Raquel Liberman (10 July 1900 – 7 April 1935) was a Polish-Jewish immigrant to

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, a victim of

human trafficking Human trafficking is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation may include forced labor, sexual slavery, or oth ...

. Her denouncement of her traffickers led to the breaking up of the Jewish human-trafficking network from Poland,

Zwi Migdal Zwi Migdal (, Polish language, Polish: ''Cwi Migdał'') was a organized crime, criminal organisation founded by Jews in Poland in the 19th century, based mainly in Argentina. History The group's main operation was the trafficking of Jewish wo ...

, which in the early 20th century operated a worldwide white-slavery ring.

Early life

Liberman was born on 10 July 1900 in Berdichev in the

Kiev Governorate Kiev Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire (1796–1917), Ukrainian People's Republic (1917–18; 1918–1921), Ukrainian State (1918), and the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (1919–19 ...

of the Russian Empire. According to the

Jewish Women's Archive The Jewish Women's Archive (JWA) is a national non-profit organization whose mission is to document "Jewish women's stories, elevate their voices, and inspire them to be agents of change." JWA was founded by Gail Twersky Reimer in 1995 in Brook ...

, she moved to

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

Russian Poland Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish people, Polish State (polity), state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of ...

with her family as a child. In 1919, she married Yaacov Ferber, a Warsaw tailor, according to Jewish rites. Ferber emigrated to Argentina and she followed him to Tapalqué,

Buenos Aires province Buenos Aires, officially the Buenos Aires Province, is the largest and most populous Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of the province an ...

, with her two sons in 1922. Her husband died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

soon after their arrival. Needing economic support and not knowing Spanish, Liberman left her children with a foster family and looked for a job in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

. Liberman later kept the existence of her children a secret, and her children were unaware of her subsequent history.

Slavery

It is unclear how Liberman got involved in the criminal network, as there are very few records of her early life, and she concealed parts of her personal history. Unable to find work as

seamstress A dressmaker, also known as a seamstress, is a person who makes clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and evening gowns. Dressmakers were historically known as mantua-makers, and are also known as a modiste or fabrician. Notable d ...

, she was either forced into or voluntarily entered into

prostitution Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, no ...

, through a Jewish human trafficking network named

, (previously "Varsovia"). One possibility is that her sister and brother-in-law belonged to the organization. This network worked in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

under the semblance of a Jewish Mutual Aid Society which lured girls and young women to Argentina where they were exploited sexually. Exactly how it occurred is uncertain, but Liberman ended up working for a ''caftan'' (pimp) named Jaime Cissinger, whom she paid for protection. For at least four years Liberman was a captive of the human trafficking network. She managed to save money to buy her liberty, possibly with help from someone else. She opened a shop in

Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and Regions of Peru, region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists ...

road but Zwi Migdal started to harass and threaten her to avoid her example being copied by other female captives. A member of the Zwi Migdal, José Salomón Korn, fooled her with a false marriage promise and married her in a faked Jewish ceremony. He then stole her savings and attempted to force her back into a brothel. Liberman escaped a second time and on 31 December 1929 she denounced the Zwi Migdal to Inspector of Police Julio Alsogaray. Her judicial complaint was the first to publicly expose these criminal networks in Argentina and evolved into the dissolution of the human trafficking network.

Complaint and Zwi Migdal persecution

After Liberman escaped the second time, she contacted Julio Alsogaray, a policeman with a reputation for integrity, and with him on 31 December 1929 filed a complaint in court. The commissary asked if she was determined to make her declaration to the magistrate and she affirmed: "I can only die once, I won't withdraw the complaint". The criminal court magistrate Manuel Rodríguez Ocampo called Liberman to testify. Her testimony brought to light the criminal organization's methods, where women were forcibly transported from one place to another, and constantly abused physically and psychologically to make them subservient and prevent them from denouncing the organization. The magistrate ordered the detention of 108 members of the Zwi Migdal and the arrest of 334 fugitives on charges of corruption and conspiracy. The lengthy

trial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, w ...

ended in September 1930, with 108 criminal convictions. "The very existence of the Zwi Migdal Organization directly threatens our society", Judge Ocampo wrote in his

verdict In law, a verdict is the formal finding of fact made by a jury on matters or questions submitted to the jury by a judge. In a bench trial, the judge's decision near the end of the trial is simply referred to as a finding. In England and Wales ...

, handing down long

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...

sentences. During the investigation the complicity of the criminal organization with the

federal police A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for law enforcement within a specific jurisdiction through the employment and deployment of law enforcement officers and their resources. The most common type of law enforcement ...

was uncovered. The magistrate's ruling was appealed. Despite Liberman's testimony, the appeals chamber magistrate only retained three members of the organization in custody, freeing the other members. The appeals chamber magistrate justified this action by saying that only Liberman had testified (despite constant threats) whereas other victims did not. However, the trial increased public awareness of Zwi Migdal, and led to its dissolution.

Death

In 1934 Liberman applied for a visa to return to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. The trip never took place since several months later, on 7 April 1935, she died of

thyroid cancer Thyroid cancer is cancer that develops from the tissues of the thyroid gland. It is a disease in which cells grow abnormally and have the potential to spread to other parts of the body. Symptoms can include swelling or a lump in the neck, ...

at the age of 34.

Recognition

Raquel Liberman has been the inspiration for a number of authors. Nora Glickman's book ''The Jewish White Slave Trade and the Untold Story of Raquel Liberman'' is a historical account. Writer and poet Ilan Sheinfeld has also written an account of that time, ''The Tale of a Ring''. Humberto Costantini died before he could complete a fictionalized account, ''Rapsodía de Raquel Liberman'', which he had hoped would "justify imin the eyes of God". Carlos Luis Serrano wrote a play about her, ''Raquel Liberman: una historia de Pichincha''. The novel THE THIRD DAUGHTER (HarperCollins, 2019) by Talia Carner is a penetrating look into early 20th-century sex-trafficking taking the cue from Sholem Aleichem's "The Man from Buenos Aires." Myrtha Shalom wrote the book ''La Polaca''. Argentine-born film-maker Gabriela Bohm has produced a 30-minute documentary about her, entitled ''Raquel: a marked woman''. In Argentina, as of June 2010, the Raquel Liberman award was created to honor those who promote and protect the

rights Rights are law, legal, social, or ethics, ethical principles of freedom or Entitlement (fair division), entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal sy ...

of survivors of

violence against women Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence (GBV) or sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), violent, violence primarily committed by Man, men or boys against woman, women or girls. Such violence is often considered hat ...

References