European Central: North Macedonia Busts Group Smuggling Migrants to EU
AP/Renata Brito
People often hear about a large number of migrants and refugees that have reached the European Union in the past decade, but the ugly ways in which they arrive are not always talked discussed. On June 2nd in North Macedonia, a human trafficking ring was busted again. Migrants primarily from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Bangladesh, and other Middle Eastern countries were taken from Greece across North Macedonia’s southern border up to the country’s northern border where migrants would continue their journey to member states in the European Union through Serbia.
The migrants were charged $850 dollars to be taken through North Macedonia. It is estimated at least 100 migrants were transported through North Macedonia by the smuggling ring. Migrants were smuggled from Greece to the North Macedonian town of Gevgelija. Then, the migrants would then be taken to the regions of Lipkovo or Kumanovo, two regions near the border of Serbia, and the migrants would continue their way through Serbia to reach the European Union. Despite Greece also being an EU member state migrants are smuggled to wealthier nations in the bloc. Four men who were part of the bloc are already serving prison sentences, but officials are searching for three more suspected of being part of the smuggling ring.
At the height of the migrant crisis in 2015, it is thought that 1,000,000 migrants traveled through North Macedonia. This resulted in the country constructing a wall on the country's southern border with Greece in an attempt to stop this. The police and military have continued to monitor the area.
Sadly, this is not the only case of human rights issues in North Macedonia. A group was busted for the poor treatment of 39 Taiwanese workers who were forced to work in cruel conditions. Taiwanese workers were forced to commit telephone fraud after arriving in the country. After their arrival, their passports and phones making it difficult for them to leave or contact someone to help. It appears the Taiwanese workers were not aware of what work they would do before they arrive in North Macedonia. Further complicating things, it is important to consider the language barrier. Mandarin Chinese is the official language of Taiwan while North Macedonia speaks Macedonian. It is not clear why North Macedonia was chosen for the forced labor of Taiwanese migrants, but the language barrier may have played a role since it would make it harder for the workers to escape.
According to the U.S. Department of State, North Macedonia has more work to achieve before it would be able to eliminate human trafficking within the country. One glaring error is North Macedonia may have deported or detained human trafficking victims due to not being able to properly identify victims. The country also was unable to help victims of the one shelter that was at full capacity.
However, it is noted that the country has made several improvements as it has been working to crack down on human trafficking. Courts have given harsher sentences to smugglers than in previous years which sends a stronger signal that North Macedonia takes human trafficking seriously. These increased efforts may have helped North Macedonian officials uncover the group of mistreated Taiwanese workers along with stopping the smuggling ring of migrants from Greece to Serbia.
According to the report, North Macedonia still needs to give police more funding in order to conduct more proactive investigations. There is also a need for the teams that can screen for potential trafficking victims in at-risk populations such as those working in commercial sex, refugees, and migrants. This may help North Macedonian authorities detect trafficking victims quicker than in the case of the Taiwanese workers. There should also be continued training for judges and law enforcement on conducting human trafficking investigations and prosecutions. The State Department also wants to see written guidance that prevents trafficking victims from being punished for crimes they were forced to commit by traffickers.
Another consideration for the issues around human trafficking in North Macedonia is the situation may change if North Macedonia becomes a member state of the European Union. It may become more difficult for human trafficking to be detected within the country as migrants would be moving throughout member states of the European Union to Serbia. This is because of freedom of movement in the European Union which can make it harder to detect human trafficking due to visa-free travel for 90 days. The European Union has struggled to protect its border from illegal immigration, and it will be interesting to see the impact that North Macedonia being included in the bloc would have on the situation. On the other hand, North Macedonia may be able to continue to make progress towards eliminating human trafficking with further support from the European Union. Due to the nation’s lower economic activity, the country would be entitled to financial support from the bloc. Member states with a GDP per capita than the GDP per capita of the EU receive more money than they contribute to the budget of the European Union. Several of North Macedonia’s issues regarding human trafficking seem to include a lack of adequate funding to fully tackle the problem may be resolved with the help of the European Union.
