Zambia 'nexus' for human trafficking

LUSAKA 

By Francis Maingaila

The rising numbers of human trafficking victims intercepted in Zambia has put several relevant organizations on alert, with their representatives attributing the vicious phenomenon to the country's porous, poorly-policed borders.

"The geographical position Zambia shares – land, lake and riverine borders – with eight neighbors and numerous porous borders and immigration enforcement challenges make it a nexus… for human trafficking," Bernado Mariano, International Organization for Migration (IOM) regional director for southern Africa, told Anadolu Agency.

Mariano regretted the fact that many local youths, including refugees from troubled neighboring countries, are lured into Zambia in hopes of finding a better life – only to find themselves in the hands of unscrupulous traffickers.

Fred Mizembo, who had been abandoned by traffickers in a remote part of the country, is one such example.

"Apart from being financially exploited, there were a lot of problems we were going through," he told AA.

"Of them all, hunger was a big problem," added Mizembo.

"We were sleeping in trees for fear of being caught by wild animals."

Andrew Choga, head of the IOM's Zambia mission, said that in 2012 alone the number of trafficking cases being investigated had hit 500, while the prosecution of 50 trafficking suspects was still ongoing.

He cited many cases of children being lured by traffickers on promises of jobs with good pay or prospects with a major sporting clubs overseas – but when they get to the border, they find themselves in deep water.

"Regrettably, victims of human trafficking are coaxed or persuaded by offers of well-paying jobs, but upon reaching the final destination… they are transformed into sex and labor slaves," Choga told AA.

In recent weeks, 46 suspected victims of human trafficking were intercepted in Zambia. These included 11 Ethiopians, eight Bangladeshis, four Pakistanis, 11 Somalis and 12 Congolese.

A recent US State Department report named Zambia as a source country for men, women and children to be trafficked for forced labor and sex.

-Loopholes-

Immigration Department Public Relations Officer Namati Nshinka admitted that the country's boundaries were too vast to watch.

"The vast borders Zambia shares with its neighboring countries and insufficient [law enforcement] manpower creates a fertile ground for traffickers," Nshinka told AA.

The spokesman said Zambian authorities had increased patrols to curb human trafficking.

"But we are doing everything possible to curb the vice."

But it's not only the borders that have contributed to the spread of human trafficking in Zambia.

Besides poor information on the number of people being trafficked into the country and the inherently clandestine nature of the activity, the lack of deterrent legislations has also encouraged traffickers to ply their trade without fear of punishment.

Several local activists lamented that loopholes in the anti-trafficking law have allowed traffickers to either escape prosecution or only be convicted for other crimes, such as rape, abduction or fraud.

"Although the anti-trafficking act adopted by Zambia in 2008 criminalizes some forms of human trafficking, it requires the use of threat, force and intimidation, or other forms of coercion for a child to be considered a sex trafficking victim," said Choga, the head of the IOM's Zambia mission.

"Prosecutors are generally able to show transportation of a victim and sometimes able to prove recruitment, but often lack information on exploitation that may be planned for when a victim would arrive at the final destination," he added.

The UN protocol to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons defines trafficking as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons by improper means.

Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Secretary-General Sindiso Ngwenya said the failure of member states, including Zambia, to implement laws to combat human trafficking – coupled with a lack of statistics – had aggravated the problem.

"The invisibility of the human trafficking makes it difficult to allocate resources to fight," Ngwenya told AA, saying that despite increased human trafficking, accurate information on the extent of the trade remained elusive.

-Domestic trafficking –

Zambia's Human Rights Commission (HRC), for its part, warned that domestic trafficking was more alarming.

"Incidents of internal trafficking are higher than that of transnational trafficking, where children are trafficked for forced labor to perform forced menial tasks for low businesses," chairperson Pixie Yangailo told AA.

"Girls and young women are trafficked internally for forced labor prostitution at local bars and rest houses," she added.

"Some of these girls are as young as 13 years old and still attending free primary school," Yangailo said.

She cited cases of women and children being promised jobs as domestic helpers or salespeople before being forced into brothels or bars where they become victims of abuse.

The profiles of trafficking victims are often the same.

Most of them are young girls who did not finish school and who come from very poor families who expect them to help bring in income.

"The recruiters bribe the parents so that they can draw the children away," said the HRC chief.

"Afterwards, the parents don't learn about their children anymore, thinking that they're working in various jobs," she added.

englishnews@aa.com.tr