WAKE-UP CALL
What is happening right now in various African countries in terms of child trafficking
(ages 8 to 18), slavery, exploitation, institutionalized child abuse and neglect is horrendous. Some of
those children who are trafficked into this country are similarly subjected to various sorts of
exploitations as unpaid housemaids and servants, and are terribly abused and neglected by the traffickers who
do not really see anything wrong with it because "it is in the culture" of parts of Africa. Recently, there has been
an increase in the reported cases of child trafficking, slavery, maltreatment and exploitation
taking place in various parts of Africa. The young girls were mainly transported to various
countries in Europe for prostitution while the young boys were mainly transported to plantations in
various countries in Africa. Many can not survive the ordeal and do not live to get to their final
destinations. Those who do can not be accounted for. Many of the females who were eventually
rescued and repatriated from various countries in Europe are reported to be infected with HIV.
But unreported and unaddressed so far are a variety of deeply entrenched institutionalized systems of
human rights violations, especially child abuse and neglect in existence in various African countries.
Here in the United States there are numerous cases. Most of them are unreported cases of young African
girls that were trafficked into the country as slave maids (disguised by traffickers as their
relatives). They undergo all sorts of abuse and want to get out of their predicament but do
not know anywhere to run to for help. They are generally unaware that there are many support
systems in place in this country from which they could get help.
We intend to promote awareness of the various African governments to seriously address these issues by
legislating and promulgating necessary laws to stem this scourge. We will also advocate for effective enforcement
of these laws, as well as for seriously addressing poverty, illiteracy and establishment of
support services in the continent (Africa).
STATISTICS / NEED ASSESSMENT
The local and national governments in Africa, the United Nations agencies and other international aid agencies
operating in the region do not have exact statistics. However, according to the U.N. data, about 2,000,000 people are
trafficked globally each year; more than 200,000 children are trafficked in West and Central Africa alone annually and about
50,000 trafficked women and children land in the United States every year. According to Dr. Rima
Salah, UNICEF Regional Director for West and Central Africa, "Child trafficking is a complex reality
and trafficking networks are often informal and secretive in nature. This makes the identification of
networks and traffickers extremely difficult...It is a major challenge just to gather and interpret
data on the victims,...What we do know is that the scale of the problem is enormous..." (Source
of statistics: UNICEF, 2001).
The United States Department of State's Trafficking In Persons Report, released July 2001, has extensive
information on the phenomena in various African countries. The report clearly details the enormity of the problem and
the level of efforts by respective African governments at combating it. You may view the
U.S. State Dept.'s Trafficking In Persons Report.
