The upheavals in Eastern Europe in 1989 had a profound impact on the region. After the collapse of the former Soviet Union, a number of union republics declared their independence and embarked on the path of capitalist development.
The countries of Eastern Europe joined the world economic system, put an end to the planned economy, and implemented privatization and market-oriented reforms. For a time, multinational corporations and foreign banks were numerous, and the economy grew rapidly.
However, behind the rapid economic transformation, the construction and improvement of the regulatory system is far behind. Government agencies are bloated and inefficient, the legal system is not perfect, and enforcement is inadequate.
This provides an opportunity for all kinds of illegal activities to be generated. For example, drug smuggling, arms trade, underground banks, money laundering and other gray industries have all been bred to a certain extent.
Most deploringly, organized human trafficking has also been able to spread in these Eastern European countries.
Under the previous planned economic system, population movement was relatively restricted. Once deregulated, the chaotic political environment and volatile social environment made the economic situation even more severe, and a large number of people had to go out to earn a living.
On the other hand, the demand for the sex industry in developed regions such as Western Europe is strong. Driven by profits, criminal groups use the search for trafficking targets as a means of profiteering.
At a cost of a few hundred dollars, a woman can be abducted by deception and then resold for thousands of dollars for the difference. It's a shady yet thriving underground industry.
In the absence of effective regulation, human trafficking is rampant. According to incomplete statistics, between 1989 and 2008, as many as 1.5 million Eastern European women were trafficked to Western Europe or other developed countries and reduced to tools for providing sexual services.
Most of them come from poorer countries in Eastern Europe, such as Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, etc. The economic situation and employment environment are not optimistic, coupled with the overall low level of education and education, these women are easily deceived by false high-paying job opportunities.
Transnational crime syndicates recruit local women to capture young women who still have illusions in the name of recruitment, tourism, marriage, etc. They embark on a journey with a vision of a better life, only to be sold directly into brothels and used as tools for the sex trade.
And once they fall into this situation, they can hardly get out. Criminal groups deprive them of their passports and identity documents, completely severing ties with their home countries. Harsh guards and violence keep them from escaping; And even if they succeed in escaping, where will they go in a foreign land? No one will provide them with shelter or help.
As a result, young and beautiful Eastern European girls can only accept humiliation in despair and become sex slaves far from home.
Nineteen-year-old Vica is a typical victim. Coming from a small Eastern European country, she came from a poor family and relied on her mother to make ends meet in the small shop in the village.
When a woman sells her the opportunity to work as a waitress in Dubai, Vika's eyes light up. The promised high salary of $500 a month was astronomical for her, so that she could live a comfortable life and help her family.
With excitement in her heart, Vika stepped on a plane to Dubai. In the cabin, the other girls are talking about a bright future or making fun of each other, which makes people feel high.
But from the moment it landed, the nightmare began. They were greeted by a lewd-looking man who took Vika directly to an apartment. He ordered Vika to strip naked and prepare to receive "clients".
Only then did Vika realize that she had become a prostitute.
In the days that followed, Vika lived like an animal. She was forced to receive dozens, if not hundreds, of prostitutes every day, ranging from middle-aged businessmen to construction workers.
The harsh bustard forces her to meet all the demands of the "customers", otherwise she will be beaten. Soon, she became unexpectedly pregnant. However, even after being nine months pregnant, she continued to work in prostitution.
Similar to Vika's experience, 18-year-old Jenny was a victim of human trafficking. Originally from Moldova, Europe's poorest country, she has been farming in the countryside with her parents.
One day, a woman who claimed to help her get a job in Moscow showed up and promised a high salary of $200 a month. For Jenny, a girl born in the countryside, this is simply an opportunity to get rich.
However, as soon as the plane landed, she was sold directly to a brothel in Turkey. Her passport and other documents were all taken away, and she lost any contact with the outside world.
In the brothel, she was forced to receive fifty or sixty men a day, exhausted. Finally, one day, Jenny, who was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, decided to take a desperate gamble, and she jumped from the second floor of the building while she was unprepared, hoping to escape the cave.
But because she was so panicked, she accidentally broke her legs and paralyzed her lower body on the bed.
Anyone who sees such a tragic scene will be distressed. But the people in the brothel still refused to let her go. They simply took her to the hospital for surgery and soon brought Jenny back to continue prostitution.
These Eastern European girls have been placed on the soil of the developed countries of Europe, where they should be protected by the rule of law in a regulated and just manner, but they can only live in terror and despair.
The reason for this is due to the intricate relationship of interests here.
The police are inextricably linked to human trafficking syndicates, and can even be said to shield each other. Traffickers bribe the police by offering money or free sexual services, who in turn provide them with intelligence support to remove obstacles.
Mere verbal dissuasion, without any substantive sanctions.
Governments pay lip service to the prevention of trafficking in human beings as a high priority. For example, the European Union and the United States have provided significant funding and training support to Eastern European countries to build response systems and dismantle criminal gangs.
But in the end, much of the money that should have been spent on protecting human rights went into the pockets of officials themselves. If the problem is not improved in the slightest, traffickers can still roam.
Governments in developed countries are not unaware either. They are aware of the existence of these illegal activies in their own country, but they are only turning a blind eye.
Because too strict enforcement can scare away investors and businessmen, these developed countries are more concerned about how to expand their economies.
As a result of these factors, this ugly problem cannot be eradicated and has become an open secret. And the real bad luck is always the disadvantaged Eastern European women.
It can be said that the trafficking of Eastern European women into sexual slavery in Western European countries has constituted one of the ugliest "sex scandals" in Europe since the beginning of the 21st century. This is no longer an isolated incident, but a systemic social problem.
Since the upheavals in Eastern Europe in 1989, according to incomplete statistics, the number of people trafficked each year has been at least between 600,000 and 800,000, the vast majority of whom are women.
This is an extremely staggering number. It is proved that the situation of women in Eastern Europe who have been reduced to commodities and forced prostitution has reached a point where it cannot be ignored.
What makes this scandal even more embarrassing is that the European countries concerned are aware of it, but have done little substantive to stop and punish it. Forced by economic interests and realpolitik considerations, this tacit secret has been allowed to go for a long time.
No one has really stood up for these unfortunate women to speak up and do justice. They can only accept the devastation in despair.
Turning a blind eye for so long has shown how degenerate some of the so-called "developed countries" are in terms of ethics and values. They can tolerate so many weak people falling victim for their own benefit.
This is the degradation of contemporary European civilization and the moral degradation of the whole society.
The most essential reason for this is the rapid market-oriented reforms in Eastern European countries and the resulting regulatory failures.
We cannot deny that since 1989, the countries of Eastern Europe have carried out drastic economic structural reforms, the original planned economy has been completely abolished, privatization and marketization have been rapidly promoted, and the vitality of macroeconomic and micro-enterprises has been greatly liberated.
This laid the foundation for the prosperity and development of the Eastern European region.
However, in the whole process of marketization and opening up, the government's regulatory capacity and law enforcement level have obviously not kept up. In the face of a complex and new situation, the operational capacity of the police and the judiciary is uneven and enforcement is inadequate.
Regulatory loopholes create space for illegal activity to exist. Human trafficking is taking advantage of these opportunities to operate in regulatory blind spots.
On the other hand, developed countries and regions, out of consideration of economic interests, have also allowed the existence of such behavior for a long time. They are worried that overly restrictive policies will affect the business environment, so they choose to turn a blind eye.
This undoubtedly exacerbates the problem further.
It can be said that it is precisely under the general trend of economic globalization and market integration that the ugly social phenomenon of human trafficking has rapidly grown and spread. This has sounded the alarm bell for us, and we need to seriously consider and pay attention to how to standardize development and protect vulnerable groups in the process of opening up.
Through the above description, we are fully aware of the seriousness of the trafficking of women into prostitution in Eastern Europe. This has constituted the ugliest scene of contemporary society, and at the same time, to a certain extent, reflects the moral degradation of our time.
In the face of such tragic and unbearable facts, we call on every group in society to learn from this and take truly effective action.
The government should establish a sound legal system, vigorously purify the social environment, and crack down on all human trafficking activities. Enterprises should bear in mind their social responsibilities and prevent the use of people who have been trafficked or forced into prostitution; The media and the public should fully express their demands, supervise the government's actions and inactions, and promote the attention and resolution of problems.
This is a systemic social problem that requires a systemic approach. Only when governments, businesses, the media and the public work together can we fundamentally change the status quo, prevent this scandal from happening again, protect the rights and interests of every citizen, especially vulnerable women, and enable them to live in dignity.
This should be the common goal and firm pursuit of our time.