HUMAN trafficking is a reality and it is happening locally, in our communities. This was the message from members of Umgeni Community Empowerment Centre (UCEC) at this month’s Bulwer Safety and Urban Regeneration Forum (BSURF) community meeting.
The message was well received by the residents present at the meeting, who were addressed by Thami Ntimbane and his team from UCEC.
Speaking to Berea Mail, Lynne Peters, a volunteer at UCEC, said Heather Rorick, chairperson of the BSURF, was a strong supporter of UCEC and organised for the group to speak at the meeting. She said residents had been shocked by what they had learnt about human trafficking happening in Durban.
“People need to understand this. You can’t turn a blind eye, it’s happening in your neighbourhoods, these are rich people living in affluent areas who are involved in this business,” she said.
Lynne explained that as a port city, Durban is surrounded by water, and it was exceptionally easy to traffic people overseas from the city. “It’s not only happening to people from poorer communities, it’s becoming a serious problem in Durban and the country,” she said.
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She said people needed to be more aware, especially on social media, like Facebook, where they post images of their children, along with their location.
“It’s so easy for perpetrators to see where your kids are, what school they go to and so on. It’s easy for them to pick a child and know their movements because of location services on our cellphones. Young women posting selfies on SnapChat along with their location are also at risk. Some people don’t know their phone comes with location tracking, and you need to turn this off,” she said.
“Human trafficking takes place in more affluent suburbs, and although people don’t hear too much about it, you can see the photos of missing children on the walls at police stations. The police are inundated with work, but we have approached SAPS and Metro Police to align with us and get more involved in this fight. It’s all about money, not human beings,” she said.
UCEC will be hosting a human trafficking awareness walk on 23 September and urge people to join them. They are also looking for sponsors. To get involved, contact the office on 031 824 7951 or Gloria on 073 114 8969.
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About Umgeni Community Empowerment Centre
THE Umgeni Community Empowerment Centre (UCEC) began in 2003 as a result of a soup kitchen which targeted a few schools and needy families. The group was thereafter confronted with the reality of many other overwhelming challenges that individuals and communities faced and sought sponsorship for food, clothing, shoes, blankets and mattresses to assist people who we found living in poverty-stricken communities.
UCEC is a non-profit and public benefit organisation that has as its primary focus the care, counselling and rehabilitation of orphaned, abused, or neglected children, marginalised communities, under-privileged families and individuals, victims of human trafficking, abused women, unemployed individuals, the destitute, commercial sex workers, persons afflicted with HIV/Aids and indigent persons over the age of 60.
UCEC’s mission is to play a vital role in the implementation of programmes aimed at empowering both individuals and communities to become self-sustainable and contributory citizens.
