HUMAN trafficking has been labelled as the fastest growing criminal industry in the world.
In keeping with this shocking revelation, The Open Door Crisis Centre is on a mission to create awareness on this organised crime during this Human Trafficking Awareness Month.
ALSO READ: Beware of human trafficking – warns Hillcrest police
Social worker at Open Door Crisis Centre, Ayanda Sithole said human trafficking is real.
Sithole said many victims are lured with better employment opportunities, money and glorified lifestyles, only to end up being prostituted.
In her line of work, Sithole has dealt with many victims and one of her cases involved two Nigerian women who were fortunate to be rescued and returned to their families.
“Traffickers and recruiters tend to target people and areas where there is a high rate of poverty and unemployment. These women were approached by a man in Nigeria who promised them jobs in South Africa.
“He organised passports for them and the ladies were looking forward to a better life and being able to provide for their families only to find out that they were being taken to a brothel,” said Sithole.
Controlled by drugs
Sithole said the women were given drugs. “The victims don’t get paid as they are told that they need to pay back the money for transport and accommodation.
ALSO READ: Pinetown’s Open Door continues to care for abuse victims
“All means of communication are taken away from them and they were advised by other girls to just do as they were told,” said Sithole.
Sithole said the victims are controlled using drugs, rape, torture, beatings, isolation, debt bondage, blackmail, threats of death and violence to their families back home if they speak out or try to escape.
Because they are given drugs, Sithole said that become challenging for the women who are brought into their shelter.
“They do not cope, they become restless because of the craving. We do not have designated detox centres that we can take them to, that is one of our main challenges.
If the victims are fortunate to be rescued or escape they struggle with trust as most of the times they are lured by people that they look up to.
ALSO READ: Nearly trafficked: Pinetown woman describes rape and abduction ordeal
“They end up blaming themselves,” said Sithole.
Luckily for the Nigerian women, the police raided the place and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), working with the Social Development Department, was able to return them home.
The International Organisation for Migration is an intergovernmental organisation that provides services and advice concerning migration to governments and migrants, including internally displaced persons, refugees, and migrant workers.
Criminals hide behind false identity
Hillcrest SAPS communications officer, Captain Linzi Smith, said youngsters need to be careful of befriending strangers on social media.
“With modern technology today, criminals can hide behind any false identity and meet you in the safety of your bedroom, behind a screen on the computer,” said Smith.
She urged young people not to meet strangers from the internet alone.
Scammers, she warned, also use the internet and social media to find victims. She urged job seekers to conduct proper research before accepting any offers, especially when they seem ‘too good to be true’.
She added that adverts for lift clubs and roommates are also used to lure unsuspecting victims.
For more information on human trafficking or to report cases of human trafficking, the public can contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline on: 0800 222 777.
The Open Door Crisis Centre does talks at schools, clubs, women’s group and can be contacted via email: thora@opendoor.org.za or call 031 709 267.
Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting
Dear reader, As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19. Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za). At the time of going to press, the contents of this feature mirrored South Africa’s lockdown regulations.
Do you want to receive alerts regarding this and other Highway community news via Telegram? Send us a Telegram message (not an SMS) with your name and surname (ONLY) to 060 532 5409.
You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
PLEASE NOTE: If you have signed up for our news alerts you need to save the Telegram number as a contact to your phone, otherwise you will not receive our alerts.
Here’s where you can download Telegram on Android or Apple.
