>Q: Why is it nobody in the West seems to have heard about the Chechen
>slave trade? I mean, what is this? Is there some kind of total news
>blackout on this subject or something? I mean, this is like reporting on
>Israel-Palestine and not mentioning the suicide bombers. Before I moved to
>Russia, I had no idea such a thing even existed.
>
>CD
>
>Hostage released in Chechnya after over 9 years in captivity
>
>GROZNY. Aug 29 (Interfax) - A hostage who spent over nine years in
>captivity in Chechnya was set free after an operation by federal forces,
>Deputy Commander of the Combined Federal Forces in the Northern Caucasus
>Col. Boris Podoprigora told Interfax on Thursday.
>
> Viktor Ushakov was abducted in Ingushetia in 1993, Podoprigora said. He
> was held as a slave in various settlements of Ingushetia since then.
Something does not add up here. The guy was held by Chechens against his will, but that does not automatically means he was a slave. Slavery implies systematic economic exploitation of involuntary labor, whereas slave trade implies a significant number of people involved in the activity. These elements seem to be missing from the report.
I think a much bigger issue is semi-slavery of many E.European (esp. Albanian) women who work as sex workers in W. Europe. There is clear exploitation and a relatively large scale, although the issue of involuntarism is a bit iffy. To my knowledge, this problem receives regular mention in the European press. I am wondering if there is any Chechen involvement in that kind of slave trade.
wojtek