Human trafficking

Several times now I noticed that The Times uses the term "human trafficking" when it actually means refugees. To this I must object. Even though people who want to flee their country have to pay a lot of money for a seat on a boat, "human trafficking" is the official term to describe the abduction of girls, women and boys in numerous ways, who are then sold, often drugged and used as slaves for prostitution.

The ways in which human traffickers work is entirely different. First of all the victims are taken against their will. They could, for instance, be promised a lovely career as a model and thus lured into the trap. They are held prisoners for a while and then sold on to countries and/or people who are looking for sex-slaves. Their passport is taken from them and they are constantly threatened by their "master" that they (or their family members) would be killed if they tried to flee or otherwise do not cooperate. If someone manages to flee, they live in fear of their life every day, even if they are brought to safety by special officers working in this field.

Even though people take a lot of money from refugees in order to bring them to a safe and/or wealthier country, and are of course criminals, they are not called human traffickers. They are smugglers.

Although I understand that the refugees coming into Malta illegally are a huge problem, they are simply looking for a better life. The term human trafficking is not only incorrect it is also very confusing, for people working for organisations like Europol and SECI. Therefore, I would appreciate if the term would be changed.