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One man’s role in the fight against modern slavery in Kurdistan
[Rudaw] Police Major Sardar Fadhel Yahya’s phone buzzed with a new WhatsApp message. It was a plea for help from a woman who said she was locked in a room with little food and no clean water. She didn’t know where she was, but, at Yahya’s urging, sent her digital location via the messaging application. With that information, Yahya was able to narrow down where she was and get a court order authorizing him and his team to enter the premises. Yahya is head of the Erbil office of the Ministry of the Interior’s Directorate of Combating Human Trafficking. The directorate opened on June 1, 2019 as mandated by the trafficking law passed a year earlier and has branches across the Kurdistan Region. The Erbil branch is located in the capital’s Dream City neighbourhood, a gated complex of grandiose houses built on what was barren land prior to 2003 and is now home to wealthy residents, most of whom have nannies or maids. The directorate opened half empty, with a minimal staff of just under 20 people to provide the most crucial services, but plans to expand once the government lifts its austerity hiring freeze and they can get more funding. The office is reachable through a Facebook page and a phone number, 07509879911. They receive a lot of tips and appeals for help via WhatsApp and Viber, Yahya explained in an interview at his office on November 5. Posted by: trailing wife 2019-12-18 |
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