This oldest exchange in the history is influenced by supply and demand, the sale and purchase, and has many investors and a market (slave market), but the timing of entry into this market is mostly in the night! The peak of prosperity is in the summer, where indicators record imaginary profits!
There are no accurate statistics about the numbers of the clients, but they are always increasing...
The investment increase in this market associates with economic and social factors. One of the most important economic factors that play a significant role in the growth of this market is the recession. The increasing rise of prices led to the reluctance of a significant segment of young people in Syria about marriage due to the high cost of housing and other basic requirements. In addition to the increasing prices, there are high rates of inflation and low purchasing power, despite all the increases announced by the Government! The average income of employee in Syria is nearly 200 $, while the citizen needs at least 300 $ to secure his requirements and the needs of his family.
These burdens have led a large segment of the Syrian young people to look for additional work opportunities to meet the needs of their families and their personal needs. There is no doubt that the job is often not commensurate with scientific qualifications. Among these jobs is the white slave trade!
Some girls may go voluntarily to this market for several reasons, from the absence of employment opportunities to the family disintegration.
There is no doubt that these economic factors are the important index to the continuity of this Exchange. When the economic factors are at a low level, the profits of this Exchange will increase, and vice versa.
This trade insures a high daily income, in most cases, for those wishing to invest in! This income differs from one investor to another, depending on several aspects: age, appearance, citizenship... But what about this market intermediaries?! They find customers and familiarize them with this market, and in return receive a commission varies from one broker to another.
White Slave phenomenon is on the rise. In Syria, maids are brought from various countries, Ethiopia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. there is a clear increase in the offices specialized in this trade, but so far, the maids phenomenon is still under control in Syria. It is somewhat limited to certain classes of the Syrian society that enjoy a high level of income, but this phenomenon in some Arab countries has become a real danger to the society, particularly in the Gulf states, where the Asian employment rate is more than the proportion of the population in many of those countries. Those workers also subject to violence.
Human being has become a commodity in the era of globalization. In this business, the woman is sold and purchased for several times without falling in the price, and thus the benefit of such trade is wider than in other goods trade! It is the trade which took third place in the world in profits after arms and drug trade!
We need first to recognize the existence of such phenomenon and the presence of strong and organized networks able to manage this trade, and we need extensive study from the standpoint of human rights which all other standards must be subject to.
By: Noora Quraia, 15/7/2008, (Exchange of White Slave: The Third Profitable Trade in the World! )
Translated by: Angela Shoufi
(Arabic)