4 Scope of the research The study will evaluate various literatures relating to people smuggling activity. It will suggest the methods to be used in the research. The study will also suggest how data will be analysed. 2.0 Literature Review According to International Criminal Police organization (Interpol, 2011), people smuggling is becoming a continuously growing phenomenon. Approximately 143 countries across the world get involved in peoples smuggling. As part of organized criminal activity, people smuggling can be described as much more complex now as opposed to before based on the fact that its nature has greatly changed. The complexity has been influenced by increased globalization. Furthermore, the acceleration of cross border movements of goods, people and money, in addition, the emergence of international markets and advances in technology have also increased the level complexity of people smuggling in the present day society (Mehdi ,2010). Mehdi (2010) highlights that; the prevalent situation of people smuggling is actually very disturbing. For instance in the recent years there has been an increase in the fatality of the number of illegal immigrants crossing the Mexican –US border. A case in point is in 2008 where 390 people lost their lives and in 2009 a total 417 people also died. Approximately 705, 022 smuggled people were arrested while trying to cross the border through illegal means. A number of surveys also reveal that most human smuggling activities originate from developing countries. For instance in Sub-Saharan Africa, illegal and irregular immigration is undoubtedly a dominant type of migration. Children from these particular regions are smuggled for farm labour and woman for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Estimates indicate that approximately 200,000 women and children are smuggled from developing countries each year (Mehdi, 2010). According to Edwards, (2005) people smuggling is becoming a challenge for many governments across the world. However a number of issues need to be deliberated separately. According to Edwards, (2005) one of the key issues is that people smuggling is illegal migration. This is because whether the migrates get to a country and identify themselves as refugees who are fleeing an oppressive regime or whether they are seeking financial security or work , the individual organizing the movement of the such kind people does it to obtain a financial benefit. The type of smuggles vary from opportunistic business people who are looking for cheap labour, and also organized criminal groups that are involved in drug trafficking and other organized criminal activities. Edwards, (2005) argues that in real sense the people organizing and executing the people smuggling activities actually get a lot of benefits. A study conducted by Koser (2008) to evaluate why migrant smuggling pays revealed that, migrant smuggling does provide a lot of financial benefits for those involved. Drawing from an empirical investigation from Pakistan and Afghanistan, the study revealed that migrants smuggled from the two countries to the UK have to do everything possible in order to raise money to pay the smugglers. These include selling all their property such as jewelry and land. They also draw money from their saving just for the purpose of paying the smugglers. The smugglers then use half of the money paid to them to forgers, to people who create fake passports, to corrupt airport officials and other intermediaries who may be involved in the deal. Koser (2008) concludes that smuggling does bring about benefits to a range of beneficiaries which include the smugglers and other intermediaries involved in the entire deal. 2.1 Factors that influence people smuggling Caplin (2009) highlights that the supply vulnerable people for the purpose of people smuggling is basically a logical result of the post war economy. This is because as the world continues to grow richer, the difference between the impoverished and the wealthy grows wider. Most of the victims who are smuggled to other countries are usually from very poor countries. Caplin (2009) reveals that many of the families are frequently mislead into believing that their children will be enrolled into programs that will offer them opportunities, clothing and food. Nevertheless, people smuggling does not result to tangible benefits for the victims. Instead, the victims both women children and even men may work as sexual servitude. According to findings by the International Labor Organization (ILO) it is estimated that approximately 12.3 million women, children and men across the globe are usually enslaved in forced labour, involuntary servitude, child labor, sexual servitude and bonded labor. The Arab News, (2008) also reveals that the increase of organized criminal groups in different regions of the world has also increased people smuggling and other illegal activities. In the recent years, organized crime has become a more complex and sophisticated. This is due to the manner in which organized criminal groups have transformed their operations in ways that make it difficult for law enforcement agencies to combat their activities. 2.2 People Smuggling in UAE Shelley (2010) highlights that the UAE has had a reputation that is long-standing when it comes to people smuggling and other organized criminal activities. The discovery of oil in the UEA was the opening of a new era which has brought about significant demographic, social, economic and social developments. Alzaabi, (2012) highlights that oil discovery has greatly influenced the strategic status of the UAE. This is because many people from different regions of the world come into the country with the objective finding employment. Alzaabi, (2012) further highlights that due to the fast-paced development, the country has primarily depended on foreign labour. However there are people from Asian countries such as India and Philippines, African countries, and other Arabic nations that are usually smuggled into the country. For instance it was reported that in a period of six months 8,800 illegal immigrants were arrested in Dubai in 2011. Most of those arrested got into the country through organized people smuggling syndicates. 2.3 The people smuggling process in UAE Caplin (2009) undertook a study to study the phenomenon of people smuggling in Dubai. According to Caplin (2009) Dubai’s population consist of 20% Emirates while 80% of the populations are usually people born from foreign countries. In addition it is approximated that 160 countries are represented in Dubai. Almost 50% of the population comes from Asian countries. These include men and women from countries such as India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, who arrive in the city with the objective of working in the construction industry. Caplin (2009) highlights that the pathway that used by these people to get into the city of Dubai in order to get employment is believed to be mainly unlawful. The UAE normally sends recruitment agents to countries that have a huge supply of laborers who are eager to get employment oversee. Nevertheless monitoring the operations of the recruitment agencies has been a difficult task. This is because various scrupulousness recruitment agents usually arise and instead of organizing the process of recruitment through the use of the lawful approach, most of these recruitment agents take up people smuggling in order to get more profits. Caplin (2009) reveals that most of the recruitment agencies engage in forced labour activities. Caplin (2009) further reveals that in the recent years there has been a growing phenomenon whereby people of Middle East and Asian origin are brought into the city of Dubai through the legal recruitment procedure, however they are undocumented. More often migrant workers under this particular category are usually recruited through a legal process in their own country, however when they get to the UAE they are coerced to get into bonded labour or forced labour. Caplin (2009) reveals that although the recruitment process should be a legal process, the scrupulous recruitment agencies have transformed the whole procedure into a people smuggling operation and a form of slavery. Foremost, the UAE does not demand for a recruitment fee which is an aspect that was also banned by international law. Nevertheless those taking part in recruitment demand the foreign workers what is referred to as an ‘’employment fee’’. The fee usually costs between US$4,000-11,000. The recruiters obtain a double befit for the work they do, this is because they are already paid a commission by the government and yet they receive more money from the foreign workers. Caplin (2009) further reveals that once the foreign workers arrive in the UEA the employers or the agencies administer various tactics in order to transform the laborers into a form of involuntary slaves. In most cases the employers usually break the conditions that were outlined by the employment contracts. In case the migrant employee protests, they are threatened with loss of wages, physical violence or they can be dismissed from their positions of employment. According to Caplin (2009) the distress of losing a job and also the right to remain in the UAE, are exceptionally real for most of the immigrant workers. Employers take advantage of this particular situation and restrict the workers from accessing the outside world. The employers confiscate their employee’s passports, identification papers and airline tickets. The migrant employees are then left with no choice but to withstand the forced labour. The Arab News, (2008) reveals that the process of people smuggling in UAE is also undertaken by organized criminal groups that run their operations from other counties. A case in point is whereby in 2008, the Abu Dhabi police uncovered the operations of an international organized criminal group that smuggles people from Asia to Europe and the UAE. According to The Arab News, (2008) the ring leaders of the syndicate are not from UAE but they run their operations from other countries. The Arab News, (2008) reveals that the criminal gang usually exploits gaps that exist in procedures for passenger transfer and security procedures in international airlines. The people from Asian countries are usually smuggled via the UAE airports, whereby some may remain in the UAE while others are taken to Europe. . 2.4 Approaches Adopted to combat people smuggling in the UAE Caplin (2009) highlights that in order to respond to the increased people smuggling activities the UAE has adopted a number of regulatory initiatives that act as a legal framework that is designed to prevent people smuggling into the country. The laws that govern requirements for immigration into UAE are majorly contained in the 1973 Federal Law No.6. The specifications of the law require that all foreign visitors that come into the country should poses visas, identification records and employment permits. In the event that a person is found in the country without a visa and proper identification records, the person will be liable for prosecution (UAE Immigration Department, 2012). Caplin (2009) highlights that another regulatory requirement is that coming into the country in search for employment should be recruited through the use of UAE recruitment agencies that are legally given the mandate to recruit people from different countries in order to meet the labour demands of the UAE. The UAE Immigration Department (2012) highlights that; the UAE government has been dealing with the issue of people smuggling through enforcing adequate security on the airports. This has been implemented by enforcing excellent security through the use of surveillance technology that detects the entry of illegal good and people into the country. The UAE Customs and Border Protection have also been involved in combating people smuggling activities. The Customs and Border Protection collaborates with the other departments such as the Federal Police in order to combat organized crimes that are related to people smuggling (UAE Customs and Border Protection, 2012). Within the international level, the UAE is one of the members of the International Labour Organization and has approved six out of the eight conventions of the International Labour Organization. UAE has endorsed conventions that relate to discrimination that is linked to employment, forced labour, the smuggling of people into the country for the purpose of forced labour. Caplin, (2009) highlights that; the adoption of such acts indicates a growing recognition by the UAE government that the situation of people smuggling into the country should be responded to. Nevertheless, Caplin, (2009) highlights that the current situation of people smuggling and forced labour in Dubai, is a proof to indicate that enough has not been done in order to enforce human rights and also to stop people smuggling in Dubai and also the rest of the UAE. Caplin, (2009) proposes that law enforcement agencies and the government should look deeply into the issue of people smuggling and enforce adequate laws and strategies that can assist in combating this form of organized crime. 3.0 Methodology and Ethics The study will consider a number of data collection methods to be used in the research process with due regard to the aims of the research, source of information targeted and nature of the process at hand. Based on the nature and objectives of the study and the existing available sources of information relating to such topic or subject, the use of primary and secondary data collection methods will be used to undertake this study. However in doing such selection, the pros and cons of all other possible methods will be used as the informants or guiding principles of such selection. On that basis, the study will consider other secondary data collection methods such as documentary analysis. Various documents will be analysed and relevant information that best answer the research questions established. The study will therefore include documentary analysis, since it enables information to be collected from a wide range of sources. Thereafter, the collected information will be analyzed easily through the use of multi-dimensional point of view on a given program or subject. Documentary analysis is useful in illustrating a holistic portrayal of an individuals or groups experience and the results relating to the issue of people smuggling. Another advantage of the case study method of data collection is that it generates a large amount of facts or data from multiple sources, through systematic organization of data. The primary data collection methods will involve the use of Questionnaires. Questionnaires are quite essentials since they provide first-hand information regarding the topic under study. The use of questionnaire is cost effective and enables the collection of information from various people in a short period of time. Questionnaires are usually more objective. When employing questionnaires the information is usually collected in a standardized manner. Therefore, given these advantages, questionnaires will be employed in collecting essential information that relates to the study topic. The targeted groups are the police and border officials. The researcher will provide questionnaires to a number of police and border officials. Ten police and twenty border officials will be given the questionnaires and expected to answer all questions within one week. The police and the border officials will be expected to answer questions such as how many cases have they recorded regarding people smuggling, what are the restrictive measures put in place to control people smuggling activity, what are the challenges being faced in controlling the illegal activity and how are they planning to completely eliminate the illegal activity across the border. The questions in the questionnaires will be ethical. The researcher will ensure that the structured questions are not direct. The questions, particularly those relating to victims of crimes, courts and the government, will be open ended. The researcher will not ask the police and border officials any question that might results into biased results. The police to be included in the research will be randomly selected. 4.0 Analysis and findings Analyzing data and giving out the findings is an essential part of any research work. In this study, the information obtained from the questionnaires will be evaluated and effective findings relating to research questions established. The researcher will generate a quantitative data from the questionnaires. Quantitative data is a numerical measurement that is mostly expressed in terms of numbers. Incorporating this type of data will greatly assist in answering the research questions. The quantitative data will be gathered and then processed in response to research questions. Collection of quantitative data and subsequently its analysis will be undertaken with the aim of understanding people smuggling activity in UAE. It is important to note that most studies entail gathering of information on the exposures and outcomes of interest. When undertaking this study, the researcher will effectively plan the data collection activity by ensuring that the raw information obtained from questionnaires satisfies the general objectives of the study. The major objective of data analysis is usually to obtain reliable information from the raw observations in a concise manner. The researcher will undertake data analysis in various stages. The first stage will entail preparation of relevant data. The relevant data will be gathered and coded in a format that can be entered into a computer. This is data processing stage. The second stage will entail evaluating the recorded information and checking the accuracy, competence and consistency of the data. This is the editing stage. The third stage will entail summarizing the data. At this stage, the researcher will summarize the information in a concise form so as to enable subsequent analysis. This will be done by illustrating the distributions of the data in relations to key characteristics such as means, mode and standard deviation. The collected information will be presented in tables, graphs and summary statistics. This is data reduction stage. The researcher will use Excel to come up with the graphs and summary statistics. The graphs and summary statistics will assist the researcher in interpreting the information collected. After the interpretation, the researcher will establish the findings of the study. In order to add value to the literature in terms of denying, modifying or confirming the prevailing research knowledge, the researcher will evaluate secondary sources. A part from evaluating raw information obtained from questionnaires, the researcher will analyse the information from secondary sources so as to come up with reliable findings regarding the study topic. In analyzing the secondary data, the researcher will first try to understand the data set. Understanding the data set will include getting to know how the data was collected, how various questions were responded to, whether weights were considered during the analysis, whether clusters or stratification was considered and who the study population was. Generally, the researcher will try as much as possible to understand the available data sets and data collection procedure employed. Understanding the data sets will assist the researcher to effectively employ the secondary data in the research and come up with information that best answer the research questions. 5.0 Conclusion People smuggling is a crime that is currently growing internationally. This illegal practice has exposed majority of immigrants to unaccepted risks. Regardless of the risk, majority of migrants are still willing to pay criminal groups a lot of money to assist them to illegally enter the country of destination. Many countries around the world are really trying to fight this criminal activity of smuggling people across international borders by establishing various restrictive measures to combat the crime. However, the criminal groups are highly organized in that they keep on inventing new methods of illegally transporting people across international borders. In UAE for instance, it is not easy to detect criminal activities such as people smuggling. The available information at the border is too scattered and incomplete thus making it hard to accurately show the number of people smuggled every year and the routes and methods utilized by the criminal groups. It is because of this that various questions, relating to people smuggling activity in UAE, are emerging. Some of the questions include have people smuggling activities been increasing for the past five years? How organized are the smugglers of migrants? What are the methods used by criminal groups to illegally transport migrants across the borders? In order to effectively understand the study topic, various literatures relating to the study topic, have been reviewed and their findings illustrated. Under the literature review, factors influencing people smuggling have been well illustrated. It is clear from the literatures that poverty is one of the main factor that influence people smuggling. The literatures relating to people smuggling, people smuggling process and approaches adopted to combat people smuggling in UAE have also been reviewed. The study will consider a number of data collection methods to be used in the research process with due regard to the aims of the research, source of information targeted and nature of the process at hand. Based on the nature and objectives of the study and the existing available sources of information relating to such topic or subject, the use of primary and secondary data collection methods will be used to undertake this study. In this study, the information obtained from the questionnaires will be evaluated and effective findings relating to research questions established. The researcher will generate a quantitative data from the questionnaires. In order to add value to the literature in terms of denying, modifying or confirming the prevailing research knowledge, the researcher will evaluate secondary sources. The study expects to find out that people smuggling activities have been increasing in the UAE for the past five years. The study is also likely to show that criminal groups are highly organized and that the UAE border officials need to improve their efforts of combating illegal activity. In order to effectively control people smuggling in the UAE, it is recommended that more police officers and border officials should be employed. UAE’s government should also equip its borders with up to date technologies that will ensure all the methods used by criminal groups are effectively eliminated. References Edwards, J, 2005, Changing Policing Theories: For 21st Century Societies, Federation Press, 2005 Koser, K, 2008, Why Migrant Smuggling Pays, Journal of International Migration, 46(2), p3–26. Mehdi, S, 2010, Illegal Migration, Human Smuggling and Trafficking from Bangladesh to Pakistan and Beyond. Jessica, C, 2009, Mirage in the desert oasis: forced labor in Dubai and the United Arab Emirates, Harvard International Review. Shelley, L, 2010, Human Trafficking: A Global Perspective, Cambridge University Press. Alzaabi, A, 2012, The Risk that Foreign labour poses to UAE National Security, Zayed Military Collage. Arab News, 2008, Abu Dhabi police uncover people-smuggling ring. UAE Immigration Department, 2012, Retrieved on 22 December From United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), 2009, Smuggling of Migrants International Organization for Migration (IOM), 2011, The international organization for migration and people smuggling Read More