Mirjam van Reisen – författare

What happens at the nexus of the digital divide and human trafficking? This book examines the impact of the introduction of new digital information and communication technology (ICT) , as well as lack of access to digital connectivity , on human trafficking. The different studies presented in the chapters show the realities for people moving along the Central Mediterranean route from the Horn of Africa through Libya to Europe. The authors warn against an over-optimistic view of innovation as a solution and highlight the relationship between technology and the crimes committed against vulnerable people in search of protection. In this volume, the third in a four-part series ,Connected and Mobile: Migration and Human Trafficking in Africa,, relevant new theories are proposed as tools to understand the dynamics that appear in mobile Africa. Most importantly, the editors identify critical ethical issues in relation to both technology and human trafficking and the nexus between them, helping explore the dimensions of new responsibilities that need to be defined. The chapters in this book represent a collection of well-documented empirical investigations by a young and diverse group of researchers, addressing critical issues in relation to innovation and the perils of our time.

What happens when digital innovation meets migration? Roaming Africa considers how we understand modern-day mobility in Africa, where age-old routes strengthen the resilience of people roaming the continent for livelihoods and security, assisted by mobile communication. Digital mobility expands connectivity around the world, and also in Africa. In this book, the authors show that mobility, resilience and social protection in the digital age are closely related. Each chapter takes a close look at the migration dynamics in a specific context, using social theory as a lens. This book adopts a critical perspective on approaches in which migration is regarded merely as a hazard. Edited by distinguished scholars from Africa and Europe, this volume, the second in a four-part series Connected and Mobile: Migration and Human Trafficking in Africa, compiles chapters from a diverse group of young and upcoming scholars, making an important contribution to the literature on migration studies, digital science, social protection and governance.

Eritrean refugees crisscross between countries in the Horn of Africa and North Africa in search of a safe place. Along their journeys, they are looted, threatened, intimidated, violated, and held for ransom. This book revisits the human trafficking crisis that first emerged in the Sinai at the end of 2008 and examines the expansion of human trafficking of Eritrean refugees and other forms of exploitation beyond the Sinai. It focuses on the modus operandi of these practices and on identifying their key facilitators and beneficiaries. The book locates the origin of these practices within Eritrea; it reveals how a deliberate policy of impoverishment and human rights abuses has driven the people out of the country, and how individuals within Eritrea, and particularly within the ruling party, benefit from the smuggling and trafficking of Eritrean refugees. The use of information communication technologies (ICTs) is identified as key to the new modus operandi of this criminal business and is found to further facilitate widespread collective trauma amongst Eritreans, who witness the abuse of their family members and fellow nationals through digital networks. An entire section in this book is dedicated to assessing the extent and effects of individual and collective trauma caused by Sinai trafficking and to examining potential approaches to healing. Other sections discuss the vulnerabilities of Eritrean minors and women, and the connections between human trafficking, terrorism and organ trafficking. The last section of the book raises the question of accountability. It examines and evaluates international responses to this forgotten crisis, and discusses the need for policies that tackle the problem where it emerges: in Eritrea.