Sharing The Drum

This is a serious issue. Much bigger than expected, but not entirely unforeseeable.

Trafficked Movie Trailer from Trafficked on Vimeo.

When identifying hotbeds of human trafficking and sexual bondage, the Emerald Isle does not often come to mind, especially as a destination for African girls and women, often from Nigeria. But, according to news reports, it’s true.

A new film called Trafficked, released in Dublin May 21, deals with precisely this issue, and has garnered some extra attention as it debuts because of recent events in the country.

and cf. Tearfundwrites:

March 17th, St Patrick’s Day is celebrated across the world. But few people remember how his life in Ireland began as a child slave.

When he was about 16 Patrick was captured from Britain by Irish raiders and taken as a slave to Ireland. He was forced to work looking after pigs for six years before escaping and returning to his family. Patrick later returned to Ireland as a missionary after a vision where he saw the Irish people calling out for him to come and share the good news of Christ. The history of Ireland was irrevocably changed because of one slave boy.

and an expose on the whole sordid business “Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery“:

Ireland is a destination and, to a lesser extent, transit country for women, men, and children trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. Women from Eastern Europe, Nigeria, other parts of Africa and, to a lesser extent, South America and Asia reportedly have been trafficked to Ireland for forced prostitution

Immigration and Citizenship: African Immigrants in Ireland

In the economic sector, Ireland’s ties with Africa are strong. Apart from bilateral economic relations between Ireland and African countries, Irish private investments in the region are significant… Africans consume about one-third of Guinness’s total world’s production, three times greater than the total North American consumption.

The Integration Experiences of African Families in Ireland

This report examines the experience of African immigrants in Ireland. The research was undertaken in Dublin and Cork. 18 research dialogues were carried out. These research dialogues were highly qualitative in nature and a series of free-flowing datasets were produced, around a number of central themes,

The 2007 Report