WARNING: this post is not for the faint of heart or young adults, some may find the content offensive. Admittedly, the topic is difficult - it has kept me up at night. It is the stuff nightmares and scary movies are made of...proceed at your own risk. Seriously.
I have posted many times about the problem of human trafficking, mostly in the context of Asia and Eastern Europe. You can read those posts here, here, here, here, and here.
Human trafficking is often tied to the sex trade. There is a documented correlation between the two.
Human trafficking can be clearly tied to forced labor...and has been for generations.
The business of trafficking in persons (TIP) in Africa takes on a completely new market demand. The drivers of the African market in persons has challenged everything I thought I knew about this issue. It has opened my eyes to a world outside my realm of experience. I am left clueless at how to respond. If there are any wise people out there who would like to provide advice - I am listening.
In Mozambique, the highest demand for humans is body parts. Often these body parts are harvested from living human beings as they are used in traditional witchcraft rituals and this method of harvesting is believed to be the most powerful. Thousands of children go missing for their organs, including their genitals (yes, even from women). I am not making this up, it is a documented reality. A shocking truth.
It may surprise you to learn that Mozambique is on the tier 2 watch list (T2W) for trafficking in persons. It is not a good rating. There is only one worse. The difference between T2W and tier 3 is whether or not the government is perceived to be making an effort to combat this social ill. Other T2W countries are Afghanistan, Russia, and Thailand.
Prosecution is high on the list of priorities for combating human trafficking in 2010. A recent case publicized in Mozambique made the news, not because of the gruesomeness of the event (it is gruesome), but rather because the perpetrators (one of them being the young man's uncle) received a penalty of 20 years for their actions (the difference in the tier rating). You can read a synopsis from the Associated Press here.
Since moving to Mozambique I have researched this topic and learned there is no internationally accepted definition of trafficking in body parts. There is no proven prevention strategy. There is little support for the survivors of these crimes and the prosecution rate is low. As with all human trafficking networks, they are vast and lucrative.
Once again I am confronted with a difficult issue and I do not know how to respond. What to do? I don't know. What is the right thing to do?
I have not talked about it before now because words escape me, yet I feel compelled to tell this story. This is my humble attempt to shine light in a dark corner of our world.
Sheri
Scary. There was several reports on BBC about Albino's being kidnapped and mutilated for body parts for witch dr's. Scary stuff. Where can one start to help combat all this?
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