OPINION | NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
SOUTH AFRICA: Zimbabwean migration camouflages human traffickers
MUSINA, 1 May 2009 (IRIN) - To the untrained eye, the human tide surging through the South African border town of Musina is just that: a mass of people leaving behind Zimbabwe's collapsed economy to seek job opportunities and a better life, or refuge in a neighbouring country.
Photo: Guy Oliver/IRIN Sebelo Sibanda, of Lawyers for Human Rights in Musina, with two children suspected of being trafficked
Sebelo Sibanda, of Lawyers for Human Rights in Musina, is a more acute observer; he sees changes taking place in a migration that is believed to number between one million and more than three million people.
"A trend started in the last two or three months, where you see more and more women coming in with groups of children - the children are too numerous and often too similar in age to be from one mother," he said.
The Zimbabwean migration, comprising asylum seekers fleeing political persecution, economic migrants from a shattered economy, traders, shoppers and unaccompanied minors, provides ample camouflage for human traffickers.
The border between South Africa and Zimbabwe is a fertile ground for criminal gangs. The "magumagumas" prey on migrants, robbing and raping them as they make their way to South Africa, while the "malaicha" arrange safe passage for migrants, but do not always keep to the contract.
Nde Ndifonka, the southern African spokesman for the International Organization for Migration, told IRIN: "The conditions are there. We believe there is a high incidence of human trafficking happening there [the South Africa-Zimbabwe border]".
Parents living in South Africa often pay a malaicha to bring children across the border, Sibanda said, and it was a "small step" to becoming a human trafficker.
Ndifonka said the malaicha were part of trafficking rings and targeted "specifically, vulnerable young children, as there is a demand for labour and sexual exploitation in South Africa".
In mid-April 2009, during a spot check, police found two unaccompanied minors - boys aged about four and five - in a car en route to Johannesburg. "The woman at first said they were her children, but when I interviewed the children separately they said they did not know who she was," Sibanda said.
The unseen crime 
"The woman then maintained that she was their mother's sister, but the children did not know who she was, but were told by her to call her 'aunty'. The woman then said she was taking them to meet their mother in Johannesburg, but the children said their mother was living in Cape Town."
The woman is expected to be charged with kidnapping or a lesser charge of smuggling, as South Africa has yet to adopt human trafficking legislation.
An international children's agency, which declined to be identified, fearing it might attract human traffickers to its offices, told IRIN it had begun trying to trace the children's relatives. The aid worker said people claiming to be the relatives or friends of parents had tried to lure children away from the shelter.
"Human trafficking is difficult to detect, as people are generally not aware they are being trafficked. We know it [human trafficking] is happening but cannot detect it," Jacob Matakanye, CEO of the Musina Legal Advice Centre, told IRIN.
"The only way to prevent trafficking is to educate people about it in the country of origin ... Zimbabwe is an ideal opportunity for traffickers, as it is next to South Africa [the continent's richest country]," he said.
The UN defines human trafficking as "The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability, or of the giving of or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person for the purpose of exploitation."
Human Trafficking
The issue of human trafficking does not only exist in Thailand. Human trafficking is being seen take place throughout the world. IRIN is a website which provides humanitarian news and analysis service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. This article "SOUTH AFRICA: Zimbabwean migration camouflages human traffickers" written by Guy Oliver provides deeper insight into the huge industry of human trafficking. Parallel to the problem with human trafficking of young children in Thailand, Zimbabwean is also a prime spot for children to become engulfed into the human trafficking industry. Zimbabwean is suffering economically and further promotes the vulnerability of young children as target group. There was a specific case in April 2009 where a women was caught by police during a spot check with two young boys who were not her children. The two young boys were four and five years old. Upon further inspection, the police discovered the woman had no direct correlation with the children at all. The police proceeded to charge the woman with kidnapping and/or perhaps smuggling. This may have or may not been a case of human trafficking but the evidence points towards intentions of trafficking these two young boys. South Africa is struggling to address this issue due to the fact that South Africa has yet to adopt a human trafficking legislation. It is also hard to tract down human trafficking, as seen in this case, due to the fact that many people try to play off the coy casually making up numerous excuses. Also, due to the fact that most human trafficking effects young children, many of the victims are not aware they are actually being sold. The United Nations defines human trafficking as, ""The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability, or of the giving of or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person for the purpose of exploitation." As the United Nations has defined human trafficking it also has implemented law protecting persons from experiencing trafficking. In the Universal Declaration of Human Rights article 4 states that, “no one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery an the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.” The situation in Zimbabwean that Guy Oliver has graciously made obvious to the public violates numerous human rights. Forcing or tricking children into human trafficking takes away their right to freedom, article 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, their right to life, article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and their right to adequate living circumstances, article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. These three human rights violations are only a few of the vast violations human trafficking produces. It is hard for authorities to punish violators of these human rights due to the scattered locations and plethora of victims. This article is another piece of evidence of the growing and dangerous industry of human trafficking.
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