“Where do I get 900 euros from?”, she asks desperately Tatiana Panibratovaa Ukrainian established in Bescanó (Gironès) who since the war broke out in her country has been looking for a way to get her grandson, Artur, 6 years old, her daughter-in-law and her sick mother-in-law out of the bombardments. Among the waves of solidarity and generosity that help the refugees flee from the war, there are those who take advantage of this desperate situation to get a slice. The woman from Girona called one of the drivers of vans that bring refugees from the Polish border to Barcelona, who he asked for the sum of 300 euros per person. Police sources claim that this business has little of illegalalthough the specialized NGOs fear that behind this request for money there is a blackmail after the event that may lead to domestic or sexual slavery.
The bustle of desperation, fear and anguish at the doors of the Ukrainian Consulate in Barcelona is constant, especially in the first days after the outbreak of the war in Eastern Europe. It was common to find residents in Catalonia completely desperate demanding help to bring their relatives. This was the case of Tatiana Panibratova, who on February 28 went to the headquarters on Numancia Street begging for help. Then there was still no free rail corridor, nor the security of the temporary protection permit. And social media was on fire. “It was there that they gave me several phone numbers of people who could bring my family in a van”Panibratova explains.
Artur, the woman’s grandson lived with his mother and grandmother in the port city of Odessa. The 65-year-old woman has a disease that prevents her from walking and moving. That is why the family it took two weeks to reach the Polish border. Meanwhile, Tatiana was contacting the drivers to organize the arrival of her family to Girona. “They told me that we had to pay 900 euros or they didn’t bring them“, she says indignantly. “I don’t have this money, I can’t understand it. They are taking advantage of us“, regrets the grandmother. Another compatriot also did the same as her, in this case it was a mother with three children, one of whom with a physical disability who moves in a wheelchair. “For her it has been impossible, they asked for 1,200 euros. And the family is unemployed, they can’t even think about it! “, She continues.
Spending on gasoline and tolls
The average price of these trips per person it costs 300 eurosalthough in some cases this sum can reach 400. It depends on how far the van goes. “It is that we are supportive but not millionaires”, one of the drivers of the vehicles, Vladimir, who dedicates himself practically exclusively to carrying out these rescue trips, answers. He justifies the payment by the price of gasoline. “To refuel I spend 1,000 euros, and with the tolls it is 200 moreI do this out of solidarity with my compatriots, but I can’t afford to pay it all out of pocket“, he explains. He claims the money in cash, if possible upon arrival of the refugees in Barcelona, because the vehicles usually leave with food, clothing or medicine to the warehouses of the humanitarian entities. Once there they pick up the people who have asked for a seat. “From Warsaw it is 250 euros per person, and in Krakow 300 euros,” he asks. And he insinuates that other vans charge a higher price. Bearing in mind that these vehicles have up to eight seats, if they are full, their drivers they can enter more than 2,000 euros per trip.
Police sources admit that, despite being a morally reprehensible act, cannot be considered a crime. “Neither trafficking in human beings, nor irregular immigration entry because the European Union has allowed the entry and movement of Ukrainian citizens. The same would not happen if they were Syrian citizens, to give an example“, explain these same sources. However, they also point out that they could apply some type of fine or administrative sanction to the exercise a passenger transport business without being authorized to do so or complying with the relevant licenses and taxes. “Basically, it is a safer and more comfortable way to travel to Spain than the train, which is the free humanitarian corridor,” add these same sources.
Blackmail, deception and trafficking
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“The problem will be if there are people who they have not been told that they have to pay for the trip, or that when they get here they ask for money that they do not have. At the border they have already met people posing as NGO volunteers to attract refugees,” warns Rosa Cendon, director of SICAR Cat, an entity specialized in human trafficking. Deceit can become a trap for those who choose to travel in vans with strangers, and who once in Spain lack relatives who can support them. The concern between the security forces and the NGOs is extreme, and the cooperation is constant. “We fear that moral debts will be contracted, favors. For example landlords who offer their houses to refugee women and who can then become domestic slavesdoing household chores, sex slaves or forced to work without pay or contract“, insists Cendon.
In this conflict, it is the first time that NGOs have created a network to inform Ukrainian refugees of the dangers of human trafficking and have extended recommendations and advice during all the key points of the journey. At one of these posts on the Polish border, Artur’s mother and grandmother decided not to get on the van to get to Girona, and instead opted for the free train journey, which has taken five days. Tatiana received them at the train station last Sunday, March 20. “I’m calm now, they’re finally safe with me“, sighs the woman, who is considering informing the Mossos d’Esquadra about the identity of the drivers who wanted to charge her. “It is a hoax and a scam in capital letters and people have to know it”he insists.
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Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.