TIP IN TURKEY: ISTANBUL SHELTER REPORTS SUCCESS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 006309

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, EUR/PGI, EUR/SE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/03/2014
TAGS: KCRM PHUM PGOV SMIG PREF KWMN TU TIP IN TURKEY
SUBJECT: TIP IN TURKEY: ISTANBUL SHELTER REPORTS SUCCESS
WITH FIRST VICTIMS, BUT MORE CHALLENGES AHEAD


(U) Classified by Deputy Political Counselor Charles Blaha,
E.O. 12958, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (U) SUMMARY. Anti-TIP NGOs International Office for
Migration (IOM) and Human Resources Development Foundation
(HRDF) reported the first successful repatriation this week
of 3 Ukrainian trafficking victims through the Istanbul Human
Trafficking Shelter. The event simultaneously highlighted
momentum on GOT-NGO cooperation and exposed prejudices
against victims that threaten the shelter's survival. END
SUMMARY.


Fist Case a Success
--------------


2. (U) According to HRDF Executive Director Demet Gural,
anti-TIP forces from the Turkish Jandarma conducted a
November 1 raid in Istanbul's Silivri District, freeing 3
Ukrainian victims trafficked to Turkey two weeks earlier.
The Jandarma referred the women to HRDF's Istanbul Shelter
for Victims of Trafficking, the shelter's first experience
managing trafficking victims. According to Gural, the
victims told an HRDF therapist that they wanted to return
home despite GOT offers to remain in Turkey for special legal
and medical assistance. HRDF contacted IOM and the victims
were escorted directly to their flights two days after
arriving at the shelter. According to IOM Project Manager
Meltem Ersoy, IOM Ukraine was waiting in Kiev to escort the
victims to a reintegration center there.


3. (U) "This was a fortunate first case, the victims were
willing to cooperate with shelter staff," Ersoy said. Ersoy
also noted that the shelter's staff members are dual
Ukrainian-Turkish nationals, speak the same language as the
victims, and did everything they could to ease the trauma of
the experience. Ersoy added that victims subjected to
longer-term abuse and exploitation are generally aggressive,
sometimes violent, and would likely prove much more difficult
to control for the inexperienced, under-trained staff at the
Istanbul shelter. "When you look at the current situation at
the shelter, we're very lucky the women were cooperative; the
staff couldn't have handled them otherwise."


4. (U) Ersoy said that quick and effective action by Turkish
Jandarma led to recovery of the victims' passports and
accelerated the repatriation process by several weeks. She
also credits the swift repatriation to IOM's Jandarma
training programs. "In most cases, traffickers destroy their
victims' travel documents, so we can't immediately repatriate
them. In this case, the training worked. The Jandarma knew
these women were victims and they did everything they could
to help, including recover their passports."



TIP Shelter Still a Sensitive, Struggling Enterprise
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5. (C) Despite success with the Ukrainian victims, Gural
cautioned that the TIP shelter, which will be housed in a
temporary residential building until the lease expires in
June 2005, remains a sensitive issue for the community and
the target of "AKP religious hard-liners" in the Istanbul
municipality "who view victims as less than human, non-Muslim
prostitutes who get what they deserve." Gural noted the
shelter is struggling to remain anonymous to avoid alerting
1) traffickers about the location of their victims; and, 2)
local government officials who hope to stir anti-victim
sentiment in the neighborhood.


6. (C) IOM Chief of Mission Marielle Lindstrom noted that the
shelter currently operates without security officers -- a
dangerous situation that, in addition to protecting victims
against "traffickers who may attempt to reclaim their
property", exposes staff members to the risk of injury by
violent, uncontrollable victims. "There are a lot of
problems that wouldn't pass inspection in the U.S., but we're
working on them," Lindstrom said. Examples cited by
Lindstrom range from access control issues to items of
shelter furniture which are made of materials (such as glass)
that pose safety issues for victims and staff. IOM plans to
gather GOT, NGO, and other key participants in early December
2004 to finalize an anti-TIP ESF grant proposal which, among
other components, includes money for shelter management.



GOT Moves Closer to IOM Membership
--------------


7. (U) The semi-official Turkish Anatolia News Agency
reported November 3 that the Foreign Affairs Committee of the
Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) approved draft
legislation paving the way for the GOT's full membership to
IOM. Turkey is currently an observer state. The legislation
now goes to the full TGNA for consideration. MFA DG for
Consular Affairs Murat Ersavci and Security Directorate
Foreigners Department Head Mehmet Terzioglu have
independently asserted to us that Turkey will begin paying
the annual 154,000 Swiss Franc IOM membership fee after IOM
processes Turkey's application in December.
EDELMAN