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Pilot scheme trains airline and airport crew to better spot human trafficking

Developed by the Immigrant Council of Ireland, it’s hoped the project will be rolled out throughout Europe.

IRISH AIRLINE CREW, airport ground staff, port staff and other transport workers are to be offered training to spot victims of trafficking and offer them an escape from pimps and traffickers under a pilot project being developed by the Immigrant Council of Ireland (IMCI).

Under the Stop Traffick project, air crews will be offered a half day training course which will help them to identify women and girls being brought to Ireland for sexually exploitation.

Transportation staff

The Immigrant Council, with the support of the European Commission, have developed this project in a hope that airport and other transportation staff will be better equipped to identify women and girls being human trafficked into the country.

The Immigrant Council’s recent figures showed that children now account for almost half of all trafficking victims in Ireland.

Last year, 48 people were identified as trafficked in Ireland, of which 23 were children with most being sexually exploited.

Nusha Yonkova, Anti Trafficking Coordinator of the Immigrant Council said:

As a frontline organisation the Immigrant Council has assisted 50 victims of sex-trafficking, all tell a similar story of being tricked into coming to Ireland with promises of a new life only for reality to dawn when they meet their pimp in the arrivals hall at our airports.

Spotting human trafficking

The IMCI said that observant cabin crew, ground staff or customs officers may offer the only chance of escape to these women and children, adding that it’s particularly important as international reports have found that Ireland is weak when it comes to identifying victims.

They added that experience already achieved through training initiatives with the gardaí and with trade unions will be passed on.

Denise Charlton, Chief Executive of the Immigrant Council of Ireland said that Ireland’s airports are the main points of access through which traffickers bring their victims to Ireland.

She said the image of what we “think” human trafficking looks like needs to be challenged. She said:

The image of people arriving in containers or as stowaways simply does not always apply, trafficking victims are more likely to be sitting on our flights and go through our airports like any other passengers.

This is an opportunity to train crews and staff to be alert to human trafficking, and to encourage them to look for signs of nervousness, uncertainty or of someone being controlled either on a flight, a ferry or in a terminal.

She added that the IMCI were looking forward to rolling out the scheme Europe-wide.

Read: Laws against sex buyers need to be introduced now, says Immigrant Council>

Read: Column: Human trafficking and forced prostitution is continuing in Ireland>

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12 Comments
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    Mute margaret
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    Nov 5th 2013, 7:20 AM

    But what if they have to engage in a spot of ethnic or racial profiling. Or will they have to do the job with one hand tied behind their back so as not to offend the would be traffickers and their PC apologists.

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    Mute Swagman_10
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    Nov 5th 2013, 6:57 AM

    Oh God, a ‘pilot’ scheme for airline staff. You can do better than that I’m sure Christina.

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    Mute Kevin Nolan
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    Nov 5th 2013, 8:12 AM

    What about the Gardai who check the passports? Surely they would be highly trained in this area already!

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    Mute susanna smyth
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    Nov 5th 2013, 8:30 AM

    A close relation of mind was badly injured a couple of years ago . There police have all the details his name and romanian address yet Ryanair is not obliged to provide authorities with lists of passengers even though they can only guess if he has left the country

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    Mute tom
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    Nov 5th 2013, 9:11 AM

    We need robust and strict immigration control at every point of entry. If they want to make the airline accountable then they can fly illegal immigrants back to original departure point at airline expense.

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    Mute Jill McGuffin
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    Nov 5th 2013, 7:08 AM

    If they were doin their jobs rite,Tis wudnt b happenin.Its as simple as that.

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    Mute susanna smyth
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    Nov 5th 2013, 7:20 AM

    Why not a couple if detectives deployed to Dublin airport. I’ve seen many dodgy people/situations there over the last few years. And Ryanair have still no obligation to furnish lists of passengers I presume?

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    Mute vectorsector
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    Nov 5th 2013, 8:13 AM

    Jill I don’t think it’s in their original job spec to be human traffic detectives. However up skilling will help them combat it to some degree. Surely your idiotic comment could be applied to anyone working with the public. Ps. A spell check wouldn’t go astray.

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    Mute Aisling Twomey
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    Nov 5th 2013, 9:52 AM

    Even if Ryanair were forced to furnish passenger lists, what are you gonna learn from a list of names? That some are foreign and some are not? It has little real benefit in terms of protecting those who have been trafficked.

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    Mute Gaye Dalton
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    Nov 6th 2013, 2:10 AM

    For their next project the Immigrant Council of Ireland will offer courses for hotel staff to help them identify bogeymen under the bed.

    HSE funding that SHOULD Be going to people who need it goes on this nonsense. So far I have yet to hear the Immigrant Council of Ireland come out with anything accurate about sex work (their main area of interest). If there is real trafficking and coercion happening at all the Immigrant Council of Ireland would not have the first idea how to recognise it and their entire focus has always been on manufacturing evidence to support their anti-sexworker agenda.

    State funds are being wasted on the Immigrant Council of Ireland teaching airline cabin staff things they have made up off the top of their heads…and people wonder why the country is in trouble!

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    Mute Taxi Bill
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    Nov 5th 2013, 11:14 AM

    I wonder which trafficerstrafficed they are trying to catch, the ones that pay a small fortune to be trafficked into Europe/Ireland or the people that are forcibly trafficked into Europe, for illegal purposes, I think there is a vast difference between the two.

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    Mute feck'n voters
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    Nov 6th 2013, 1:18 AM

    Why do Immigration Council of Ireland never come up in the journal reports on the Magdalene Laundries.
    Do forget that channel4 doc – http://www.channel4.com/programmes/sex-on-wheels/4od

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