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Human traffickers have established a strong network in the Horn of Africa to make money from people looking for a better life. (Reuters) |
NAIROBI - Human trafficking in the parched and bare Horn of Africa region is getting bolder every passing day as the region groans under the yoke of protracted conflicts, searing poverty and cyclic droughts.
"The rate of trafficking is very alarming," Mrs. Amina Kinsi, the coordinator of Ngazi Moja Foundation, an anti-trafficking lobby group in Easleigh, the hub of human trafficking in the Horn, told IslamOnline.net.
Thousands of young Somalis, Ethiopians and Eritrean are being smuggled out of their countries to chase the dream of better lives elsewhere.
"Many of them cannot face the searing poverty and conflict in their countries. They are smuggled out so that they can get out of this disarray."
War-ravaged Somalia, where militant groups are conducting daily attacks on the fragile authority of President Sheikh Sharif, stands out as the state worst affected in Africa.
"Many youth are abandoning their families in war-torn Somalia, simply vanishing into South Africa, often passing through a dangerous journey," says Kinsi.
Human traffickers have established a strong network to make money from many ambitious young people.
"Traffickers make millions of dollars by arranging and directing the journey to South Africa," estimates Abdi Abdikadir, an anti-trafficking activist in Nairobi.
The cheapest illegal migration goes well over 600 dollars while the most expensive costs more than 1,500 dollars for a journey to South Africa that sometimes takes several months.
Pressure groups have sharply criticized the role of security agents in Eastern African countries where trafficking is deeply entrenched.
They argue that security agents are colluding with smugglers, increasing the risk of the illegal trade.
Aid groups say the illegal business is an organized crime that is operating on a global scale, with an estimated trade value of 32 billion dollars a year.
In about 130 countries throughout the world, about 2.7 million people are trafficked at one point every year.
Abused Girls
In much of the countries in this region, human trafficking continues to be a lucrative business.
"In the Horn of African region, the situation is getting desperate for those who are smuggled like goods," says George Omondi, another anti-trafficking activist in Nairobi.
"The crime is on the increase every day."
According to a report recently released in Nairobi by the International Organization of Migration, (IOM), most victims of human trafficking are women and young girls.
Many of them are forced into prostitution and other forms of sexual exploitation.
"Girls are in great danger in this situation," an official with the IOM who counsels Somali refugees in Kenya, told IOL on condition of anonymity.
"I have recently dealt with the case of a teenage girl who was going to catch a bus to South Africa. She was gang raped on the way."
Fatma Issa (not her real name) made a failed journey to South Africa last year.
Now back in Kenya, she recalls her nightmarish experience with the human traffickers.
"They don’t care about the lives of the people they are trafficking," Issa, 29, told IOL in the heavily Somali-populated settlement of Easleigh in Nairobi.
"They care about how they can get more money, they are really thieves and every government should stand up against these guys," she said, physically moved by the memory.
Issa says the hellish journey is a chilling reminder and should be a lesson for others who are now preparing to take the same risk.
"It was an experience that I will never try again."
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