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Addressing The Issue Of Child Labour And Child Trafficking In Africa

Over the years Africa has been a victim of child labour and trafficking, which undoubtedly is a major contributing factor to the plight of this great continent.

 

Most Africans, due to certain traditional values and misconceptions, believe that prohibiting "child labour" rather promotes laziness and disobedience in children. This mentality is so wrong and a complete stereotype which must be addressed with IMMEDIATE effect.

 

Children just like adults have rights to so many things and rights definitely comes with responsibilities. Raising children to be responsible does not mean overworking them and depriving them the joys of childhood.  Cleaning the house, doing the dishes and even learning to cook and wash. That is not child labour! They are household chores that will give these young ones the sense of responsibility. Forced or exploitative labour and simple chores or work for children are completely different. Hence Africans need to understand that not all work done by children is classified as child labour. Child trafficking and labour must be clearly differentiated from CHILD WORK.

 

Child labour refers to work that deprives children of their childhood, their potentials and dignity, and that is harmful to their physical, mental and emotional development. It involves intolerance abuse such as child slavery and child trafficking amongst others.

The International Labour Organization estimated that 215 million children between the ages of 5 and 17 years currently work under illegal and hazardous or extremely exploitative conditions and most of these children are Africans.

 

In 2002, a statistical research indicated that nearly half the chocolate produced in the United States was linked to cocoa beans harvested by child labourers in Cote D'Ivoire. Trafficking and child labour occurs  mostly in the Western part of Africa .In 2001,it was documented that a boat ferrying hundreds of trafficked girls being transported as slaves sank off the coast of Cameroon, killing nine of these girls.

 

Most of the victims are orphans and children from deprived homes with poor financial status. Being so desperate and anxious of making money to break the spell of poverty and suffering, these children are taken from various villages and towns across the continent and transported to other African countries. Some are even taken to other continents. Most of these children are lured with promises of huge benefits but at the end they are treated as slaves, working under harsh conditions. Some parents also trade their children to child traffickers to be used as child laborers and slaves, for just a meager amount of money due to financial constraints.

 

In an interview, certain young Togolese boys told the Human Rights Watch that they could not afford to pay their school fees and so agreed with some Nigerians to do agricultural work. According to them, they cleared bushes, planted seeds and plowed fields for up to THIRTEEN HOURS EVERY DAY. Getting beaten if they complained of fatigue. After two years of psychological, physical and emotional trauma, these young Togolese boys were given a BICYCLE EACH to ride back to Togo.

 

Child labour and trafficking in Africa has now gone to its extreme such that parents stop their children from schooling; and engage them in works which causes danger to their lives and also threatens the future of these innocent ones due to poverty and ignorance.

 

 Education of the public on the EFFECTS of this monstrous and barbaric activity should be encouraged. Child labour and trafficking especially, poses a great threat to our continent. In the name of poverty and hardships we are trading our Steve Jobs, our Bill Gates and our Dangotes to be exploited and misused in other nations. There is the need for various government and Human Rights agencies to formulate strong policies against child labour and child trafficking. This will help eradicate these social cankers from the African continent and safeguard the future of Africa. The youth and children are our future, let's protect them with all we have.

 

Long live Africa!

Long live SAF!

Ambassador ABEL

(One of SAF's writers).

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Nate Greate

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