Migrant, Refugee, Smuggler, Savior
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- $21.99
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- $21.99
Publisher Description
Migrant, Refugee, Smuggler, Savior investigates one of the most under-examined aspects of the great migration crisis of our time. As millions seek passage to Europe, in order to escape violent conflicts, repressive governments, and crushing poverty, their movements are enabled and actively encouraged by criminal networks that amass billions of dollars by facilitating their transport.
Many of these smugglers carry out their activities with little regard for human rights, which has led to a manifold increase in human suffering, not only in the Mediterranean Sea, but also along the overland smuggling routes that cross the Sahara, penetrate deep into the Balkans, and through hidden corners of Europe's capitals. But some of these smugglers are revered as saviors by those they move, for it is they who deliver men, women, and children to a safer place and a better life. Disconcertingly, it is often criminals who help the most desperate among us when the international system fails to come to their aid.
This book is a measured attempt, born of years of research and reporting in the field, to better understand how human-smuggling networks function, the ways in which they have evolved, and what they mean for peace and security in the future.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this orderly and well-argued study, journalist Tinti and organized crime expert Reitano state that smuggling networks for migrants have arisen due to a global economy in which "necessity demands movement but few legal options are available." Global mobility, they believe, has "outpaced the international community's capacity to make the necessary changes." The result is a complex market for human smuggling. This book, described as "somewhere between a work of journalism and social science," gives a detailed overview of this shadow economy, including the specifics of how migrants seeking better lives are suborned into drug smuggling and prostitution. The book is dense and fact-filled, yet full of human interest thanks to case studies of people like Esther, who hired smugglers to help her get from Nigeria to Libya and then to Spain only to find herself in servitude to human traffickers. The authors' goal is to inform readers and move official policy in a more humane direction. Part one defines terms such as refugee, migrant, asylum-seeker, smuggling, and human trafficking, and examines the mechanisms of movement. Part two looks at the smuggling operations in various countries. Syria is a focus, but so are Libya, Egypt, and Turkey. This plea for better legal options should be essential reading for policymakers.
