The U.N. special rapporteur on modern slavery has stated that the resentment migrants are being faced with could marginalize them further into the shadows.

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, nationalism has been on the rise in many countries. Human traffickers could definitely profit from this situation, as foreigners are increasingly being turned away from crossing borders and victims are discouraged from requesting help.

Many business closures worldwide are forcing many vulnerable workers to take on slave-like conditions as jobs. Migrant laborers are especially exposed, given the fact that even in “normal” circumstances they generally have lower salaries and worse conditions.

Many nations around the world have repeatedly assigned blame to migrants for spreading the virus; these same migrants have been gathered all together, intimidated into quarantine, and deported or refused entry into a nation.

Traffickers usually target vulnerable people or groups, and migrants are no exception. A study undertaken by Minderoo Foundation’s Walk Free initiative and IOM states that migrants are susceptible in numerous settings, including private dwellings, border crossings, irregular migration routes, and conflict zones.

This same report illustrates the fact that migrants are especially assailable in situations where the State or society’s authority is unable—or in this case, unwilling—to protect them; some other enabling environments/contexts include restrictive immigration policies.

“Anti-migrant rhetoric could ramp up as result of COVID-19, making it more difficult for victims (of modern slavery) to come forward,”

Tomoya Obokata, a Japanese academic based in Britain that has studied the issue for 20 years

With 131 countries closing their borders by late April 2020, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has explained that the pandemic could offer an excuse for countries to put repressive attitudes and measures into effect.

With all the following according to U.N. statistics, in 2000 the refugee population was estimated at 51 million, however today, 20 years later, the number is at 272 million, having grown approximately 433%, or 21% each year. 25 million people are believed to be current victims of forced labor.

In order to decrease the risk of those in helpless situations surviving off of exploitative work, Obokata has said that it is necessary for these asylum-seekers to receive healthcare and welfare schemes during the pandemic.

COVID-19 has shone an extremely harsh light on the inequality many countries profit from, the dehumanization migrants suffer, and how unprepared the world was to face human trafficking. By closing borders and denying proper care, institutions are reducing a person’s value to their nationality, and when that nationality is one they are escaping from, the value is now zero.

It is important to learn and grow from the situation, help past and present victims of human trafficking, and prevent future victims from going through this silenced crisis.

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