Black Slaves in Modern Russia

By Slava Tsukerman

Slavery had survived in the modern world mostly in the form of sex slavery. Official estimates of individuals in sexual slavery worldwide vary. In 2001 the International Organization for Migration estimated 400,000, the Federal Bureau of Investigation estimated 700,000 and UNICEF estimated 1.75 million.

In 2007, UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) listed Thailand, China, Nigeria, Albania, Bulgaria, Belarus as the most common sources of victims of human trafficking.

Russia now occupies the fifth place in the world ranking of slavery.

Nigeria gained the first place as a “source country” for human trafficking.
According to Wikipedia, “Nigeria is often referred to as the ‘Giant of Africa’, owing to its large population and economy. With approximately 174 million inhabitants, Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and the seventh most populous country in the world. Nigeria has one of the largest populations of youth in the world.”

Widespread poverty, social inequality and unemployment in Nigeria – are the main factors that create the conditions for the sale of women for sexual exploitation. In Nigeria, international trade is concentrated around Edo State with its capital in Benin-City. In this area, families sending their daughter to Europe is the only way to escape from poverty.

Every year, thousands of girls arrive from Nigeria to Russia. They are promised jobs and education. As a rule the recruting is done by a middle age Nigerian, who makes a contact with girl’s parents or her close friend. Criminal groups are behind these recruters.

In Russia the girls are getting into real hell: 10-20 clients a day, and the debt to the pimp in the amount of 45 thousand dollars. Only few manage to break out. This is not surprising: crime groups are working on well-functioning methods.

The girls say they are usually beaten up until they agree to serve customers. If one does not agree, one is thrown out on the street without money and documents. But girls have no place to go, so many resign themselves to their fate.

A Russian journalist, Tatiana Yegorova, published in the popular web site Colta.ru a photo report about four Nigerian girls, who have fallen into sexual slavery in Russia, but managed to break free. These girls managed to find a temporary shelter and Russian people who were willing to help.

Here are excerpts from their stories:

Juliet is 24. She spent six months In Russia.

Juliet: “In Nigeria, I just graduated from high school and wanted to become a university student. My neighbor in the village told my parents that it is possible to go to Russia. There are many great universities over there. We agreed happily. This neighbor obtained a student visa. And I’ve got into slavery.”

A Nigerian women met Juliet at the airport in Moscow and brought her to Voronezh (Population: 997,447).

The woman said:” You owe me $45,000 and now you are going into prostitution.” She informed Juliet’s family that the girl is a student in a university. And she took all Juliet’s money and documents. Six months Juliet lived in Voronezh, fought all the time with her mistress, but finally had no choice but engaging into prostitution. Then she managed to escape.

Juliet: “In a few days I’ll find myself at home. I do not know what to tell my parents. I have to start life all over again. I’m almost 25. My mother does not know what I was doing here. I’m afraid her heart would not stand. ”

Blessing is 24. She spent about two years in Russia. On the first day, when she arrived, her future mistress said: “Who told you that it is possible to do something different in Russia? The only work here for you is prostitution.”

In Nigeria Blessing studied fashion design, but she had to quit her studies because her family had no money to pay. One of her friends suggested to go to Russia to earn money and Blessing agreed.

An acquaintance from Nigeria, who brought her to Russia, had disappeared. Later she learned that that this acquaintance had died. Blessing was told that she owed $45,000 for travel and other expenses, and she must work. She said ‘no’. Then they started beating her.

Blessing: “Look, see, it took one and a half years, and traces are still remain. It is now for life. I was told that if I do not ‘work’ like all the girls, the hostess would kill me. I replied that she was not God to kill me. I had to clean the house, to babysit a child and also engage in prostitution. I did not want to do it. I had been promised education and now I have to become a prostitute. If I wanted to be a prostitute, I could do it in my own country.

“If the other girls knew that there are people who can help, all of them would have gone home to Nigeria long ago. All of them suffer. I did not know that there was a way to escape. All this time I lived in Voronezh. Prostitution is not for me, I need a good job. A good man in Nigeria would marry only a woman with a good job. I want to be a designer. Now I’m 24, but I was 22 when I came to Russia. I really want to go back. My parents and brothers know all. They are waiting for me. ”

This is another Blessing. She is 23. She has lived in Moscow two years. But she roams here in the streets freely for the first time and, she hopes, the last time.

Blessing: “I am the second child in the family, and I had to quit school because we were very poor. My father is a driver; my mother is a sales person. I learned how to make women’s hairstyles, weave braids, but still dreamed about studying. And one day my best friend told me that I will be able to get education in Russia. She helped me to come here.”

Blessing’s friend just sold her to another woman, who worked with a Nigerian pimp. They took all Blessing’s documents, beat her up, put her out of home into frost if she did not obey them. She asked her clients to help her, but nobody did. At first she was in Voronezh, then in Moscow.

Finally in Moscow Blessing found help and got documents for the voluntary deportation. Now she had the right to go home. But she still was very worried.

Blessing: “I really want to go home. But I’m afraid. When my dad found out what I was doing, he was very angry. He said that I was to blame myself. ”

“Now, while I’m speaking with you, my mistress is calling to my mother and demands her to return my debt. I am afraid of these people. They and their clients can beat one up or even push one down the stairs. One cannot do anything about it. I can get killed or crippled – and my family will never see me again. But now they will not be able to make me to obey them. I’d rather die than do it.”

Precious is 22. She lived two years in Russia.

Precious: “I studied in Nigeria, but at one point I had to quit. We ran out of money. My friend wrote me from Russia, that she had a good paid job there. I went to see her in Tula, but there was no job over there. The search for a job took three months. The friend said that I should sleep with men for money. She took my documents. We had had a fight, and I ran away. But then I needed to live somehow. And I became a prostitute. I did not want to do it. In fact I’m an accountant. I learned this profession. In Tula, one can see a lot of black people in the streets. But I hadn’t talked with anyone. I wrote to my Facebook friends in Nigeria, but they could do nothing to help me.

“Men were beating me, I was scared all the time. And I was afraid to go to police for help because my passport was taken away. Anyway, the police was very well aware what was going on. I cried a lot and did not believe that I can ever get back home.

“I could not imagine what I’d have to do in Russia. After all, we are Christians, I am from a family of believers, and when I tried to communicate from here with my mother at home, she begged me not to get involved in these matters and return to Nigeria. She begged me to honor her and the Lord. But she did not realize how serious are my problems over here and that I really have no one to help.”

The girls finally found help of the local Russian Christian activists and got asylum with help of local Church.

The activists helped them to get to Moscow finally.

Making all the needed paperwork, getting the court decision for voluntary deportation, and finally deportation itself take from a week to three weeks. But she is in Moscow, with the participation of charitable organizations. According to the girls’ words, in the Russian province they can pester the police over the years without any result.

The last days in Russia girls spend actively shopping. In Nigeria it is considered shameful to come home from abroad with empty hands.