Dubai: Sex trade exposed
Slavery: it’s a thing of the past…right?
Wrong.
To millions of women and children, it is life.
Tricked into leaving their homes by the lure of better jobs, there are untold numbers of victims in this modern slave trade. On the rise since the 1980s this black market-run business is estimated to be the second most profitable illegal trade–only the illicit drug trade brings more cash.
Bulgarian photographer, Mimi Chakarova, exposes the truth of this business within Dubai in a documentary she produced and as a means of reaching a more local audience, we translated it into Arabic, with her support and permission.
Please check it out and pass it along to your friends and anyone you think might benefit from its powerful message.
To download the whole video in WMV format, please click here. If you choose to republish it, PBS Frontline owns the copyright for this film, so do give credit where due. Contact us if you wish for a full transcript in both English and Arabic. We also have Mimi’s related article available in Arabic:
دبي: أسرار الليل
ممارسة أقدم مهنة في أجدد ملعب
بقلم: ميمي شاكاروفا
13 أيلول 2007
قبل أربعة أعوام، بدأت بتنفيذ مشروع تصوير حول صناعة الاتجار بالجنس بالنساء الشابات في أوروبا الشرقية، و قمت بمقابلة و تصوير فتيات كن قد نجون منها. فقد تم الاتجار ببعضهن و إرسالهن إلى تركيا و روسيا، بينما تم إرسال بعضهن الآخر لغاية الإمارات العربية المتحدة، بعد إغوائهن بوعد توظيفهن في أشغال قانونية و بمستقبل أكثر إشراقا. و حالما وصلن إلى البلد الجديد، تم تسعيرهن و بيعهن و مصادرة كافة الوثائق الخاصة بهن. قالت لي النساء الشابات أنه تم إجبارهن على تقديم خدماتهن لميكانيكيين و جنود و رهبان و جزارين و سائحين و حتى إلى موظفين في الأمم المتحدة الذين من المفروض منهم توفير الحماية لهؤلاء الشابات.
لقد ترعرعت في أوروبا الشرقية والتقيت بفيكا خلال رحلتي الثانية إلى مولدوفا لتغطية الأحداث هناك (بالإمكان السماع إلى قصة فيكا في العرض المصور على برنامج فلاش بعنوان “مولدوفا: سعر الجنس). قالت لي أنه تم نقلها إلى دبي حيث تم أحيانا إجبارها على تقديم خدماتها لأكثر من 30 زبون يوميا. و سرعان ما تعلمت المصطلحات الإنجليزية اللازمة لمنع مالكها من ضربها… كلمات مثل “كم السعر؟” و ” باستخدام الواقي أو بدونه؟” و في مرة من المرات، من غير استخدام الواقي، لم يحالفها الحظ و أصبحت حبلى. و لكن سيدها لم يأبه بذلك و أجبرها على العمل خلال فترة حبلها.
بعد سماع قصة فيكا، شعرت بأنه علي الذهاب إلى دبي من أجل فهمه.
وصفت دبي بلاس فيجاس الشرق الأوسط. فخلال العقد الماضي ظهرت كمركز عالمي للأعمال حث على تحقيق أرقام قياسية جديدة من حيث: أطول بناء في العالم، أول فندق سبعة نجوم في العالم، أكبر مجمع تسوق في العالم، و أكبر ميناء اصطناعي في العالم. تعد منطقة التجارة الحرة في دبي إغراء أساسي للمستثمرين الأجانب، و عمل جو المدينة المزدهرة على استقطاب أكثر من 180 جنسية للقدوم و العيش و العمل فيها. ففي ملعب الشرق الأوسط هذا، وجدت منحدرات داخلية للتزلج، سباقات للناقات و ناطحات سحاب مسببة للدوار.
عندما وصلت إلى مرحلة نشر هذه القصة بصحبة مصورة الفيديو ساشي كننجهام، كنت على استعداد لمواجهة الذل الإنساني الذي عرفته في تجربة فيكا، و لكنني فوجئت عند اكتشافي لشيء آخر. قابلت نساء يعملن كبائعات هوى قالوا لي أنهن اخترن ممارسة هذه المهنة. فعلى سبيل المثال، تم الاتجار بساشا من سيبيريا و إجبارها على تقديم الخدمات للزبائن. و لكنها استطاعت أن تهرب من سيدتها و قررت أن تستمر في ممارسة مهنتها لوحدها. لغتها الإنجليزية جيدة، فسألتها لماذا لم تسعى لإيجاد عمل كبائعة في أحد المجمعات التجارية الوافرة في دبي. فقالت لي أنه باستطاعتها كسب مال أكثر خلال ليلة واحدة كبائعة هوى من العمل لمدة شهر كامل في مجال البيع التجاري، كما أنها لا تضطر للوقوف على رجليها طوال اليوم. كباقي الفتيات اللواتي قمت بالتحدث معهن، تقوم ساشا بطلب 500 درهم في الساعة (أي ما يعادل 140 دولار أمريكي). قالت لي أن المال الذي ترسله إلى أهلها في سيبيريا مكنهم من بناء منزل.
التقيت بامرأة أخرى من أذربيجان كانت تعيش مع “صديقها”، و هو اللقب الذي استخدمته لوصف أحد زبائنها الدائمين. قالت لي كيف يقوم في كثير من الأحيان بحشرها في الشقة لكي تقدم خدماتها حصريا له. عندما التقيت بها للمرة الأولى، حدثتني عن ابنها في أذربيجان و كيف قامت بإرسال المال إليه لكي يتمكن من شراء حاسوب لأول مرة. و خلال لقائنا الثاني كانت سكرى و فاقدة سنها الأمامي. و عندما سألتها عما حصل، هزت كتفيها استهجانا و قالت لي و هي تولع سيجارة أخرى: “نشب بيننا خصام و قام بلكمي.”
في دبي، نسبة عدد الرجال إلى عدد النساء هي 1:3، و يتواجد فيها أماكن مختلفة و عديدة لشراء الجنس – في بيوت الدعارة، حيث كان يتم الاتجار بفيكا مرة تلو الأخرى، و في الزقاق الخلفية، حيث يقوم العمال المهاجرين بالدفع مقابل بضعة دقائق من المتعة، إلى النوادي الليلية الأساسية ذات الطابع الغربي، التي كثيرا ما تكون موجودة في فنادق عريقة، حيث تقوم نساء من مختلف أنحاء العالم بالتجمع وفقا لجنسياتهن ريثما ينتظرن الزبون التالي.
في النهاية، قررنا أن الطريقة الوحيدة لاكتساب نظرة أقرب على صناعة التجارة بالجنس في دبي، التي بالكاد أن تكون ممارسة متخفية و في دولة إسلامية حيث ممارسة بيع الهوى غير قانونية، هي من خلال زيارة بعض هذه النوادي و التقاط أسرار الليل للمدينة بأنفسنا.
ميمي شاكاروفا
The quality of our version of the video is not the best, neither is our hideous layout, but then again we never claimed to be perfect. It is not easy to get people to voluntarily help out in these areas.
Check out our campaign-site against sexual slavery by clicking here. Use a proxy if you are in the UAE or Saudi Arabia. We are now working on an Arabic version of this website, if you would like to get involved in either the English or Arabic version please do get in touch. We could really use the help.
Join the Conversation
This is extremely useful. Thank you very much.
Great work.
Correct me if I’m wrong please, but isn’t the sex slave industry an integral part of the present Dubai economy? Historically, Dubai has been involved with smuggling (recently, gold to India), the slave trade, and piracy…..historically, it’s entire existance, right? The oil was just a happy windfall for Dubai that afforded Dubai with the funds to create a resort area for the very rich and horney. (Horney=american slang for sexually arroused) The oil is projected to run out within 20 years and only comprises about 2% of Dubai’s GNP, right? So the economically astute government of Dubai has devised a very elitist tourism/sexcapade trade base which will be very lucrative for their future existance as a viable economy. Sure beats going back to stealing somebody else’s goats! I am sure that banking, money laundering and other, more sophisticated enterprizes, are emerging also. I’d put my money on Dubai continuing to doing just what it’s doing….and to heck with whatever anyone thinks of it. In fact, as a growth investment, Dubai ain’t too bad an idea. What do you REALLY think? Did you notice Esra’a, no bold and no italics!
It’s a good expose… Important to be aware.
Yes, which is unethical, because it welcomes sexual slavery, not just prostitution. It sickens me when people are aware of this yet still think “eh, whatever.” This is a horrific problem, and it’s been on the rise, so it’s about time people do something about it.
Ideally it will lose the interest of crucial partnerships and foreign investors, as well as its worldwide reputation as the land of “opportunities.” If they didn’t care about those things, they wouldn’t be censoring and silencing anyone who talks about the sex trade business. You saw the ending of the documentary, right? That’s what the activists there have to face when they get involved in this field.
I know one thing for sure: The more we expose, the better. If they try so hard to censor this information then we know it’s truthful, and that we’re doing something right.
Finally! I’m proud of you.
true teacher to a hooker?
this vdo has an original feel to it.. the way the reporter talks makes us think abt his even more
and caught at the airport OFC!!
atleast they didnt bust them right when they were making it..
you may hear this thing from ppl but just looking at it makes u realize the depth of it
and I thnk Dubai has an everything goes thing to it since the very start
I can’t believe they were watched and followed. That’s scary.
Well, I’m glad they managed to leave with minimal losses. Maybe they were carrying the right passports.
It looks very dumb on the authorities to be acting like that. They’re only going to confirm claims about their complicity!
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الله يخليلنا مملكتنا الغالية
what the reason to make the girls to are sex slaves?
the poor
who responses?
america
Dear Esra,
Why dont we start a website in order to find, help these traficked women, rehabilitate them and then re-integrate them into society. This would be the most rewarding role we can play !!
Awaiting your answer and help.
thnaks
ahmed
islamnatural@gmail.com
god
need more information
Are you also making movies about the same subject in other countries, as it is a known and the oldest profession from east to west north to south WORLD wide issue! aside of course from child slavory and human trafficking, black market of human organs and drug & arm trade, that threatens every social structure sense of “safe” invironment! and all other horrific things happening with both our eyes wide open!
but we all gush out when it’s in an Arab country just to highlight how premitive and backward it is in terms of Human rights! don’t we?
it is degrading to Human intillgence not only females to hear this poorly made footage of “poor pathatic” women that KNEW exactly what they are doing and WHY to just excuse themselves that they had no choice and their lives is at stake here!!!
and to point out the hypocricy of supposed Islamic country to tolerate such philandering while it is common again WORLD WIDE and condescending to male species as well!
it is constructive to point out deteriorating values but do so requires more depth and maturity to spread half truths poorly researched as such.
Rum,
Clearly, many women within the region do not volunteer to be treated as sex objects. That is why it is referred to as “sexual slavery” and “sexual terrorism” and NOT prostitution, which is a personal choice and an entirely different situation. Thousands of migrant workers are currently stuck in the sex trade within this region against their will or are stuck in households where they are consistently raped in similar situations, several of whom end up committing suicide to escape their endless tragedy which our governments are doing little to remedy.
Because we are Arabs and our responsibility is to expose and fix the wrongs in our society considering the fact that we have more important values to live up to other than self-pride. Therefore we refuse to deny that this occurs and choose to do something about it.
Why would we cover the sex trade worldwide when this website is strictly and purely about the Middle East? Were you too lost in your pool of generalizations to realize anything about the site and the issues it revolves around? It’s common sense that human trafficking is a worldwide issue, but when it happens in our backyards, that makes it OUR problem and OUR responsibility to expose and help fix it. If it also happens in the USA or in Canada, let them fix it themselves. Why would we be left responsible for their own issues?
I’m an Arab and a Muslim and I equally despise people who claim sex trafficking is simply the case in Arab or Muslim countries as much as the next person, but denying it occurs and justifying it is quite frankly disgusting and a crime of its own.
I want to make love with Dubai male…
please fck me…at BKK
oh yes where do u live?? wat’s ur mobile number? i am from dubai
” what the reason to make the girls to are sex slaves?
the poor
who responses?
america
”
I’m guessing with ‘responses’ you you meant responsible?
This is new. America is no even responsible for poverty? LOL.
If it’s not then I don’t know what else you meant to say, your post sounds like it was written by a mentally retarded chimp.
Ah my dear sweet Rum! I can see where your going. I like your nickname. Is that like the Sultanate of Rum? if we were face we could truly have a good conversation. Lets see how do I begin? Being kidnapped and raped and then multiply raped is not a profession! I admire the Arab sense of honor and physical sanitation. Many Christians feel the same way. It is particularly distasteful to be raped and sold and multiply raped again! by any one. Yes all the more degrading when to be raped by a non gentile ( not Germanic-Slavic). You want us (Christians) to be PC about rape? I don’t think Muslim born people should have sexual access to our women period. Fucking global economics rubbish. I think like much of the west, too many of you soft-handed Arab gentleman have too much time to covet what is not yours.
Why would anyone related to viking kings and mighty barbarians want to see, read or hear about Russian, Ukrainian or any western women anywhere, being used for Arab pleasure or marriage? Sadly there are those who would use our pride to hurt us even more! These are usually Christians selling or kidnapping some girl from the next street over. These criminals who suck the blood out of their own Christian nation should be put to firing squad. Its our fault.
Russian women have been to space. They should be success stories in the modern world. This trafficking makes me sick. I want to break out of my nerdy 20th cent straight jacket and crush skulls like a 15th century warlord. Who would I like to crush? well I’ll let the big hairy sweaty perverted fuck who is reading this think about that. Also to consider: the media, dot com people and global tech criminal-inventors who enabled all this to happen before we were all universally adapted to the new electronic ether. Its just disturbing , how little defense we had intellectually to all the new information. Its seems crazy a quickly the Mass media was used to break down our sense of moral and cultural borders. New technologies onces again threaten the basic security of our social landscape as Christians. I’d like to personally say sorry for the presence of any western army over there.