Human Trafficking

We have been warned, leading up to the FIFA 2010 Soccer world cup, that children are at risk in South Africa and that children should not be allowed to go around in public places on their own.

I seems that events of this nature and scale provide lucrative platforms for insidious merchants to market their wares which include children and teenagers.

A typical mode of acquiring their 'marketable items' is to be in popular shopping centers watching all who come in and are wandering around.  They identify and monitor potential targets to ensure that they are not with anybody who is nearby.  When they strike the walk up to their prey with an injection concealed in a hand and bump lightly against the shoulder of their prey injecting the contents of the syringe as they do it.  A few short second is all it takes and the injected person collapses.  The hunter quickly comes to the aid of the unconscious person picking him or her up and shouting 'my child is ill and has to get to the hospital!'.  They rush out of the center carrying their prey and get into a car that is parked nearby.  The child or teenager is never seen again.

A young girl's price is said to be as high as R39,000.00.

I am disgusted by the actions of these and other people.  In today's fast moving, automated society where everyone sees to self with little regard for others particularly people not known to them, these crimes are easily perpetrated and executed knowing that there is little chance of being challenged or intercepted.  It is a harsh reminder that we do not really stand together and we hate to get involved with other's problems.  In a way I can understand that because our society often punishes well meaning people so everyone feels to not get involved.

It is also a poor reflection on human kind that such inhumane acts become an expected part of any great event such as these international sports events are.

I am glad there are organisations that are set up to monitor human trafficking and who work to prevent it from happening, but in today's high tech society I am sure that they only get to see a small percentage of what is really going on.

The radio today reported on another form of human trafficking.

Street beggars that are found at many intersections of the road of Johannesburg and Pretoria are hiring babies from irresponsible 'mothers' for the day.  They pay the mother a paltry R20.00 and they take the child, strapped onto their backs in the traditional way, and spend the whole day, in the sun, getting donations from motorists.  Drivers feel more compassionate to a person begging with a child and so they are more included to give and give larger amounts.  The beggar who hires the baby has no personal responsibility to the child.  If the child cries, even better, more sympathy; but the child gets nothing.  Babies end up being deformed, malnourished and ill with disease but are given no care.  They are returned to the 'mother' at the end of the day.

And the end of the day the beggar has benefited from higher donations; the mother has benefited from the hire fee; the baby has had no benefit at all and will most likely become another beggar or street child in later years due to the lack of care and attention and worthwhile social engagement.

This trafficking should be stopped and I am sure it can be prevented far easier than other forms of trafficking. Begging of this nature should be illegal particularly on busy street corners with an infant.