In the last 20 months, around 600 female trafficking victims have been repatriated to Moldova but thousands remain in Europe's brothels, hotels and bars, many of them against their will. Police say 20 Moldovans are deported from Turkey each day, most of them women. Some villages have lost half their inhabitants. More than 90 percent of the population live on less then a dollar a day, and many families survive on money sent by relatives working abroad. Four out of five people say they cannot meet their needs.
Moldovan police have little chance of stopping the trafficking of women.
Most of the people leave Moldova legally. The unit's resources are minimal, with just nine officers. Two months ago parliament passed its first legislation to punish trafficking, allowing the police to launch seven criminal cases of pimping and selling people. Young women and girls are most vulnerable to traffickers. Naive and poor, most with only primary education, they are easy prey for those touting the good life in the West.