Description
Current literature on modern slavery and human trafficking emphasizes the need for community-based approaches to address the causes of this transnational phenomena and build resilience (e.g. Gardner et al, 2020). A key role in this process is played by diaspora community organizations, as active transnational partners in diaspora diplomacy (Brinkerhoff 2019; Dolea, 2022; Ho & McConnell 2017): they are the interface between migrants and authorities in both home and host countries. This paper aims to bring together these two lines of research by exploring how diaspora organizations deal with this phenomenon and how they perceive their role. We focus on the Romanian community in the UK, one of the most impacted communities by a range of forms of abuse on the spectrum of modern slavery (NRM, 2022). We draw on insights from in-depth semi-structured interviews with 20 leaders of Romanian community organizations in the UK, most of which have only recently formalised their status. This topic is important not only because Romania is one of the top countries of origin for victims of trafficking in the EU from within the EU (US Department of State, 2022), but also because there has been a constant withdrawal of the state and cuts to local councils' budgets, thus creating a space that such organisations have started already to fill. Findings indicate aspects of victims’ typology (the spectrum of vulnerability), the key issue of trust and the implications of the Romanian cultural norms and customs in establishing relationships with local and national authorities. We conclude with a typology of actions for intervention and support for survivors and potential victims of modern slavery and the need for professionalization and training amongst Romanian diaspora organizations.
