This Tuesday Special Assignment tells the story of human beings bought and sold and tricked into slavery. A story about crime where victims are deceived, shipped far from safety and exploited. It’s the personal tragedy behind the crime of human trafficking in Southern Africa.
It’s also the story of the activists and organisations that help bring victims of trafficking to safety.
The International Organisation for Migration estimates that organised crime earns billions of dollars a year from cross border trafficking. The IOM operates in 120 countries around the world and aims to create awareness of the dangers of trafficking, so as to protect the innocent from this ugly trade. It also provides assistance to victims who have been rescued or have managed to run away.
But the IOM is not alone in providing help to those in need. Special Assignment met up with Vusi Ndakuya in Mpumalanga,
who quit journalism to work at a local children’s shelter. There he helps young girls to heal from the nightmare of being trafficked. He also works as a counter-trafficking officer, alerting community elders to the so-called maryanas, taxi drivers involved in the trade.
Dudu (not her real name) was the first child he got to work with. An old woman had abducted her from her family in Swaziland to Barbeton, locked her up and forced her to work as a virtual slave. 11-year-old Dudu managed to run away, and was then offered help by a stranger – who proceeded to rape her. She was finally rescued by the police and was taken to the shelter. She now attends school and is being helped to pursue a charge of rape.
Many trafficked children end up as domestic slaves. Others are forced into prostitution, after being lured to our big cities with promises of jobs. They’re made to take drugs and to hand over the money they make to the people who control them.
A lot of these girls are from neighbouring states, desperate for a better life. When they turn to the authorities for help, they are routinely treated as “ordinary” illegal immigrants. The IOM says that victims must be treated sensitively, that they have special needs following the immense trauma that they undergo, whether this is physical or psychological.
This moving account of the victims of trafficking and the devastating effects it has on them, is directed by award-winning producer Anna-Maria Lombard.
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