00:56
NARRATION
| The trade in human organs and other forms of human trafficking from the poorest countries of the world is growing every year. Organ Watch, Berkley University California has estimated that 15 thousand organs are trafficked every year. The sale of organs from impoverished European countries to the rich and privileged globally is perhaps a subject which is too close for comfort. Nothing demonstrates more clearly the increasing gap between the rich and poor within Europe and her direct neighbors, than this booming trade in human misery. Criminal Networks are targeting European countries such as Estonia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Georgia, Russia, Romania, Moldova and Ukraine, where people are lured into selling their kidneys for as little as 3000 dollars. |
01:52
MIHAIL: I’ve thought for a while what to do, I didn’t know what, what will happen, after which I’ve thought and, well...I don’t know what else I want to say, but...I thought that I’m not going to die. And, maybe it was of joy, they offered me 3000 Dollars and I’ve never seen that much money in my hand, and because of the joy, I haven’t thought of anything else. Already when I got there, close to the surgery, then I thought about
what and how everything will be.
01:52 MIHAIL:
Un timp m-am gandit ce sa fac, nu stiam ce, ce o sa fie, da pe urma m-am gandit, si deamu... nu stiu ce vreau sa mai zic, dar...m-am gandit, zic ca, la moarte nu ma mai duc. Si, ori de bucurie, mi-au propus 3000 de dolari si nu am vazut atatia bani in mana mea, si de bucurie nu m-am mai gandit nimic. Deamu cand am ajuns acolo, aproape de operatie, deamu atuncea ma gandeam ce o sa fie si cum o sa fie.
02:31
NARRATION
Recent research reveals a trail in illegal organ trafficking leading from Moldova to a variety of countries, where kidneys are sold to Israelis, Arabs and Western Europeans.
02:46
NARRATION
| Globally, 1 million die each year of kidney failure. Only 60 thousand receive a kidney transplant. |
02:56
NARRATION
| People in rich countries, particularly those with legal systems and religious beliefs that prevent easy access to post-mortem donors, will do almost anything for a kidney. |
3,08
TIMOTHY STATHAM: In a year period, one expects, in Britain, for there to be almost 2000 operations a year, which gives somebody a new kidney. Sadly, 400 people will also die on that waiting list, waiting for the kidney that they didn’t get. An additional 3000 people will die whilst on dialysis.
03:35
NARRATION
| Throughout Moldova, people lack even basic needs due to widespread unemployment and poverty. |
03:45
NARRATION
| Mihail, who grew up in a typical Moldovan village, was 26 years old when his kidney was removed. He is now 32 years old, living from hand to mouth. |
03:57
MIHAIL: a class colleague of mine, with a younger brother Vitalie, I’ve heard that he was in Turkey and gave a kidney and, from one thing to another, I’ve ran into him and he told what he did and offered it to me too. I stood and thought for a while, because I had no money, I thought for a while, and then I’ve decided to go.
03:57 MIHAIL: Un coleg de clasa de-al meu, cu un frate mai mic Vitalie, am auzit ca, iaca a fost in Turcia, si a dat un rinichi, si, din unul in altul, m-am intalnit cu dansul si mi-o spus, iaca ce-o facut, si mi-o propus si mie. Si am stat un timp si m-am gandit, ca n-aveam bani, am stat un timp si m-am gandit, si pe urma am socotit sa plec.
04:26
NARRATION
| One day after the operation, he was taken from the surgeon’s private department where he was hidden for a few days. The traffickers collected him and dumped him on a public bus with no pain killers. For 24 hours, his newly operated body was shaken about, causing him terrible pain. The traffickers had not even supplied him with the essential documents to cross the border to return home. So Mihail had to bribe the border police with 500 dollars from the 3000 dollars he had received from the traffickers. |
05:04
NARRATION
| Without the essential all-round pre-imposed medical treatment with rest and avoidance of hard physical work, people like Mihail often never recover fully from having sold a kidney. |
05:16
MIHAIL: Afterwards I came home; I wanted to work on something but I couldn’t. I wanted to take a bucket of water, I couldn’t, it hurt. I tried to do something, I couldn’t. So I sat thinking, I said to myself, everyone is working, but I can’t work. I’m somewhat sorry, but anyway...I didn’t know how, when I went, how it will be, but later...I saw and I’m sorry. But anyway...you couldn’t turn anything around.
05:16
MIHAIL: Dupa aceea, am venit acasa, vroiam sa lucrez ceva si nu puteam. Dadeam sa duc o caldare de apa, nu puteam, ma durea. Dadeam sa fac ceea, nu puteam. Sedeam si ma gandeam, iaca zic, toti lucreaza, dar eu nu pot lucra. Parca imi pare rau, dar deamu...Nu stiam cum, de o data cum m-am dus, cum o sa fie, dar pe urma deamu...am vazut si imi pare rau. Dar deamu...nu puteai intoarce nimic inapoi.
05:41
NARRATION
| A medical worker in Minghir, a small town close to the capital, reported that about 36 out of 7000 people have sold a kidney. The real figures are probably higher, as guilt and shame prevent donors contacting medical workers. |
06:01
NARRATION
| Globally, the demand for fresh, healthy organs is greater than the present legal supply and is increasing every year. Worldwide, the poor are cheated, named and sometimes, murdered, by ruthless organ traffickers. |
06:21
NARRATION
| People with kidney failure in dialysis are faced with an ethical dilemma. Shall I continue to suffer while waiting for a legal transplant or perhaps even die? Or shall I buy an illegal kidney abroad now? |
06:39
MADS: Because the waiting lists are long in Denmark, some people get so desperate, that they choose an alternative. And that is going abroad to buy a kidney.
06:58
NARRATION
| 32 year old Mads from Denmark is suffering from acute kidney failure. To survive, he must receive dialysis 4 times a week to prevent his body from being poisoned by waste. In his local hospital, there is a special department that trains people with kidney failure to use dialysis machines. |
07:19
MADS: You have to go dialysis immediately, to get your blood cleaned and that was from one day to another, more or less, that I started dialysis, so, already from when I was admitted to the hospital, I was a hemo-dialysis patient, which is a thing that the body really has to get used to. So, those first 2 and a half first months where really awful, because my body really wasn’t coping with dialysis very well. It stresses the body very much.
07:56
MADS: And now I’m going to do the worst part of the dialysis, where I have to insert the needles. The first hours or so I’m ok, and then I start getting more and more confused and dizzy and just not very focused, and sometimes I get a headache from it, and sometimes I get a bit nauseous and after the dialysis I’m completely naked, I’m very unfocused, I’m very confused and I really, really just need to get home and not concentrate about anything, just sit on the sofa and watch television, you know...Or something like that. Just not do anything that requires any brain capacity and that’s...that’s how it is.
09:00
MADS: One of the first symptoms I had was about two years ago in March 2006, where I began to have an ear ache. I was visiting my girlfriend in London, and when I landed, I had an ear ache and I thought it was from the plane ride, but then it got worse and I started throwing up, I started getting extremely restless and I couldn’t sleep for almost a week and then, after about a week and a half, I got admitted to the hospital and was diagnosed with acute kidney failure. And that was how it all started.
10:06
NARRATION
| Europe’s poorest country, Moldova, has, during the last 10 years, become steadily poor. The average monthly salary is less than 50 dollars. |
10:17
NARRATION
| 25% of the 3, 8 million population have migrated in search of work and a better life. |
10:26
NARRATION
| Villages across Moldova are de-populating at an alarming rate, leaving behind mainly the old, the sick and children. The remaining are easy targets for kidney traffickers. |
10:39
NARRATION
| Generations of children are growing up without one or both of their parents. The negative long time impact on the healthy, psychological and social development of these children is massive. |
10:55
NARRATION
| Andrei is an unskilled Moldovan agriculture worker and a victim of kidney trafficking. 6 years ago, 34 year old Andrei and his wife Angela were trying to scrape a living together for themselves and their children. They lived in one of hundreds of poverty-stricken villages that typify the Moldovan countryside. |
11:17
ANDREI: This bread was not given, money was not given. It was hard during the time of the earthquake. The house was all out of clay, falling apart, with no fence. We needed a cow, milk for the kids, I mean everything. A lot are needed for...three children need a lot.
11:17 ANDREI: Painea asta nu se dadea, bani nu se dadeau. Era greu pe vremea cand fu cutremur. Casa era toata din lut, se risipea, gard n-aveai. Trebuia o vaca, o lapte la copil, adica toate. Trebuie multe pentru...la trei copii trebuie mult.
11:37
NARRATION
| Angela was approached by a kidney trafficker, who promised her 3000 dollars, a visa, a passport and transport expenses for the kidney to be removed and sold in Turkey. After the documents have been prepared by her trafficker, Angela suddenly discovered she was pregnant with her third child. |
12:01
ANDREI: The situation was hard concerning money. I’ve decided to go, and at the beginning of May, they came and told us to prepare our documents; we went and made the documents in May, out of their money. I’ve worked until June 25-26.
12:01 ANDREI: Situatia era grea pe partea banilor. Am hotarat sa plec eu, si la inceputul lui Mai
o venit si ne-a spus sa facem documentele, am fost si am facut documentele in Mai din banii lor. Am mai lucrat pana pe 25-26 iunie.
12:26
NARRATION
| After the operation, Andrei returned to Moldova. |
12:33
NARRATION
| After 2 years, Andrei and Angela faced the same problem which had forced them to sell a kidney in the first place. No work and grinding poverty. Desperate, Angela decided as the last resort to take up work as a housekeeper in Italy, but Angela could not bear to be parted from her children and rang home nearly every day, weekly. After some months in Italy she fell ill and was found to be suffering from multiple brain tumors. Terminally ill, Angela returned home, and, after a few brief months, died. |
13:40
NARRATION
| Andrei and the three children were devastated. Andrei had to provide now for the family both emotionally and financially, but he could not do both. |
13:47
ANDREI: The state gives us 280...288 lei for taking care of the children. And if you don’t work anywhere, you can’t do anything with these 280 lei, because electricity got expensive, everything got expensive nowadays. You have to go to work, whether you want to or not, you have to go. But here there is no work, first of all, work...you work but they don’t pay you. And I went, as it turned out, I went to Moscow.
13:47
ANDREI: De la stat ne da 280...288 de lei primesc pe copii pe intretinere. Si daca nu lucrezi nicaieri, nu faci nimic cu acesti 280 de lei, pentru ca lumina s-o sumpit, tot s-a scumpit amu in ziua de azi. Tre’ sa te mai duci si la lucru, vrei nu vrei, trebuie sa te duci. Dar aici la noi nu-i de lucru, in primul rand...lucru...lucrezi dar nu-ti dau banii. Si am fost, deamu cum, la Mosocova am fost.
14:28
ANDREI: At home, in the village, only the elder who still can are left, and the fields, there is no one to work on them, the shares of land-before everyone wanted land, now no one needs it they all stay the same. There isn’t anymore the same power, it’s not the same, as they say, I actually feel how I get tiresome faster, not like work was before – hard. For three months, from morning from 8 until 8, and sometimes even until 12, 1...i used to work in rain, in snow, in cold and however it was. You changed your clothes and that was it.
14:28 ANDREI: Acasa numai, in sat o ramas numai batranii care mai pot, si pamanturile raman (??), n-are cine le prelucra, cotele-inainte vroiau toti pamant, acum nu-i mai trebuie la nimeni, raman toti asa. Nu-i aceeasi putere, nu-i aceeasi, cum se spune, simt cand intr-adevar obosesti mai repede, nu ca cum era inainte Lucrul – greu. Trei luni de zile , de dimineata de la 8 pana la 8, cum era si cateodata si pana la 12, 1 ...apoi lucram si pe ploaie, si pe ninsoare, si pe frig si cum era. Te schimbai hainele, si tot era.
ANDREI: Be good and listen, ok? I’ll bring you a bag of sweets, ok? Just like the last time, like I brought you. Ok then. Be good and close the door.
ANDREI: Sa fiti cuminti si sa ascultati., bun? Am sa va aduc o sumca de asta de dulciuri, bun? Ca data trecuta, cum v-am adus. Vseo, hai. Vseo, hai. Sa fiti cuminti sa inchideti usa.
15:54
NARRATION
| 13 year old Ian has to do everything in their home, including looking after his brothers who are 9 and 6. Also, when they’re sick. He tries his best, but he is too young to cope with everything and the children, therefore, suffer from neglect and its consequences physically, psychologically and socially. |
16:15
IAN: Mom was here, it was good, easier. We had...she comforted us, caressed us, but now what? Now dad is mother and father.
16:15
IAN: Era mama, era mai bine, mai usor. Mai aveam... ne mai alina, ne mai mangaia, dar amu ce? Amu tata-i mama si tata.
16:34
VIOREL CIOBANU: On one hand, the mass migration of citizens has served as a fertile ground for traffickers to commit abuses, and to cheat some citizens under the pretext of employment abroad. Women were usually taken to Western Europe, where they were sexually exploited.
16:34 VIOREL CIOBANU: Pe de o parte, migrarea in masa a cetatenilor a servit si acel teren fertil pentru traficanti pentru a face abuzuri, si, pe unii din cetateni, a-i insela sub pretextul angajarii in campul muncii peste hotare. Femeile de obicei erau duse in Europa de Vest, unde erau exploatate sexual.
17:24
VIOREL CIOBANU: Organ trafficking, again, people were cheated, misled in what the consequences might be after a kidney extraction, because, in most of the case or, at least in the cases discovered by us, the legal entities, there were cases of kidney extraction, although it could have been an extraction of a part of the liver, because they are 2 organs without which a human being can survive.
17:24 VIOREL CIOBANU: Traficul de organe, iarasi, oamenii erau inselati, erau dusi in eroare de faptul care ar fi consecinta in cazul prelevarii unui rinichi, pentru ca, in majoritatea cazurilor, sau cel putin care le-am depistat noi, organele de drept, au fost cazuri de luare de rinichi, cu toate ca ar putea fi si o prelevare din o parte din ficat, pentru ca 2 organe fara de care ar putea un om supravietui. Noi am depistat 2 filiere de trafic de organe. O filiera, cea mai importanta, a fost Turcia si o alta filiera este Germania.
17:59
| NARRATION |
18:10
ANATOLI: Someone I know from Edinet knew that person, who was dealing with this.
MAN: She offered it to you?
ANATOLI: And she offered it to me. If you want to make a certain sum of money, give your kidney for 10 thousand US Dollars.
18:10
ANATOLI: O cunoscuta din Edinet, cunostea persoana asta, care se ocupa cu asa ceva.
MAN: Ti-a propus tie?
ANATOLI: Si mi-a propus mie. Daca vrei sa faci o suma oarecare de bani, iaca da rinichiul si iei contra 10 mii dolari americani.
18.23
NARRATION
| Knowing exactly how to manipulate Anatoli, the traffickers first convinced him he will not feel any different after the operation. They coached him and instructed him, on arrival in Germany, to pretend that the complete stranger receiving his kidney was in fact, his long lost, beloved uncle from Israel. |
18 :42
ANATOLI: They’ve advised me what to say, what to talk, how to give, who he was, where he was from, all of his relatives that are with him, from children to nephews, i had to know everyone by name.
18.42
ANATOLI: Ei m-au consultat ce trebuie sa spun, ce sa vorbesc, cum trebuie sa dau, cine ii el, de unde ii el, toata nemuraraia lui care sunt la dansu, de la copii pana la nepoti, sa stiu pe toti pe nume.
GERMAN. Small talk very short…
19 :01
NARRATION
| Professor Muhlbacher from Austria was tricked into performing a kidney by the same methods. He operated on a man who said he was giving his kidney to a family member. Years later the true story was revealed. |
19:16
FERDINAND MUHLBACHER: We had all the steps, all of the investigations were carried out as usual and they were performing and acting and we just believed them. And they also passed out psychologist, who is very accurate in detecting things like acting and performing.
19:34
ANATOLI: They didn’t believe us. They didn’t believe us, well, it’s not that they didn’t believe us, but he said that we don’t speak the same language, but I spoke Romanian with him. I know Romanian, like every Moldavian, it’s the same. And he said that we didn’t speak the same language, so I didn’t pass the interview.
19:34
ANATOLI: Nu ne-a crezut . Nu ne-a crezut, nu cum nu ne-a crezut, dar a spus ca nu vorbim intr-o limba, dar eu am vorbit romana cu el . Eu romana o stiu, cum e moldovanu, e tot aceeasi. Si a spus ca nu vorbim intr-o limba si nu am trecut convorbirea.
19:49
FERDINAND MUHLBACHER: Years later, 5 years later after the transplantation, when the donor was caught, as he was a small criminal, he stole something in a department store and he was put to jail and they found his car and his flank. It turned out that he was operated in my institution, my friend did the examination I did the transplant and we read it basically in the lancet, because it was published in the highly respected journal as a letter to the editor.
So it means we cannot be 100 percent sure that we are not fooled again.
20:27
ANATOLI: We had to go to Romania. From there, from the Germans, to go to Romania.
Man : To surgery ?
ANATOLI: To surgery. And we didn’t go to Romania, we went in Germany, in another city, in Essen, and there I passed. They asked me the same things, asked me where I was from, how, who I was to him, what I did, what I had, what I gave him and for what, did I need money, or mere we related, or was I feeling sorry for him. And I told them, that I pitied him, that I didn’t need money, that I was full of money. That I had my furniture factory in Romania and I said what I had to say and what I didn’t have to , just to pass. And now I need it.
20:27 ANATOLI: Era vorba sa plecam in Romania. De acolo de la nemti, sa plecam in Romania.
MAN : La operatie?
ANATOLI: La operatie. Si nu ne-am dus in Romania, ne-am dus tot in Germania, in alt oras, in Viena. Si, deamu acolo iar am trecut. M-a intrebat tot aceeasi, m-a intrebat de unde-s, cum, cine-s eu lui, cu ce ma ocup, ce am, ce-i dau pentru ce ii dau, am nevoie de bani, ori santem rude, ori mi-i jale. Si le-am spus tot, ca ii de jale, ca nu-mi trebuie bani, ca-s plin de bani. Ca am fabrica in Romania, am fabrica mea de mobila si am spus si eu ce trebuie si ce nu trebuie, numai sa trec. Si acuma imi trebuie.
21:12 NARRATION
In the northern part of Moldova, a special prison has been built to house policemen, lawyers, judges, etc. Marin a former policeman convicted of organ trafficking, is serving his ten years sentence there. Marin’s son eas seriousely ill and required a liver transplant to survive.
21:34
MARIN: Running around and looking for this money, I ran into these people that were dealing with organ trafficking. And they offered me, yes, there is a way to make money.
21:34
MARIN: Umbland si cautand acesti bani, am dat peste acesti oameni care se ocupa cu traficarea organelor. Si ei mi-au propus, da, iaca este asa un caz ca se poate de facut bani.
21:51
NARRATION
| With no cash in hand, he was tempted to work with a trafficking network and made a deal with them to sell his own kidney in exchange for a liver transplant for his son. |
22:03
MARIN: During about 2 days they did my medical analysis and the transplant was made in one week.
22:03
MARIN: Undeva in timp de doua zile mi-au facut analizele medicale si in timp de o saptamana de zile a fost facut transplantul.
22:15
ALINA RADU: Was the surgery at night or during the day?
22:15
ALINA RADU: Operatia a fost noaptea sau ziua?
22:17
MARIN: No, I don’t know why, but only at night. There were about 6 people, the surgery was done during the night. There was from Ukraine, from Africa there was someone there, but I couldn’t communicate with them. I didn’t know anyone.
22 :17
MARIN: Nu, nu stiu de ce, dar numai noaptea. Erau undeva vreo sase oameni, noaptea asta a fost facuta operatia. Din Ucraina era, de la noi din Moldova, din Africa era si mai erau cineva acolo, dar eu n-am putut contacta cu ei. Nu cunosteam nimeni.
22:36
NARRATION
| Shortly after his operation, he returned to Moldova and then traveled immediately back to Istanbul. |
22:43
ALINA RADU: How old was the baby?
23:49 ALINA RADU: Copilasul cat avea?
22 :45
MARIN: Ahmm…one year
22:45 MARIN: Aaa...un an de zile.
MARIN: Well yes, he did, because the baby died. The baby died. I was left handicapped, without a kidney, the baby died.
MARIN: Pai da, a avut, pentru ca copilul a murit. Copilul a murit. Eu am ramas invalid, fara rinichi, copilul a murit.
22:59
ALINA RADU: The baby died...
24:04 ALINA RADU: Copilul a murit...
23:00
MARIN: Yes, the baby died, yes, he didn’t make it after the surgery.
24:05 MARIN: Da, copilul a murit, da, dupa operatie n-a rezistat.
23:04
NARRATION
| On returning home, Marin then decided to contact the criminal network. He consequently became involved in the trafficking ring, which resulted in the conviction he is now serving. |
23:16
NARRATION
| Throughout the world, there are thousand of people dying slowly on dialysis and these numbers are, unfortunately, growing. |
23:27
NARRATION
| Radical action taken by many countries would result in the availability of more organs, which could be harvested legally from brain dead patients. |
23:38
NARRATION
| Globally, this would immediately have a profound impact on the number of available organs. In 2008, the legal supply simply does not meet the demand; and, therefore, there is a steady and increasing flow of living donor organs from the poor to the rich. |
24:01
NARRATION
| Are we going to stand by and allow organ trafficking to flourish? Are we going to passively allow those people who, either cannot afford to buy on the black market or have and unshakeable moral and ethical value to suffer and die? As the time comes to bring this issue out into the open, wake up the politicians, the general public to take actions. |
24:31
SCROLLERTEXT
Director and Photographer – Anja Dalhoff
Co-director, Moldova – Alina Radu
Sound support – Iben Haahr Andersen
Editor and post-production – Dumitru Marian
Narrator & script co-writer Michelle Mildwater
Producer – Gitte Randlov
Second Unit Turkey Mustafa Ûnlu
Assistant – Florencio Garces Segura
Composer – Povl Kristian
Thanks to
The participants in the film
Rigshospitalitet, Copenhagen
Archive material – Klinisk Film
Partners in Moldova –
AlT film
Ziarul de Garda
Produced by:
DANISH DOC PRODUCTION
With support from:
Oak Foundation
The Health Ministry
The Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
2008 Danish Doc Production ApS