Zambia October 2006 |
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| Poverty causes child trafficking in Zambia, (Zambia Daily Mail, 2006-10-04):-Child trafficking is the recruitment, transportation, harbouring or receipt of children by means of threat or use of other forms of coercion, of abduction or deception to receive the consent of a person for exploitation such as sex work, sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery and other similar practices. Child trafficking can be seen as “modern slavery” and is a problem that Zambia currently faces, but has not been shown much light. It is an issue which many people in Zambia are not aware of, thus causing the problem to have far-reaching effects. Earlier this month, it was reported that a young girl was sold for K2million to traffickers by her uncles. This case made national television news, yet many people are still not aware of the scale of the child trafficking problem. Random interviews were conducted with two members of the public to assess how much they knew about child trafficking. One bus driver was confident that he was aware of the problem but when asked to explain he said, “The police are not fair to bus drivers.” He did not have an idea of what child trafficking is, instead he spoke of road traffic. Matthews Mwanza, a security guard, said he had heard of child trafficking and defined it as “stealing of someone’s child for prostitution or to be sold.” He, however, didn’t regard it as a major problem in Zambia because he had never heard of anyone in Zambia who had been trafficked. He considered trafficking to be a more international than national problem. Child trafficking has occurred in the past but the police found it difficult to identify the problem. Therefore, it has been difficult to have a record of statistics. In an interview, Peter Kanunka, the National Coordinator of the Zambia Victim Support Unit (VSU), said child trafficking can be attributed to poverty in Zambia. Many people are unemployed, living in poor conditions and cannot look after and educate their children. They constantly crave better lives for themselves and seek good Samaritans to come to their aid. Traffickers eye these people and approach them with various forms of coercion and promises. Mr. Kanunka added that the government realises that child trafficking in Zambia is a big problem and they are trying to curb the issue. “Unemployment, poverty and HIV/AIDS are some of the causes of child trafficking. It is very easy for the traffickers to get documentation that would permit the transportation of the children out of the country because they would have already been given consent from their parents and guardians. After arrival in the destination, usually South Africa and countries in Europe, the children have all their paperwork taken away from them and are subjected to sexual and physical abuse at the hands of traffickers. Often, the girls are told to work as commercial sex workers to pay the traffickers for the money used to transport them from their home countries. During their stay, the children experience pathetic living conditions and are likely to contract diseases. Families will lose a loved one and society will lose people who can greatly contribute to the country,” said Mr. Kanunka. “Most vulnerable of victims are girls who are taken to work as prostitutes while boys, though in less demand, are trafficked for labour. Moreover, children seeking education, luxurious lifestyles and those attracted to wealth are the main targets for traffickers and people should note that traffickers are found everywhere and sometimes could be related to victims or could be family members.” Mr. Kanunka said. Elizabeth Barnhart, a Migrant Health officer from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), explained that not having statistics is part of the problem. She said globally there about six hundred to eight hundred thousand cases and of those cases, about 50 percent are children. In Zambia it has been difficult to identify the trafficking of children and women therefore there are no statistics. “The first step a trafficker will take is the offer. This is where s/he will approach the victim with the offer of education, marriage or employment. The second step is transportation. The victim is taken away from their home environment. The victims are then at the mercy of the traffickers. The traffickers will then make the attempt to intimidate the victim, with violence, threat, exposure, so that he or she will not seek help. The final step is exploitation. There are various means of exploitation, such as being sold into marriage, prostitution, forced labour. The victims are then locked into a job situation and have no control of their lives from then on,” said Ms. Barnhart. Those who go to mines and farms are told they will receive their money at the end of the month or after a certain period. At the end of that period their employers will call the immigration officials and report them as illegal workers because they have no work permits. They are then deported. The victims have no civil rights in those countries. Ms. Barnhart explained the logistics of the trafficking networks. “In trafficking there is the source, the transit and then the destination. The destination is, of course, where the victims end up, where they are exploited. The source is where they come from, their home countries. Transit countries are countries where traffickers feel are safe to pass through in order to reach their final destinations. Zambia is considered a source country and a transit country. South Africa is a common destination for traffickers and Zambia is a transit site for Europe and especially Great Britain because of the lack of visa restrictions. People travelling from countries such as Zambia and South Africa have fewer restrictions and move freely to Great Britain because of its former colony status.” If someone offering a job opportunity approaches parents or young people they should ask certain questions about the job. “First of all do you need a passport? If they are told they do not need a passport they will obviously be smuggled out of the country. Secondly, do you need a visa to get into the country? If you do need the visa and the passport, you should get them yourself. Lastly, do you need a work permit? If not, you will be working in the country illegally. When out of the country it is important to keep your own documentation.” Ms. Barnhart said young people should be aware and cautious of trafficking because they have much to loose, especially time and effort. Young women loose more than just time and effort. They will loose their dignity and are likely to contract diseases such as STIs and be at risk of HIV if they enter the sex trade. She thinks that people want to believe there are good opportunities out there. Though some are genuine and true, parents should learn to differentiate between real and fake offers. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) should provide help such as that which IOM provides. Safe havens these are secretly located houses where victims are safe and protected from being re-trafficked. They provide accommodation for victims while they are waiting to be repatriated and also skills to help them make an income when they return to society. Most importantly, victims receive psychosocial counselling to help them deal with trauma of past events. Schools, churches and government should educate the public on trafficking. If strong legislation is not made more children will be trafficked out of the country. Trafficking affects children first. Through the trade, they could suffer sexual abuse, physical abuse and psychological abuse because of the trauma of being far from home and being exposed to the life under their perpetrators. Zambia will also suffer economic difficulties because she would have lost much of its future members of the work force. Another measure to be taken to tackle trafficking is that border police, immigration officials and the police should receive training to better identify this problem when they encounter it. People have to be aware of the consequences of being found working in a country illegally. Many who return are eventually in debt because they would have borrowed money to travel, they return with bad health and will suffer emotional damage because they would have gone through a traumatic experience. The nation should be aware that the trafficking industry is an industry worth millions and millions of dollars, and much more kwacha. It is worth so much that people are willing to risk their safety and lives to conduct this business. It is important to safeguard young lives and continue educating people on the dangers of trafficking. Everyone has a part to play in this, and everyone could be affected at any time. It’s time to try saving these young lives. The authors, aged 16 and 17, are members of the Children’s Press Bureau, a project under Youth Media, based in Lusaka. | |
South African Migration Project (SAMP) - Queen's University - http://www.queensu.ca/samp |