For The Future of Our Children, We Must Fight Human Trafficking

Every time I see a child, I see the future. Our future lies in the hands of our children and grandchildren and this is why as the CEO of USAIM for IOM, the U.S. non profit partner of the International Organization for Migration, I make the commitment to protect our children against all forms of exploitation.

As adults, our first priority should be to provide our youth with nurturing and education. We must ensure that our children grow in a safe and peaceful environment where they can blossom and make up plans for their future.

However, in a world tormented by protracted conflicts, wars and natural disasters, an increasing number of individuals, including children, are facing poverty and insecurity, making them a valuable resource for human traffickers.

When civilians live in an area afflicted by armed conflict, they face a loss of economic opportunities, a lack of access to justice, and decreased security. Aside from being susceptible to these vulnerabilities, women and children — most of them forcibly displaced — are particularly at risk of exploitation through human trafficking.

Per the Palermo Protocol, human trafficking is defined as the act of recruiting, harboring, transporting, providing, or obtaining a person for compelled labor or commercial sex acts through the use of force, fraud, or coercion. Worldwide, 28 percent all trafficking victims are children, according to an UNODC report. Children account for 62 percent in Sub-Saharan Africa and 64 percent in Central America and the Caribbean.

This is why, since 2007, USAIM for IOM has mobilized its resources — human and financial — to support the efforts of the IOM’s mission in Ghana to rescue children trafficked to work in the Lake Volta.

Several hundreds of children — some as young as 4 years old — are forced to perform a tiresome labor. Deprived of education and often malnourished, these trafficked children are also exposed to various injuries and health problems. This is not what childhood should be!

In partnership with the IOM’s mission in Ghana, USAIM for IOM was able to take back several of these children like Enyonam* to the classroom because this where she and other children belong to.

Enyonam was among 36 trafficked children rescued by IOM Ghana in 2008. Her mother, who was poor and struggled to take care of her children, gave her away to a fisherman at the age of 5. The fisherman promised her that Enyomam would be well looked after and would receive an education. It was a false promise. For over seven years, Enyonam was forced to work from dusk till dawn, casting and pulling nets, scaling, smoking and selling fish. Most days, she went to bed exhausted and hungry. Thanks to IOM Ghana and USAIM for IOM’s commitment to rescue her, she was able to be reunited with her mother and enrolled in school.

There is also the story of Simon and James who were rescued by IOM Ghana 11 years ago. Both are now teachers after they graduated from college last year. Like thousands of trafficked children in Ghana, they spent several years of their childhood exploited by fishermen in the Lake Volta.

These stories are the reason why we, together, have to keep fighting this crime. Together, we can turn these vulnerabilities into second chances and these tragic beginnings into bright futures.

As today marks the UN’s World Day against Trafficking in Persons, I want to renew USAIM for IOM’s commitment to stand against all forms of exploitation. Silence is not an option. We must speak out and raise our voices for all the victims who fear for their lives.

This is why, we will continue to raise awareness and ensure that everyone is well aware that no country is immune of human trafficking. As surprising as it may be, every single day, individuals are being trafficked around us without knowing it. The United States is not exempt. Although there are no agreed upon statics on the number of trafficking in persons in the U.S., the 2016 Global Slavery Index estimates that 57, 700 individuals — U.S. citizens and immigrants -are victims of modern slavery. In 2016, the National Human Trafficking Hotline, operated by Polaris, registered more than 26,700 calls and recorded 7572 cases of human trafficking.

Human trafficking is not a foreign topic but a reality that is also happening in front of our doors.

Additionally to the protection of victims and survivors of trafficking, we must also address the social and economic factors that drive this crime. Without addressing the root causes of the crime, our efforts might fall short.

The elimination of all forms of trafficking is and will remain one of our top priorities. USAIM for IOM will continue to support the UN Migration Agency, IOM, in order to give the victims of trafficking a second chance to rebuild their lives.

Human trafficking is a crime that neither you nor I wish to see happen. We must fight it for our children and the generations to come.

• The name was changed to protect her privacy