Illegal Immigration & Sexual Servitude

I would like to consider some other aspects of immigration and ask how these things can happen, yet a loving couple can be put through what we have endured.  Would the resources devoted to us not have been better spent addressing the issues below, given “sham marriages” as a problem is statistically miniscule as discussed in “Emotive reporting, perhaps“?

In the list of my reading recommendations in the side bar is a link to Grant Williams‘ writings on various immigration topics. I happened to notice a comment made publicly by a PI, in response to a recent entry by Grant.

Hi Grant,

I am a PI and have come across a group of people acting as illegal Migration Agents . They are charging $55,000 to potential clients.
Can you tell me how i can get those [censored] at immigration to take action as they have failed to make any contact with me after providing information to them.

Regards

Patrick La Pierre

I have NO idea whether there is truth to this or not, but the gentleman making the comment does appear to be a legitimate  private investigator, as I had a look at his Investigative Solutions Pty Ltd web site.

On the basis that where there is smoke there is fire, I find this interesting.  This man has provided information which seems not to have been followed up.  However I note that Grant responds that he has always found DIAC to take these matters very seriously and to act upon reports.  As Grant has quite some considerable experience dealing with DIAC, I do believe his assessment.  Maybe the wheels just turn a little slower that Patrick La Pierre is used to.

Either way, from the communication between them it does appear some illegal activity does happen.  Did we ever doubt that?  No, of course not.  There is illegal activity in every walk of life.  Lawyers run off with the trust funds, accountants (Arthur Anderson, anyone?) get caught doing naughty things, doctors found to be sexually abusing patients or covering up malpractice, police “on the take”.  The list is endless: the immigration industry is not going to be any different.

There is another issue that disturbs me far more.  While sitting in the osteopath’s waiting room a while ago, I happened to read an article about sex slaves in Australia.  This is immigration gone wrong – very wrong!  While I do not have the article here, I have found details of a documentary made about this sort of problem.  The article I read in the osteopath’s waiting room was actually about a woman in a similar situation, threatened with a huge debt repayment for her visa or her family back home would be in danger.  Eventually she escaped and has since been awarded compensation.

A speech, “Slavery in 21st Century Australia – A Human Rights Challenge“ by the Sex Discrimination Commissioner of the Australian Human Rights Commission provides a more formal assessment and greater detail.

This is one passage from the above speech.

In the sex industry, traffickers may facilitate women’s entry into Australia. The women may consent to come to work in the sex industry but when they arrive they find their movements restricted and – like the victims in case of Wei Tang – they are told they have to work off ‘debts’ of up to $45 000 by servicing up to 900 customers. As the trial judge said in the Wei Tang case:

How could they run away when they had no money, they had no passport or ticket, they entered on an illegally obtained visa, albeit legal on its face, they had limited English language, they had no friends, they were told to avoid Immigration, they had come to Australia consensually to earn income and were aware of the need to work particularly hard in order to pay off a debt of approximately $45,000 before they were able to earn income for themselves?

While Australia has so far focused on trafficking for sexual exploitation, a key issue at the recent National Roundtable on People Trafficking was how Australia can improve its response to the emerging issue of labour trafficking. This is becoming increasingly important in a time of labour shortage.

 I cannot understand the allocation of resources.  Surely greater emphasis should be given to the above issues than denying citizens our legitimate Civil Rights?  This isn’t a question for the Department to answer, this is a question for the Government.