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Not all Fun and Games

Avery Brundage, then president of the US Olympic committee (and future president of the International Olympic Committee) declared in 1936 that politics should never effect sports. There was no international boycott of the Berlin Olympics on grounds of Nazi antisemitism. The city was cleaned of all signs alluding to it's anti-jewish policies in time for the games. By the end of Nazi rule over 11 million had died because of these policies and another over 62 million because of war.

China, known for it's human rights abuses won the bid for the 2008 Games. At the closing of the games Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympic Committee, said of the Beijing Olympics:
'These were truly exceptional Games' A sentiment not shared by Roseann Rife, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Deputy Program Director, on the grounds of continued and evident human rights abuses in China during and after the Olympics.

“The Beijing Olympics have been a spectacular sporting event but they took place against a backdrop of human rights violations...The Chinese authorities and the IOC had an opportunity to demonstrate human rights improvements, but in most respects they failed to deliver”. The trouble with separating sport and 'politics' is that both are about people. Can we celebrate humanity in a stadium while outside it's gates humanity is abused, devalued and destroyed?

The two cannot co-exist side by side. They are intertwined despite efforts to the contrary. This has never been more the case than now, when one perpetuates the other. For every success it has in promoting international economics and human goodwill, the Olympics has become a vehicle for international crime and human slavery.

The Olympics cannot abstain from 'political' issues when it is the cause of them. "It is high time for the IOC to put its core values of ‘human dignity’ and ‘universal, fundamental ethical principles’ into practice by making human rights a new pillar of the Olympic Games.” (Rife).

Human trafficking has been linked to the Olympics for two principle reasons. During each games the demand for prostitution increases due to the influx of both workers for and visitors to the Olympics. These influxes in population also create a great cover for the trafficking of sex slaves into a region.

Host nations play a dynamic role in managing the potential increase in trafficking caused by large international sporting events. In 2006 the German government made a concerted effort to prevent human trafficking leading up to and during the Soccer World Cup. Tight border controls, public education and coordinated social agency efforts resulted in no detected increase in Trafficking. Whereas in 2004, the Greek government did not implement such strong measures in the build up to the Athens Olympics, resulting in a 95% increase in recorded trafficking cases.

Host governments of large sporting events directly effect how susceptible they are to traffickers. While governmental action is still optional, there is increasing awareness by advisory bodies and authorities on tackling trafficking during these events. The Vancouver Winter Olympics for 1010 and the London Summer Games in 1012 have both received NGO campaigns and educational schemes providing the first level of defense against trafficking. Publicizing the signs for identifying a trafficked person is essential for general populations, front line workers and the hospitality industry to become part of the solution. Yet it is still governmental cooperation and law enforcement that is yet to be fully engaged. Anti-trafficking efforts are still years behind other areas of local and international policing, despite the size and human cost in this industry.

The scale of Human Trafficking has long made it seem insurmountable. Yet if Germany can see measured success in fighting trafficking, then how much more can we realize the abolition of slavery in the coming years. Like every other criminal industry, trafficking can be tackled. However, it needs to rise up the national and international agendas of governments and bodies like the IOC. We cannot afford to separate sport and politics again. Detailed planning, exposure and reviewing of anti-trafficking efforts, has to be a prominent condition in awarding the Olympic bids of the future.

Would you know a trafficked person if you saw one? Recognize the signs by visiting Blue Blindfold today.

Sarah Bainbridge is a vital part of the Living Generously team. She liaises with Charities, writes articles and develops the project! Sarah has spent time in India working with communities impacted by the Tsunami  and is passionate about social justice. Currently living in California, Sarah loves life, lakes and coffee...not necessarily in that order!

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