Sam’s
father told the USAID mission that trafficking children to and from
Mali is a common problem. The problem, however, is far more widespread
and involves a number of countries in the region, including Sierra
Leone, Cote d’Ivoire and Liberia, as well as Guinea and Mali.
In
order to fight this scourge, USAID launched in 2006 a project implemented
by the NGO “Save the Children”, to raise awareness in
Guinea’s communities about the dangers and prevalence of trafficking
in persons. So far, the results are encouraging.
Children trafficked in the Mano River regions are generally between
seven and 10 years old. Some are taken from Upper Guinea and sent
to Cote d’Ivoire to work as agricultural laborers in rice
and peanuts production. The work involves intense labor for 12-hours
a day, for which they are paid only two dollars.
There
are also cases of Guinean children being brought to Mali by religious
teachers who promised their parents to teach them the Koran. Instead,
the children are forced to sell or beg in the streets. Others are
exploited in gold and diamonds mines in Sierra Leone and Guinea.
Girls are trafficked mainly for domestic work and sexual exploitation.
“Children
are stolen for many reasons,” says a local official from Kankan,
Guinea’s second largest city. “In the diamonds mines,
children’s severed heads have been found in the ground because
local superstition claims they attract diamonds.”
It
is estimated that more than 100 children disappear from Guinea each
year.
The
USAID mission in Guinea aims to fight this problem by educating
villagers, communities, local authorities and security forces on
how to recognize and prevent trafficking.
Save the Children’s project targets 45 villages at the border
with Mali where at least three times a month they educate villagers
on preventing trafficking.
The
project aims to educate communities on trafficking and encourage
parents to monitor their children more closely, especially after
they start school. The project also encourages school authorities
to monitor who comes and goes, and to prosecute anyone who targets
the school for trafficking purposes.
Since
the project started in 45 villages along the Guinea-Mali border,
trafficking has diminished, and since 2008, 40 children have been
found by the police.
The police chief of Singuiri, Mr Djanka Keita says that since the
USAID project started, all the officers are aware of the problem
and are monitoring the border, ensuring that all children who cross
the border are accompanied by their parents.
Rural
radio also plays an important role in informing the community about
trafficking. As a result of radio broadcasts, funded by the USAID
through Save the Children, police stations are receiving more information
on trafficking from local populations.
In
addition to working with communities, Save the Children also supports
the passage and enforcement of laws that punish traffickers. As
a result, six communities along Guinea/Mali border this year have
drafted local laws that include a children’s code especially
designed to protect children from trafficking and exploitation.
In the village of Tatakourou, seven students have disappeared over
the past few years, according to local police. Since the launching
of the USAID program, however, six of the kids have been recovered.
