Human trafficking in the Sinai started in 2009 and involves the abduction, extortion, sale, torture and killing of men, women and children. This book follows from the publication "Human Trafficking in the Sinai: Refugees between Life and Death" (2012). It describes how refugees are abducted and brought to the Sinai and identifies the modus operandi of the trafficking. It also looks at what happens after the hostages are released and where they go. This book introduces the term 'trafficking cycle' to describe how refugees become trapped in a vicious cycle of detention, exploitation and abuse, or take risks that may lead to tragedies such as the shipwreck off the coast of Lampedusa on 3 October 2013. It also portrays how Sinai survivors remain owners of their own history and keepers of their own dignity. The book is based on interviews with hostages and survivors of the trafficking in the Sinai and others.

Mirjam van Reisen is Professor of International Social Responsibility at Tilburg University. Meron Estefanos is a Swedish journalist of Eritrean decent. Conny Rijken is lawyer and a specialist in trafficking in human beings at Tilburg University. Guest author, Erik Borgman, is Professor of Systematic Theology at Tilburg University.