'Trafficking' is a word often heard in the advanced countries of the civilized world, and especially in Europe. It has been a term overused by nations,
international organisations, NGOs, the media, politicians and jurists and it

'Trafficking' is a word often heard in the advanced countries of the civilized world, and especially in Europe. It has been a term overused by nations,
international organisations, NGOs, the media, politicians and jurists and it
has spread around the world both literally and figuratively. So what does this
word, of great significance, really mean?
A formal definition of ‘’trafficking” may be found in the United Nations Protocol to prevent, suppress and punish the trafficking of persons, especially women and children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against transnational organized crime (2000). According to figures provided by the UN, the number of victims of modern slave trade rise to approximately 2.5 million, out of which only 1-2% are eventually rescued.
‘’Recruitment, forced prostitution, coercion, deception, trade, transportation against one’s will, extortion”. These words, describing human trafficking, carry moral weight, or, in this case, immoral. When people are treated with coercive and abusive means, new slave markets are created without a modicum of shame. Psychosomatic abuse and the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation, that is what trafficking means.
While the 21st century, the century of modern technology, fast communication, e-mails, health rehabilitation, impersonality and globalisation, is usually seen as promoting arts and innovative ideas, the situation is quite the opposite. Spiritual darkness, combined with unemployment and poverty, creates a foolproof equation leading to exploitation. The trade of humans, meaning trafficking, is a criminal organisation of great revenues per annum, making everyone jointly responsible.
At this point, a question arises: “How could the potential victims of trafficking and we, ever understand and distinguish who is an actual victim? How will I, how will you, how will You -the potential victims- be able to distinguish the -activated- victims?” How could a third party individual or organisation identify the enslaved people in the masses? Anyone may be able to deduce whether a person is a victim, after reading the signs. Someone who lives and sleeps at the same place where they work and are obviously injured bear chances of being victims. Scars, bruises, wounds in the mouth and teeth are the medals of resistance of a slave against the violation of his dignity. While having a brief conversation with them, you may notice that they tend to avoid eye contact and intimacy. They even express signs of anxiety and fear.
When suspecting that an illegal activity is taking place, citizens can take action. The first thing they can do is to communicate with a Tackling Crime and Emergencies Service, which may be able to investigate the case effectively. Of course, those who are abused, are the ones who need to take the courage and turn to a Service that may be of assistance and to put an end to the disgrace of human dignity. Certainly, lost innocence does not return and it does not get recovered. There is no doubt about that…
Out of the borderline of the EU, the victims of sexual abuse (molestation) are mainly women (96%), while the victims of workplace abuse are mostly men (71%). Between 2010 - 2012 65% of the victims of trafficking in Europe were EU citizens.
The question is, what role does each country play separately, in all this human “hide and seek”? Countries need to take a negative example from Greece, which is a place of reception, settlement and passage of immigrants, due to its geographic position. Human trafficking is an established crime by law (law No. 3064 of 2002). Penalties have been imposed on outlaws, although few of the people committing human trade have been brought to justice and convicted. Human trafficking is not severely punished as a felony, because it is not considered to be one. It seems that damaging someone’s property, a misdemeanor, is of the same significance to ‘’damaging’’ someone’s body and soul (human abuse).
Given the chance, for the time being, in Greece, when talking about moral promiscuity, the owners of the two most famous chain store bakeries come to mind. They are involved in the field of prostitution, white slavery and trafficking, while at the same time, they own those bakery shops. This situation sounds as an oxymoron joke. Both bread and circuses (panem et circenses) are offered, only at different sets of time. They own bakery shops, women, children, men, black money, all connected in a perplexed harmony. They have been arrested twice, made an official apology twice and have been let out without even being prosecuted, twice. The attempts of activists to inform the customers about the case by handing out leaflets did not turn out to b