FAQ

We use the word ‘rescue’ when the intervention of our specialist staff directly removes a victim of human trafficking from a situation of exploitation or profound vulnerability to exploitation. Rescues range from month-long surveillance operations that develop into contact with a victims and their safe removal from their situation of exploitation to attending a homeless shelter to meet a victim referred by staff who’ve been trained by Cross Culture International Foundation CCIF arranging that individuals enter into sheltered accommodation. New use different sources and channels up to meeting a victim, we rejoice every rescue once it’s happened. Our expert intervention means freedom to someone, a life changed and another step taken toward ending slavery once and for good.

Cross Culture International Foundation CCIF operates in Malta and collaborates with CCFZ Zimbabwe. Our headquarters is in Paola, Malta.

Cross Culture International Foundation plans to work closely with law enforcement on investigations and prosecutions in Malta and has been invited to play a part in victim reception during large raids. Our aim is to encourage and equip police forces and provide a bridge between victims and the police. Many victims are countries with disreputable policing or have been instilled with a fear of the authorities by their trafficker. This means that even where frontline police officers are fully versed in trafficking law there is still a need for Cross Culture International Foundation to act as a trusted intermediary. We also provide training on the indicators of trafficking, recording trafficking offences and the Local Referral Mechanism to law enforcement in Malta.

The kind of fear and manipulation experienced by many victims means they would never consider reporting their situation to the law enforcement. This creates a desperate need for a trusted third party to identify victims, raise public awareness, provide excellent aftercare and train frontline professionals who can build bridges between the victim and the police. Cross Culture International Foundation works closely with victims to make sure they enter safe accommodation and get the support they require. After some time in a safe environment, victims are often able to overcome the fear they’ve been instilled with. At this point the victim may feel comfortable telling their story to the police but it is always the victim’s choice whether to cooperate with the police.

There are many injustices happening in our world. To really combat any problem you have to set out with a clear idea of what you want to achieve and focus strategically on that. Cross Culture International Foundation exists to see the end of human trafficking. “Why human trafficking?” is a question each Cross Culture International Foundation Team member and each supporter in our abolitionist community will answer differently. Recognizing how difficult it is for many victims to approach the police even though their need is desperate creates a need for an organization like Cross Culture International Foundation. After hearing the stories of those who have been rescued or hearing the statistics of how many sons and daughters, wives and husbands haven’t been rescued yet, you can’t help but feel compelled to act. Find out why we do what we do.

Due to the manipulation, deceit, coercion and grooming employed by traffickers many people removed from exploitation do not realize they have been a victim. Understanding that what has happened to them is wrong and that the trafficker is to blame can be an important part of their recovery. Getting the general public and organizations to understand that a crime has been committed and that the crime has a human cost also justifies the use of a commonly understood term such as ‘victim’. This is why Cross Culture International Foundation use the term ‘victim’, although staff remain aware of the sensitivities of such a label and will use the terms ‘survivor’ or ‘client’ when interacting with victims.

Cross Culture International Foundation is an organization founded on Christian values and ethos. Many, but by no means all, of our staff come from a church background and all staff are expected to work in a way that reflects core values of respect, tolerance, passion for justice and appreciation of the value of individuals. The organization strives for high standards of professionalism, openness and integrity but the service we deliver is not evangelistic. Meet Our Team. Our Team hopes that our work, and the good that comes of it, speaks of the love of God. We are acutely aware of the vulnerability of the victims we work with and we treat them with the highest level of cultural sensitivity. We serve victims who have originated from all across the globe and from a diverse mix of cultures. We do utilize the programs of some faith-based organizations that provide aftercare for victims of trafficking but we would only make a referral if the victim was comfortable with the content of the program and was able to make an informed choice.

Cross Culture International Foundation is primarily funded by private individuals, a small number of trusts and partnerships with churches. We are working to establish Church Partners who will commit to giving a set, regular donation in a similar way to individuals who donate.

Cross Culture International Foundation currently works in Malta and looking to open other offices in future in countries where we have most of our people enslaved around the world and your donations are directed toward whichever of our life-changing programs is most in need. We work hard to make sure that each program works to the highest standards and results in the greatest number of people being rescued and restored. You can be sure that every penny you donate works hard to bring freedom, justice and restoration to victims of human trafficking.

No! The Protocol recognizes a number of ‘acts’ (transfer, recruitment, harbouring or receipt of persons) but it doesn’t specify that those actions need to be across the borders. When someone is moved from place to place or town to town within a country as a result of transport, transfer, recruitment, harboring or receipt of persons they are also trafficked. This kind of trafficking within a country is called ‘internal trafficking’. When a person has moved or been moved across a national border it is ‘external trafficking’. Both types are prohibited by the Protocol. Read more on our Human Trafficking pages.

The Protocol answers this question. Take ‘Chamunorwa’(Chamu) as an example. Chamu responds to a job advert in the local paper offering certain wages and accommodation for work in a Saudi Arabian city. This seems a great opportunity and Chamu travels to the city freely. Chamu has been recruited for work by the person who posted the advertisement and he has transported himself; either the recruitment or the transport is enough to satisfy the ‘act’ element from the Protocol’s definition of trafficking. When Chamu arrives for the job he’s told he has to pay off the cost of the accommodation he’s offered but with deductions for food and transport to and from work, and with the unreasonably low wages Chamu will never have enough money to pay off the accommodation. Now he’s trapped in a cycle of debt. Chamu was promised certain work and conditions but the promise has turned out to be false; he was deceived into travelling to the Saudi Arabian city, that deception is the ‘means’ element of the definition. The fact that Chamu works for no real pay because of all those unreasonable deductions means he is being exploited. He is a victim of exploitation for forced labor. The labor is forced because he does it under ‘menace or penalty’, the penalty being that he must pay off his debt. Chamu transported himself (‘act’), he did this because he was deceived (‘means’) and now he’s been exploited to work for no real pay (‘exploitation’). Chamu is a trafficking victim, despite having made his initial journey to Saudi Arabia freely. Read more on our Human Trafficking pages.

The Protocol outlines ‘means’ of trafficking and this includes some physical ‘means’ such as use of force or abduction. This kind of physical confinement and rough handling is what we most often associate with trafficking; a girl tied to a bed, a guy locked in a trailer. However, the ‘means’ of trafficking can often be psychological or emotional manipulation such as a threat against the victim’s family or the long-term ‘grooming’ of a victim to believe the trafficker is their lover or friend. Traffickers may manipulate their victims by creating fear of others; there have been instances of traffickers dressing as police officers before raping a victim. Acts like this falsely convince a victim that the police cannot be trusted and should be feared. There has been an increasing trend of traffickers targeting vulnerable groups in society for recruiting victims. Their vulnerabilities make them easy to control without needing to resort to physical measures. Common examples include alcoholics and the homeless. Read more on our Human Trafficking pages

Trafficking is a global problem and it’s happening in our communities, perhaps even on our local street. In a 2005 report the International Labour Organization estimated that $31.6bn is made from the forced labour of trafficking victims, with $15bn of that money being generated within industrialised nations like our own – that’s pretty much half. With the public paying more for services in ‘developed’ nations there is more profit to be made from forced labour and sex trafficking in nations like our own than in ‘developing’ countries. Read more on our Human Trafficking pages.

It’s impossible to know the exact number of victims of human trafficking that exist because it’s a crime that happens mostly out of the public eye and within a criminal underground. For this reason all statistics should be treated as estimates and not as indisputable fact, figures should be interpreted with a margin either way; the real number could be bigger or smaller. What is indisputable is the existence of human trafficking and its presence in our nation; the debate over the reliability of particular statistics can detract from that important truth to the detriment of those caught up in a web of slavery and exploitation. Statistics are estimates, they are an educated guess. Some people may think that there is no value to a ‘guess’ of any sort, but with human trafficking being conducted so successfully out of the public eye, half of the battle is awareness. If we can get people to think about trafficking, we can teach them to recognize trafficking indicators and we can make it significantly more difficult for traffickers to operate in Malta. With any statistic it is vital to know the exact source and that is an area we are going to work on as CCIF why we will try to fully reference statistics.

Each case of trafficking looks different although there are some common indicators of trafficking and more specific ones for each type of trafficking. The existence of any one or even a number of indicators is not proof of trafficking but combined with your best judgement it is sensible to report any concerns about an individual or yourself to Hope for Justice.

If yourself or someone else is in immediate danger call the police. If you or someone else is not in immediate danger, or you have already spoken to the police contact Cross Culture International Foundation by: Email info@ccifmt.org, telephoning +35627131416 or make a report by clicking on the button below If you report potential trafficking activity to Cross Culture International Foundation, we will undertake to keep you informed about the progress of the case. However, the information we gather following a report is often subject to confidentiality. For that reason, whilst we understand you may want to be kept fully informed because you are passionate about anti-human trafficking efforts, this is not always possible or appropriate.

An Abolition group is a group of friends, family, work colleagues etc. that come together to make practical their passion and commitment to end human trafficking through fundraising and carrying out various activities that will help raise the needed awareness within their localities. Such activities like inviting people for home prepared meal, having discussion over drinks and sponsored activities to cover any specific activities they want to implement. CCIF team will offer the needed support to all abolition groups.

Implementation of our mission activities requires resources and CCIF partners with you all to help raise these resources through various ways and means. Our fundraising page has more information like donating your birthday, anniversary, taking a challenge like hiking, swimming, car wash etc. You can even hold a dinner party these are just but a few ways. Talk to our team to get the necessary guidance and support you need to be one of our Fundraisers.

CCIF works with a number of Universities that have EU funded Erasmus 3 months long internship where the cost of their stay in Malta is fully covered by Erasmus+ or the sending organisations. CCIF has also working agreement with MCAST where their students can apply for Community attachment with us. In some cases we will issue specific adverts for our in-house Internship program and volunteering page will have full information.

Most CCIF projects involve local or transnational partners. Any organizations that want to collaborate with CCIF should fill the Partner Information Form (PIF) and be on our database. In the event that CCIF is seeking partners, it will first look through the registered partners. CCIF is also happy to consider requests to participate as a partner in projects written by other organisations.

Churches and religious organisations play a vital role in our mission. Churches that want to work with us need to fill the Church partner form from the Church partnership. Our team will then engage the organization to establish the intended plan and the needed support and materials.

CCIF regularly holds talks, events and conferences that people can join. We also run youth exchanges where we host or send youths to activities we hold locally and abroad. Keep an eye on the adverts on our website to be informed about the upcoming activities and exciting opportunities. We also work with people who have ideas of activities they want to hold in support of our work. Get in touch with us to explore this further.

Prayer support plays an important part of our work and is very welcome. You register through our volunteer part to be a CCIF ProjectStop prayer warrior. We will share with you our prayer points and also celebrate with you our praise reports when we achieve milestones and when the prayers are answered.