Hundreds of online pages, social networks and chat rooms are publicizing the "transport services" of migrant traffickers operating in the Mediterranean - a dangerous phenomenon.
Online platforms and social networks are gaining relevance as a source of information for would-be migrants who are seeking a way to reach Europe illegally through the Mediterranean. Migrant smugglers go online to publicize their services on hundreds of websites, social network pages, and in chat rooms. The information they provide, however, is often dangerous and false.
Travel packages, a business worth millions
Migrants perceive the information ''as an opportunity'', explained Gabriele Baratto, a researcher at eCrime, a research group on crime and security at the University of Trento.The group has recently wrapped up a three-year project called ''Surf and Sound'' on the use of the internet in human trafficking and migrant smuggling.
''There are hundreds of web pages and Facebook groups which openly publicize transport services'', Baratto said. The advertisements talk about trips through Turkey, Libya as well as other countries in North Africa and the Middle East, referring to "room and board". They include phone numbers to set up travelling arrangements. During the phone call, different options are given, Baratto explains, ranging from crossings with few people on a sailboat that can cost up to 10,000 euros per person to the "least costly and most dangerous'' .
Smugglers ''are well informed on routes, on statements made by politicians and on legislation. They know how to exploit the vulnerabilities of European policies and they know how to change strategies according to the moment'', the researcher said. He described them as ''entrepreneurs who earn millions of euros which they subsequently reinvest in the legal economy''.
Information and monitoring against trafficking
The serious danger is that, ''in almost all cases, the publicized services don't coincide with reality'', explained Baratto. The packages offering ''room and board'' in Libya actually turn out to be detention centers ''where migrants endure violence and torture and where women are raped'', he said. Baratto said that, ''trying to persuade migrants not to leave makes no sense because they will leave anyway''. Awareness campaigns on the dangers posed by illegal migration and on the situation upon arrival is the most effective solution, ''in cooperation with social platforms'', he said. In addition, security officers should also monitor the internet, he stated.