Source: Desperate Zimbos fall for human traffickers -Newsday Zimbabwe
DESPERATE Zimbabweans, fleeing the country’s economic challenges, are falling prey to human traffickers amid reports that locals have been lured to Myanmar.
According to the Centre for Human Trafficking (CHT), while the number of Zimbabwean victims remains unknown due to the discreet nature of the crime, the issue has become incremental recently.
Myanmar is a southeast Asian country where military forces allegedly target civilians with airstrikes, artillery bombardment and other forms of violence.
According to the United Nations Human Rights Council, the worsening situation since the military coup in 2021 has derailed Myanmar’s democratic transition and ignited widespread armed resistance.
The Zimbabwean diaspora consists of over 5 million people, residing in countries like South Africa, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada, driven by economic and political challenges bedevilling the country.
The CHT said it had noted growing cases of human trafficking in the Kachin Independence Organisation-controlled areas, including Myanmar, where many Zimbabweans were trafficked and exploited.
“The centre condemns these human rights abuses by traffickers and urges Zimbabweans to exercise due diligence, especially for work opportunities flighted,” the organisation said.
“The centre is committed to the empowerment of victims to ensure that no one is re-trafficked and for reintegration, restoration and the rebuilding of livelihoods through its survivor empowerment model,” the statement read.”
CHT commended joint efforts made by the government and partners in organising the safe return of the first group of trafficking survivors.
“We acknowledge the collaborative efforts involving the International Organisation for Migration, the government of Zimbabwe and various regional and local bodies for contributing to the repatriation of the first group of survivors and the Zimbabwean government for facilitating the return and reunification of victims,” it said.
CHT director Chamunogwa Nyoni told NewsDay that many Zimbabweans are being enticed by traffickers through deceitful job offers and promises of a better life in foreign countries.
“The numbers and dates on which this practice started are not known because of the illicit nature of the crime which makes it difficult to ascertain with the authorities,” he said.
He said human trafficking did not only affect Zimbabweans, but also people from other countries who have fallen victim to the same networks.
“Trafficking is not peculiar to Zimbabweans alone. Information at hands reflects that South Africans, Namibians, Indians and nationals from West African countries (Nigeria) comprise the other nationals,” he said.
Nyoni said the organisation was working closely with the government to combat human trafficking and assist the victims.
“We partner the government of Zimbabwe in anti-trafficking work and we complement government efforts. We are helping the victims based on the 5Rs which are rescue, rehabilitation, reintegration, raising awareness and rebuilding livelihoods.
“Human trafficking is real, no one is immune to this scourge and we need to collectively address it,” he said.
In 2022, the government was forced to intervene to rescue over 107 nationals stranded in Oman. The Zimbabweans were turned into slaves after being lured with mouth-watering salary packages.
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