Part 1 was on Third World Guilt.


Families traveling to Ukraine... especially families adopting older children will have read stories about human trafficking. It used to be called slavery.

This is a major problem for Ukraine. It is a source and a destination for human beings who are used and abused. Many children, men and women (49% of Ukraine) are vulnerable to trafficking.

29% of Ukrainians live under the poverty line (Isn't the line about $50 per month? Someone correct me if I am wrong.). Another 20% are the "nearly poor" that hover just above the poverty line.

They are poor and don't have many choices.

Children leave the orphanage at 15 or 16 years of age. They leave with the clothing on their back. If they are lucky, they may be given a toothbrush on their way out the door. Too many of the girls get scoped up by men who traffic in human beings for sex. The boys can be used for forced labor.

Unlike China, where the women are viewed as an investment, Russian [and Ukrainian] traffickers have a “trader” mentality. “Women and girls are seen as a natural resource, and they’re sold off at relatively low prices,” said Shelley. “In that way, the profits are less and the exploitation is even greater compared to Chinese trafficking.”

From: Scholars examine human trafficking in Russia, Ukraine

Ukraine has started working on trafficking problem. But it has a long ways to go.

Women face severe discrimination in Ukraine’s workforce. Men hold a disproportionate number of managerial positions and receive better pay than women in comparable jobs. Discrimination is especially prevalent in the job market, where women’s access to high paying or high prestige jobs is limited in both the public and private sectors due to discriminatory recruitment processes.

Many women are forced into lower paying jobs or remain jobless—women make up 80 percent of the unemployed in Ukraine. Some women, frustrated by the lack of opportunities at home, seek employment outside Ukraine and become victims of trafficking into forced labor abroad, including forced sex work. Women are also victims of widespread domestic abuse.

Ukraine is both a transit point and a point of origin for human trafficking. Ukrainian women and girls are sent to the Middle East and other European countries and forced to be sex workers, while Ukrainian men are sent to other parts of Europe and North America for forced labor. Many victims of human trafficking from Moldova and Asian nations travel through Ukraine, on their way to countries where they will be exploited.

The past year has seen an increase in the number of trafficked children, many of them orphans. The government of Ukraine has recently taken steps to reduce human trafficking using increased prosecution of suspected traffickers and programs to help victims. Despite this progress, however, Ukraine still does not meet international standards meant to fight trafficking, and the problem persists.

From: Human Rights Watch: Ukraine 2005

Over the last couple of years it has become easier to sponsor orphans who are aging out of an orphanage. I am currently paying $40.00 per month to help with Andrey Tokarchuk's vocational training.

I think these programs have grown and become more common as more people become aware what "aging out" of an orphanage means. The odds are against the teenagers surviving. Death, prison, rape and prostitution are common outcomes.

If you read some of the statistics 30% to 25% of the "aged out" orphans are productive citizens 5 years after their release. In other words 75% of these teenagers are dead, in prison, addict, prostitute, missing and/or homeless.

Richest Ukrainian Series
Top 5 Richest Ukrainians
6th and 7th Richest Ukrainians
8th Richest Ukrainian
9th and 10th Richest Ukrainians

Ukrainian Poverty Series
Third World Guilt
Human Trafficking
What is Poverty?