Phil@Stop the Traffik

The text came through on my phone "I'm at the Cyclone, it's like the United Nations of prostitution." It was from a journalist friend who had gone to Dubai to investigate whether women were being trafficked into sexual explotation in that most commercial of gulf states. The fact is that thousands of women are being trafficked and can be found even in the lobbies of many of the five star hotels. Back in 2006, our campaign Business Travellers against Human Trafficking ran a campaign with the European Parliament, asking Dubai, ever so politely to stop this practise. The response initially was to ban our website www.businesstravellers.org and to deny that anything like that could happen "It is against our culture", the minister for tourism said. Slowly, however, they changed the law. We thought that meant progress, but the problem was that thousands of women from Russia, Armenia, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, all over the world in fact, continued to find themselves trapped in prostitution, even amongst the palms and gleaming towers of the luxury that is Dubai. A law is all very well, but it must be enforced.
Business Travellers against Human Trafficking not only lobbies for change, but gives people a place to report instances of human trafficking. We received a report from a man who had seen a woman who was clearly distressed, being offered in a hotel. He took his life in his hands, rescued her and took her to the police, who promptly imprisoned her for being an illegal immigrant. They deported her back to Moldova.
The police in Dubai do sometimes arrest traffickers now, but the situation has not changed that much over the years. A Belgian journalist working with us recently went to Dubai and reported that the women were still being trafficked and offered in the business hotels. In his article he names some the hotels implicated, which include the Hyatt and the Radisson. We contacted both chains, but only the Radisson replied and said they would do something. It remains to be seen if they have (and anyone staying there could report back to us). The Hyatt seems content to ignore the criticism.
If you read Dutch, then you can see the original article here, if not, we have translated it into English and you can read a short section of it below. It's up to us to make it clear that we will not put up with this kind of trafficking in our hotels.

Dubai by night: Business as usual
It is said that there is nothing better than the Moroccan whores. No common Asian or East European smuggled goods for poor businessman, but the pure Champions’ League for wealthy Arabs. Beautiful, Muslim and without taboo.
It's just after nine o'clock in the evening, and the luxurious shopping mall of the Radisson SAS hotel in Dubai is preparing for the daily transformation. Businessmen have changed their tailor made suits for more casual clothes and seem to walk uninterested towards the club of the hotel, Ku-Bu. 'The funkiest bar in town, with its groovy tunes and mouthwatering cocktails', as the hotel’s flyer reads. There surely is some truth in that, although one could question whether it is only the cocktails that cause the mouthwatering by the mainly male public. With the darkness of the night girls start to drop into the lobby of the hotel; dozens of girls, high heels, short skirts, leaving little to the imagination. Within one hour, Ku-Bu is crowded. Security people closely but discreetly keep an eye on the crowd. The lustful men are politely welcomed and the girls receive a kiss. New or unknown girls are asked for their papers. An hour later people start to find their way to their rooms, a big German man accompanied by a beautiful young Ethiopian girl. A local sheik with two blond Russian ladies. The Radisson has more to offer; The Pub ('An informal and cozy English Pub') or Up on the Tenth ('The finest jazz bar in Dubai'), where a man alone will not be so for more than 10 minutes. A bit more style, ideal for the man whom prefers to have a good conversation beforehand.

Getting laid in the hotel
About 24 hours later we arrive in The Premiere, the huge nightclub from the Hyatt Regency Hotel, one of the biggest and best-known business hotels in Dubai. Entrance costs are 125 dirham a person, almost 25 Euros. The club is crowded, even though it is only 11 o'clock. Hundreds of prostitutes are positioned around the dance floor, or hang around the bar. The visitors, only men, take their time to watch around while the women are becoming more intrusive with the time passing. Just after entering the club an Ethiopian beauty tries to get our attention, whilst on the other side an East European beauty gives us a view into her décolleté. Tariff for an hour of pleasure, preferably in the Hotel itself; 250 to 300 dollars. It's not a problem that I do not stay in the hotel; Hannah rents a cheap apartment nearby together with a friend. We can go there if I want to.