Poverty, unemployment in Africa, major causes of migration among youth — Catholic Nun

A Nun of the Catholic Church has lamented that Africa has been bedeviled with a number of crises, including high levels of unemployment, poverty, hunger, corruption, political and economic instabilities.

“The quest for survival in the midst of these socio-political and economic crises have engendered high migration flow from one African State to another; from one African region to another, and from Africa to other continents,” said Sr. Monica Onwunali, OLA at a Human Trafficking Workshop in Accra.

It was organised by the Ghana Network of “Talitha Kum” known as Consecrated Persons Against Human Trafficking ( ConPAHT- Talitha Kum Ghana), coordinated by Sr. Olivia Umoh, DC, Director of Safe-Child Advocacy in Ghana’s Catholic Archdiocese of Kumasi.

“Talitha Kum” is an International Network of Consecrated Life Against Trafficking in Persons, working as a network to facilitate collaboration and interchange of information between Consecrated Men and Women in 94 countries.

Twenty-five Consecrated Catholic Men and Women and some lay collaborators attended the Workshop that is aimed at exploring effective collaboration and networking methods in stopping human trafficking in the West African sub-region.

Sr. Monica, who is one of the oldest members of “Talitha Kum” Networks from Nigeria, said, “Although human trafficking is common in different continents of the world, it is endemic in Africa, noting, “While some migration activities are legal, many others are carried out illegally.”

Criminals regularly deceive migrants and traffic them into a world of different dimensions of exploitation. Many African countries are still finding it very challenging to combat human trafficking due to ineffective policies and capacity, even where legislation is in place.

Dilating on the West African situation, Sr. Monica was of the opinion that “the drive for survival and for greener pastures has continued to force millions of West African young men and women to gamble with death in attempts to cross over to Europe and other parts of the world.”

“This quest to escape poverty, hunger, unemployment and insecurity, among other reasons, caused a major segment of the population to seek alternatives for better livelihood prospects for themselves and their families," she said.

According to her, in West Africa, human trafficking is of two dimensions - internal and external trafficking, noting a country could serve as origin (source), transit and destination for trafficking operations.

“Trafficking features in West Africa is complex, so are its routes. Countries like Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon and Senegal are source, transit, and destination countries for trafficked women and children,” she emphasised.

She averred “Trafficking of young girls from rural areas in countries such as Mali, Benin, Burkina Faso, Togo, and Ghana to work in Cocoa plantations in Urban Cote D’Ivoire.,” and added, “Trafficking from and through eastern Nigeria to Gabon have increased in recent years.”

The Nigerian Nun opined that Libya and its neighbours in the North African region are major exit points for West African migrants journeying to Europe, stressing that “The illegal migrants prefer to travel via the Mediterranean Sea to avoid being caught by security operatives.”

On trafficking of women from West Africa to the European countries for sexual exploitation, Sr. Monica noted that it shows “the existence of organized crime groups from West Africa highly networked which embrace exploiters, facilitators, trafficked women handed over to the forced prostitution market, money launderers, and persons involved in the forging of travel documents and Visas.”

“After being recruited in their home countries, the victims are trafficked to Europe and sent to work in brothels or in the street with forged identity documents,” she stated.

According to the OLA Sister, “traffickers use voodoo rituals, which are commonly practiced in West Africa, as an effective means of exerting pressure on their victims, to intimidate them, and ensure obedience.”

This practice, she pointed out enables the perpetrators to make the exploited women paying off their debts (which can be up to 60,000 Euros) incurred as a result of their trafficking to Europe.

“Trafficked Africans transiting through Libya face insecurity, extortion and inhumane treatment meted out by their slave masters, she said, stating: “According to International Organization for Migration (IOM), the trade in human beings, mostly of West African descent, has become like every other regular business where people are being traded in public like goods, as was the case during the Trans-Atlantic slave trade (Modern Day Slavery).”

Touching on “Collaboration and Networking”, Sr. Philomena Okwu of the Daughters of Charity (DC), Nigeria, told the participants that networking results in long lasting professional relationships and helps build brand.

“Having a brand is what makes you stand out from the competition, attracts clients and get noticed,” she indicated, “as you start networking, you start discovering different facets of your brand that connect with people.”

According to Sr. Okwu, who is the Co-ordinator of the Committee for the Support of the Dignity of Women (COSUDOW) in Nigeria, through networking, the “Talitha Kum” members can develop a sense of comradeship, worthiness of purpose by connecting with individuals who share in the same passion.

“Networking helps you craft your story to use in your daily communication and social channels,” she added.

On his part, Ghanaian Spiritan Priest, Fr. Richard Acheampong said Catholic Social Teachings proclaims the dignity of human person, noting, “Every person is precious, people are more important than possessions, and the measure of every institution is whether it threatens or enhances the life and dignity of the human person, because every life is a gift from God and it is sacred.”

Human life, he stated, therefore deserves to be protected and natured, adding, “we each have a responsibility to fight against violation and degradation of our brothers and sisters.”

Sr. Prof. Frances Emily Owusu-Ansah, FST, an Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology at the Department of Behavioural Sciences of the School of Medicine and Dentistry at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), said “We should always be more interested in promoting people’s growth or creating a climate that helps them change.”

Nigerian Jesuit Priest, Cornelius Apili said, “Human trafficking is rooted in the reality of poverty and the pervasive desire for poor people to migrate in search for better livelihood within and outside the region.”

“We must join our voices together in advocating for a change of mindset for our leaders,” he said, asking, “In as much as governments, religious institutions, NGOs, concerned agencies, and individual are making efforts in combatting TIPs, on the other hand, how genuine are these efforts?"

He averred, “Government at all levels must wake up to the reality of human trafficking at the domestic level and across borders.”

Addressing the members of the networks from Ghana, Nigeria and Burkina Faso, Sr. Olivia Umoh, who is Coordinator of “Talitha Kum” Ghana Network, said the Workshop was to raise awareness on the menace of trafficking of persons and how it is destroying human lives.

She expressed optimism that the zeal and commitment exhibited at the Worship would bear fruits, saying that “it is believed that for effective collaboration, the networks need to appreciate their diversities and differences.”

She said the exploration on management of Diversity and Conflict was necessary to help network members to learn skills to manage personal conflicts positively and to help victims or survival of human trafficking manage their conflicts in ways that would be liberating.

“I expect that at the end of the Workshop, the participants from the West African Region of Ghana, Nigeria and Burkina Faso Region will see the need to effectively collaborate through networking and communication,” Sr. Olivia added.

At the end of the 5-day Workshop resolved to collectively work hard and together to strengthen their individual country networks as well improve intra- network communications and inter- network communication.

In their seven-point Action Plan, the participants resolved to show commitment in communicating to the Conference of Major Superiors in their various countries as well as “hold regular online prayer sessions to pray for an end to human trafficking.”

According to them, they were very ready to hold online network meetings of the “Talitha Kum African network, mark with common activities International Days related to human trafficking and continue to network in responding to cases of human trafficking across the countries."