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Child abduction is a serious issue in South Africa
One in five children go missing in South Africa.
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According to an IOL article, a child goes missing every five hours in South Africa.
Missing Children South Africa says that 77% of children that go missing are found, while 23% have not been found. Among these are Amahle Thabethe, Lunamandla Sithonga, Anothando Mhlobo, Desiree Reid, Boipelo Mesi, and Megan Michelle Fillies.
Amahle has been missing now for over a year, and her mother has not given up hope yet.
Also Read: What to do if your child goes missing
Boipelo Meso, a nine-year-old girl from Maokeng in Bloemfontein was kidnapped last week from the street where she was playing by an unidentified man. The man was wearing blue overalls and took Boipelo to the tuck shop and never came back.
This information was given by Boipelo’s young friends who cannot fully relay the information about the said man.
Missing Children South Africa’s national co-ordinator Bianca van Aswegen reported to IOL that the organisation has noted an increase in the cases that detail missing children over the years.
“Human trafficking is a broad spectrum. Yes, we do deal with human trafficking in South Africa, although I cannot comment on whether we are facing a crisis or not, I can confirm that South Africa is one of the countries that have a high number of human trafficking cases.”
Also Read: This is why you are seeing #SaveOurChildren on your feed
South African Police Services has implemented an Amber Alert in association with Facebook. Facebook creates an Amber Alert that is sent out to Facebook users within that location and who can also re-share the post in hopes that someone with information will come forward.
Also Read: VIDEO: Police, Facebook join forces to find missing kids
According to SAPS’ National spokesperson Colonel Brenda Muridili “this system allows for the activation of Facebook users who are geographically in the best position to assist the police if they notice a missing child flagged in an Amber Alert.”
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