Submitted by crinadmin on
Summary: It is estimated that 12 percent of children in
Togo, West Africa are being removed from
their homes in rural areas and sent to work for
little or no pay. In a practice similar to slavery,
children are being trafficked to far-away cities
and across Togo’s borders. Nowadays the
traffickers are just as likely to be family
friends or relatives.In a new report, published to mark International Day of Missing Children
on 25 May, Plan says that children and young people are falling prey to
traffickers because of lack of education and employment opportunities. The
children recruited – with or without parental consent – leave their homes
in the hope of making enough money to support their families, continue
their education or just to buy basic material goods.
The forty-page study, For the price of a bike, also says that high rates of
poverty, cultural factors, as well as the traditional custom of Togolese
families sending children to live with aunts, cousins or other relatives, is
exploited by traffickers – leading to a rapid increase in the numbers of
children involved.
Plan is calling on policy-makers to strengthen legal frameworks and
policies for child protection. The organisation also says that individuals,
communities and international development institutions can take action by
increasing awareness of trafficking at a local and national level.
Tom Miller, Chief Executive Officer of Plan says:
"Many of the children in Togo grow up in such extreme poverty that they
are lured into the hands of traffickers by little more than the promise of a
new bike or the chance to go to school."
"Parents who have never had any money or schooling are easily
persuaded when someone they think they know and trust promises a
better future for their child. Children who have dropped out of school and
come from rural areas are particularly vulnerable."
A study by WAO-Africa estimated that more than 300,000 Togolese
children between the age of five and 15 are sent to work in foreign
countries or distant cities. Relatives involved in child labour scams typically
live abroad or in a far-off city. They normally offer children the hope or
better living conditions, and education, training or employment
opportunities if they join the relative in their adopted country or city. But
as soon as they have a child in their custody they put them to work as an
unpaid – or at best extremely low paid – domestic or agricultural labourer
or else pass them onto racketeers in return for a generous commission.
The most common foreign destinations are Benin, Nigeria, Gabon, Liberia,
Ivory Coast, Cameroon, and Burkina Faso.
Plan's study found that the children of poor subsistence farmers, farm
labourers or small-scale traders are the trafficker's most easy prey. It also
found three times more girls than boys had been trafficked and illiterate or
very poorly educated parents are the most likely to be persuaded to send
their children away from home.
In a region where 55 per cent of children born annually are not registered
at birth, the absence of formal identification systems has led to
sophisticated networks for trafficking children. The issuance of birth
certificates can play an important role in a strategy to prevent child
trafficking. For instance, legally recognised forms of identification can
strengthen the capability of the police to monitor and control national
borders. A child with a birth certificate also has the opportunity to pass
school exams, thus less likely to drop out of school and become vulnerable
to trafficking. Last year a Plan-led birth registration campaign helped more
than 30,000 Togolese children to get birth certificates.
Many children do return home having been trafficked, however, most have
received little or no reward for their long hours of hard labour. The study
also found that most of the trafficked children came home traumatized and
unhappy, often exhibiting anti-social behaviour. Two thirds were found to
be in a 'deplorable state', being underweight, and sick. The report says
that many return having been infected with HIV/AIDS as a result of sexual
abuse.
Stefanie Conrad, Country Director of Plan Togo says:
"Plan not only calls for the abolition of child slavery, we are also supporting
children who have already been trafficked. Children who are intercepted or
returned often have nowhere to turn to for help. The staff at the few
transit centres and shelters that do exist often lack the qualifications and
experience to deal with these vulnerable children. Where there is no
temporary shelter available, many children are held in jails on their journey
home."
"It is common for children who have been returned home to be trafficked
again due to lack of other opportunities at village level. There has been no
support for children left traumatised and in of need psycho-social support.
Plan is now working to provide this type of essential support."
Plan is working to combat child trafficking in Togo through prevention,
advocacy and support. The organisation is:
- supporting a community-level program called Stop child slavery, which
has set up shelters and transit centres for intercepted and rescued
children
- assisting parents and children to understand the dangers and encourage
the government to review its policy on trafficking
- trying to prevent children from becoming vulnerable to trafficking by
encouraging birth registration for children who lack birth certificates and
promoting education for girls.
pdf: www.plan-international.org/pdfs/togoreport