The history of man is the history of class and class struggles. From time immemorial, human beings have always been taking advantage of one another through many tricks and lies to perpetually keep some people in servitude.
History will not forget so quickly the negative impact the slave trade had on humankind, specifically the black race. Able-bodied men and women were abducted and transported against their wishes to foreign lands to till their land in various plantations. Read more similar posts on our news page of the site.
Introduction
Locals were easily available to give their brothers and sisters up in exchange for as little and meaningless as mirrors and other foreign products.
Having successfully quenched the raging fire of the slave trade in the 19th century, the contemporary world is being faced with a more deadly act known as human trafficking.
Focus 1
Human trafficking is more deadly because of the adverse effects it has on us all. It is a modern form of slavery. It involves modern techniques in its operation, and the motives behind it are worrisome as the quest for material things keeps fueling its fire.
There seems to be no limit to its expansion. There is no better time for the Church to lead the advocacy against human trafficking, the way they mobilised against the slave trade, than now.
Focus 2
Disciples will learn about the evils of human trafficking and make efforts to discourage the practice. In human history, many believe the slave trade is the greatest inhumanity to man. Now that we are in the 21st century, what can you describe as the greatest crime against humanity?
One of the disturbing social vices of our time is human trafficking. It is a form of the slave trade and has been in practice for quite a long time. Human trafficking comes wrapped as an offer of employment, the promise of sponsoring people in schools, as well as the offer to be a well-paid maid.
Focus 3
The victims accept these offers without the knowledge of the reality of what is in it for them. Most of the victims are teenage girls who end up in prostitution.
Their masters or mistresses are paid directly by those who patronise them, and they are, in turn, given a pittance at the end of the month. Aside from prostitution, some others may be used for other economic reasons and must be condemned in their ramifications.
The Church’s discussion this week will help us understand this topic much better to be better armed on how to address it.
What is Human Trafficking?
Human trafficking is a term generated from two concepts: human and trafficking. A human being refers to a man, woman or a child. We are most times referred to as Homo sapiens because we are different and distinguished from other animals by our superior mental development.
Focus 1
In biblical terms, human beings are created in God’s likeness. We are made in the image of God to exercise dominion over all other creatures. Trafficking, which is taken from traffic, means transporting, going and coming of vehicles.
Connotatively, it, however, suggests concealing, buying and selling illicit items, most especially drugs or outlawed products.
Putting the two words together thus creates an endemic, a socio-economic challenge of no small measure, which needs urgent attention.
Focus 2
Article 3 (a) of the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons describes trafficking in persons as “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons.
It uses threat or use of force or other coercion, abduction, fraud or deception, abuse of power or the position of vulnerability or the giving or receiving of payment to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person for exploitation.
Focus 3
“According to Section 50 of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Law Enforcement and Administration Act 2003, trafficking includes all acts and attempted acts involved in the recruitment, and transportation within or across the Nigerian border.
Purchase, sale, transfer, receipt or harbouring of a person involving the use of deception, coercion or debt, and bondage to place or hold the person, whether for or not in involuntary servitude (domestic, sexual or reproductive) in forced or bonded labour or in slavery-like conditions.
From the definitions above, human trafficking is the recruitment of vulnerable people at a disadvantage for personal gain.”
The Nature of Human Trafficking
Human trafficking can be internal or external. Internal trafficking in persons occurs within the confines of a country.
It may be intrastate or interstate. Intrastate trafficking in persons occurs when young, vibrant, able-bodied men and women are enticed in urban areas from rural, agrarian societies.
These rural dwellers dream of visiting, living, and schooling in their state capital and the major cities around them.
Focus 1
Most times, they get stalled when they get there with no way out. Interstate trafficking in persons occurs when victims are moved outside of their states to other states where ready-made markets await them.
This is what is being witnessed in almost all the federations, where people are moved from one state to another in the name of looking for a better life. Many of these people are all over major cities, even in the Federal Capital Territory, trapped.
Focus 2
External forms of trafficking are worse. Trafficked individuals are lured into foreign countries. Many of these people, once trapped, have their international passports and other travel documents used to get them there seized by traffickers.
It makes their return difficult, if not impossible. Their only hope of freedom is when the authorities of their home countries are notified. It might prompt their rescue and eventual repatriation back to their countries, as done for some Nigerian ladies from Lebanon in
People Involved in Human Trafficking
Three (3) groups of people are mainly involved in human trafficking. These 3 sets are directly involved, though investigations might lead to other players since they operate as syndicates; they network their operations. These are;
1. Traffickers
These are the deadliest of the three. They, in connection with their agents, scout for cheap labour, vulnerable individuals, and the needy.
They lure them into(financial) challenges using tricks, sweet words, inducements, appeals and false promises of a better life elsewhere.
Focus 1
Traffickers get comfortable and dash out gifts to attract their network with other people of like minds, thus making their activities scary. They have local recruiters in villages and remote areas.
Their agenda is to take advantage of their victims to enrich themselves. They exploit others, take money from the end users to supply victims as cheap labourers and continue living in their deceitful lifestyle.
They are very diabolical in their quest to subdue their victims. They force their victims to take oaths to conceal their nefarious activities.
Victims: This is the most pitiable group of the three.
Focus 2
They are at the receiving end. They are the deceived and the vulnerable. Victims of human trafficking are mostly women, children and youths of active age.
Victims start by seeking help, dreaming of a better life outside of where they presently live. They look desperate to make exploits and want to try their luck elsewhere.
These attitudes and mindsets make them fall easily to the deceit of traffickers who promise a good life at a destination unknown to them.
Focus 3
They risk their lives on the advice of their ‘helpers’, the traffickers, swimming through the oceans, crossing the desert under the scorching sun, dehydrated and longing for death at times.
At their destination, they eventually turn out to be sex objects (mainly for sexual gratification) and cheap labour, with their rewards going to traffickers and their cronies.
2. End Users
This is the third party involved in human trafficking. They are the recipients of the trafficked individuals. They desire cheap labour and sexual gratification; thus, they pay little to traffickers to have them.
They engage the victims in agricultural activities on plantations, manufacturing companies, and domestic activities, among other odd jobs. They are also very machines. They aim to minimise cost, to maximise profit at their victims’ expense.
Many end users of these nefarious acts are the rich around us. They have these trafficked people in their homes as house girls, shop/store keepers, and worst still, none of these three groups is worth belonging to.
Traffickers are victims. Victims suffer untold hardship due to their desperation, quest for better lives maltreatment by the end users.
Conclusion
Trading in humans for forced labour, sexual slavery or commercial sexual exploitation seems to have become a normal practice. People are involved in this illicit trade both locally and internationally.
It is a network of criminality that involves the traffickers, the victims, as well as the end-users. This is why we must begin to educate our women and young people on the evil inherent in this transaction and the methods they use to lure people into it so that they can avoid being victims.
Besides, Christian youths must be encouraged to live godly lives, to be content with what they have and to follow laid down rules in achieving their travel desires.
There is a need to look before we leap because human trafficking is evil
Editors
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