Fight against child trafficking and exodus.

Source: Sidwaya, Burkina Faso

Crackdown to set an example

Child trafficking is a phenomenon that persists in spite of multiple many sided ways of fighting against it.  "Consat" echoes it in its latest issue.  Today, it lets those involved speak on the phenomenon.  They explain the causes, the consequences and suggest solutions to eradicate this modern time disease.

The actors concerned by the fight against child trafficking are unanimous on the fact that there must be a crackdown on traffickers and accomplice parents involved in the phenomenon.  If the financial aspect is the main cause for trafficking, it nonetheless remains that negative consequences are multiple.

The majority of girls retrieved from trafficking situation are placed in training centres.

Those last range from the girls’ death to prostitution to rapes and the fact that families are dislocated, loose there stability, their identity, thus endangering their future.  From Boucle du Mouhoun to the provinces of Houet as well as those of Soum, Lorum, Balé, child trafficking is a headache for parents, particularly for the head of the family.  In order to eradicate or at least diminish the phenomenon, UNICEF as set up, in some provinces, child trafficking vigilance and surveillance provincial committees.  In villages, relay units have been set in place.  Nonetheless, we must admit that those facilities are not working at their full capacity due to a lack of material and financial means to carry the fight efficiently.  Alongside this system a formula has been found to rehabilitate children retrieved from trafficking situation. 

Thus, training centres in weaving, sewing, embroidery and mechanics take in children to train them.  The problem is that after their training, for lack of follow up and/or financial means to undergo the activities, those children fall black in the daily humdrum and are ready to go back wandering elsewhere.  The Hauts-Bassins do not escape this reality.  According to Henry Magloire Palm, social worker at the provincial management of the Social Action and National Solidarity of Houet and member of the Provincial Child Trafficking Committee of Vigilance and Surveillance (CPVS), poverty, illiteracy and ignorance are the causes of that scourge.  "Many parents, because they cannot afford to support them, agree to let their children go into the unknown.  Under the pretext of giving them a religious education, they let them at the hands of marabous who then abuse them", says he.  Some sell iced water, others (girls mostly) serve as waiters in bars, and even worse, are led to prostitution by those traffickers.  Those last, because they gave money to the parents prior to getting the children think they are masters of their destiny.  What ever the cause of the trafficking, Mr. Palm thinks that nothing but regrettable consequences result for those children and society.  Those unfortunates are sexually exploited, raped, sent off to slavery, exposed to all kinds of diseases.  Living in the streets mostly, they have no education.  They take drugs, steal and then become irretrievable hoodlums.  In order to find a lasting solution to the problem, the social action and the CPVS suggest awareness, information, protection and penalties.  It is imperative: "There must be more awareness meetings, on the promotion of children rights.  At the Muslims community level, initiatives must be taken in order to differentiate between true Koranic masters and child traffickers.".  The social action also invites its partners to go all the way in the taking in charge of rescued children in order to allow them a true rehabilitation.

Boromo way

Furthermore it proposes that child trafficker and accomplice parents be punished the same way those guilty of excision are.  Moreover those in charge on Social Action would like to see round tables organized between many partners to debate frankly on the problem because, underlines Magloire Palm, fight against child trafficking must be a collective one.  Boromo's train station is the point of transit and the favourite spot for children who escaped from the traffic.

According to Balé’s provincial director of Social Action and National Solidarity, Bonzi Milogo Bertrant, solutions must be found to repress the child trafficking phenomenon.  He adds that it is equally urgent to diminish the station's harmful effects on children.  Because, according to him, many children, in school or not, remain at the station until undue hours.  Thus, "emphasis must be on awareness of parents, of children themselves and creating profit-making activities in the local environment".  And, strong-arm method is not excluded: "the practice must be severely penalized in order to deter the traffickers and their accomplices since, as long as people do not see traffickers judged and condemned, child trafficking will go on" stresses Mr. Bonzi.  Otherwise, he deplores the lethargy of the surveillance and vigilance Provincial Comity on child trafficking in the Balé.  Ever since it's been put up, this last one has not functioned for lack of means.  And states the Carriers union’s, committee of vigilance and surveillance of child trafficking, the train station is also pointed at.  Boromo's specificity is its train station, underline those responsible of this committee, Elo Teby and Ibrahim Kaba.  The committee’s president Elo Teby regrets that "school-age children strut about the station until 1 a.m.".  According to him his committee is well situated to fight against child trafficking, but it lacks the means.  "We have absolutely nothing to raise awareness.  We don't even have badges nor cards to identify ourselves as child trafficking supervisors so that some passengers refuse answering our questions", explains Mr. Kaba.  As far as the president of the volunteers’ Association for child's well-being (AVBE), Adama Sangaré, children of the street must be given shelter and be taken in hand.

At their own risk

Because they often are children victims of traffic or of the worst kinds of work.  To do so, his association hopes for supports in order to realize his house accommodation and training centre in welding, woodwork, basketwork... AVBE already as workshops ready to take them in.  For lack of means, it occasionally follows twenty street kids in Boromo providing them with food and medical care.  All of those fighting invite the population to denounce without hesitation the cases of child trafficking in the province of the Balé.  The players involved in the fight against trafficking often go about their activities risking their own lives.  Whether in Tierkou (5 km from Tchériba in the Mouhoun) or Dgiquel in the Soum, the comity of vigilance and surveillance of the trafficking committee's agents are subject to various threats from the traffickers.  Yanou Daba, member of Tierkou’s relay unit:” We often are threatened by the traffickers and the carriers who accuse us of putting a curb to their source of income."  In Dédougou, two festivities within the limits of their means work at reintegrating the children.  We're speaking about the handicraft centre managed by Mrs. Tuina who is a bare handed combatant and the Support Project against child trafficking (PACTE) headed by Camille Sawadogo.  At the handicraft centre we met some girls taken from a situation of trafficking and who today are proud of knowing how to sew, weave, embroider, read and write, etc. Kalou Nebon, Kansama Doumanié and Adjara Kanao blossom at the centre.  They were brought in by Dédougou Social Action in partnership with the centre's management.  But, in spite of her good will, Mrs. Tuina is faced with difficulties in order to meet various requests due to the fact that the parents can't manage to support the cost of the girls’ education.

Despite her good will, Mrs. Tuina director of Dédougou's Handicraft Centre lacks financial means for taking charge of rehabilitating the girls in trafficking situation.

In view of eradicating child trafficking the Integrated Program of Communication (PIC) will incessantly be launched in six regions.  This IPC will concern the regions of Nord, of Boucle du Mouhoun, of Cascades, of Centre Nord, of Sahel and of Est.  "It's an innovative strategy regrouping the relay units, the local radio stations and social action."  In any case, the attack results in positive effects in as far as everyone knows that child trafficking is banned.  Lorum's interim general director is positive on the fact that "must have awareness, more awareness, continuing awareness in order to control the phenomenon".  The combat must be merciless because to great evils must be applied major remedies.

Daouda Emile OUEDRAOGO
Boureima SANGA
Clarisse HEMA