Mercedes D. Carter-Cone
LocalOzarks News Group Member

When she was fifteen, Lucie was sent from Benin to Poto-Poto, Republic of the Congo by her parents to live with her aunt. When interviewed in 2008, she told a United Nations‘ humanitarian project:

“My parents handed me over to an aunt a year ago. During the day I am here in the marketplace [selling food on the streets, sweeping the house, washing clothes or doing the dishes and taking care of the children]. In the evenings I sell cake on the main road. If I complain about being tired or having a headache, I am accused of being lazy or stupid. Sometimes they hit me. I’ve realized I am not like the other children in the house. I am a slave.”

Lucie’s story is not uncommon; she is 1 out of 200,000 children in west and central Africa that are trafficked every year, which only 0.1% of the estimated 200 million trafficked globally. Although efforts have been taken to end the epidemic of child trafficking, both by the Republic of the Congo government and by the international community, they still reveal themselves as minimal; demonstrating the need to take further and more direct action. Within this article, I will discuss what child trafficking is, how it connects with other issues in the Republic of the Congo, and the solutions that must be taken in order to kill this disease globally.

The United Nations defines human trafficking as, “…the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuses of power or of a position of vulnerability.” The book Held Together by Pins: Liberal Democracy Under Siege in Africa, demonstrates a singular part of this definition, stating that, “Child trafficking typically begins with a private arrangement between a trafficker and a family member, driven by the family economic plight and the trafficker’s desire for profit and cheap labor.” Once parents sell their child they are placed in a life of domestic work and a loss of freewill, rather than that of greater opportunities, as the parents are given to believe. Lucie’s moving was, like many cases, most likely due to her parent’s inability to provide for the entire household and/or collateral for any variety of payment. Other causes include the divorce or death of a parent, HIV/AIDS, genocide, and other symptoms of poverty.

Being the third largest illegal market in the world, child trafficking produces $7 to $10 billion annually for over 200 million enslaved children. These children, ages 5 and up, are forced into prostitution/pornography, seasonal labor, crime/petty theft, mining, child soldiers, and more. According to UNICEF, “Suspected child trafficking activities have been identified in Benin, Ghana, Nigeria, Togo, Mali, Mauritania, and Burkina Faso. These networks feed the domestic labour market in the main urban centers of countries like Côte d’lvoire, Gabon, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, and the Congo.”

Many, if not all of these child workers are trapped within this system due to not only their initial debt, but as well the need to pay for food, water, possible children, and other necessities. Thus, they become stuck with “constantly accumulating debts that are virtually impossible to repay.” Living in intricate circumstances these children must work for 15 or 16 hours per day, while enduring physical and psychological abuse, lack of sleep and food, and frequently may be beaten or wounded. A greater means to an end must be found.

Research shows that child trafficking has become negatively associated with the border patrols and other law enforcement agents, due to “blind-eye” bribes, most notably along the border of Benin and Gabon. It is actions like these that must be prevented by finding solutions to the epidemic. The most effective would be to improve poverty; including the number of jobs available, education, health care, fair trade, etc; along with decreasing their exposure to alcoholism and drug abuse that could fuel these as well.

As was stated in the introduction, there have been little efforts taken by the Republic of Congo government and such organizations as the United Nations. In 1996, the first World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation took place in Stockholm, Sweden, where:

“Togo developed a National Plan to Fight Against Child Labor and Child Trafficking, calling for the creation of a database on traffickers; improved legislation to protect children; exchanges of information on trafficking with Benin, Ghana, and Burkina Faso; improved cooperation among police, customs, and immigration officers; improved educational opportunities for girls and street children; awareness-raising campaigns; and the rehabilitation and reintegration of trafficked children.” 


Although this plan seems plausible, and similar to reports distributed through the United Nations and a variety of aid networks, this and other plans have barely been placed into effect since they were first initiated. This partially is due to their inability to provide the required control over private arrangements and underground trafficking, along with lack of funds and required resources. The issues within this are just as connected with the social and economic conditions that greatly affect the problems they supposedly are attempting to dispose of.

However, this still is no excuse. It has been 14 years since Togo’s National Plan was brought about, and yet the situation has only worsened. “The Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so.” Instead, NGOs involved have provided virtually all of the protection of shelter, legal, health care, and mental/emotional services available to trafficking victims.

Similarly, “The Ministry of Human Rights drafted, but did not disseminate, a document on the country’s current trafficking situation, including challenges to addressing it and recommendations for action.” This has included the lack of internal investigation within the government, all of which demonstrates that actions do speak louder than words, especially when there are scarcely any words to follow.

These minimal to non-existing efforts must be replaced by overall solutions. Besides tackling the issues that have influenced the problem of child trafficking, we must also focus on what actions we can take in order to take control of it until then. Not only must there be a “reduction of national and regional poverty, the strengthening of legislative framework and increasing judicial penalties for traffickers,” but children must be taught to read and write to improve social and professional skills provided through free education until the minimum age of employment. This includes providing information of their rights, improved working conditions, fair trade practices, and replacing the children with unemployed adults.

Lucie’s story may not be uncommon across the Republic of the Congo, or even the globe, but it does make her unique in her own right. It is children like her who desperately need help to stop and prevent these immoral human acts. The world has stood by the sidelines long enough, only to watch the disease of child trafficking become more apparent.State, national and world governments must take action through their already proposed plans to end this vicious circle; along with individual involvement by donating supplies, money, time and a voice to this cause. Harsh measures against child trafficking must be taken further into effect; education, food, community outreach, and better living conditions must be provided for these displaced children; fair trade must be taken advantage of in order to build schools, medical clinics, wells, etc; and underlying causes of child trafficking must be treated as well, including poverty, disease and unemployment.

We must give our compassion, not pity to those affected. For, “we are either making history or making excuses.