The dark side of desperation: Combating human trafficking in Lebanon

Perhaps Wissam made a mistake when he risked his life and his family's in search of a better life.

However, the actual sin is being forced to face death by smugglers who exploit people's desperation for profit.

Like hundreds of migrants, Wissam was lured by the promise of safety and security. He headed to safe houses where migrants gathered and embarked on a perilous journey in exchange for hefty sums shared among transnational criminal organizations.

Lebanese judges considered human trafficking operations because of organized practices due to threat and exploitation.

The organized crime involved in smuggling is fraught with danger and complexity, much like begging, which becomes trafficking when terrorism is concerned, as in the case of this young girl we met in Tripoli.

In Lebanon, human trafficking primarily takes the form of prostitution and begging. These practices have escalated due to the exploitation of Syrian refugee women by Lebanese-Syrian criminal gangs.

As of the end of March, Lebanese courts had 58 human trafficking cases, 55 individuals arrested, including 29 Lebanese and 19 Syrians, and three convicted.

Combating these crimes requires passing the law proposed by the Justice Ministry in 2018 and adopting a unified international tool to monitor and track trafficking victims.