‘There is no escape from that miserable life’

Abstract

There is a drawing in front of me done by a trafficked girl from Kosovo, Serbia, in 2003 the story is quite clear despite the simple stick-figure depictions. There are two very large people one a male standing aggressively, feet apart, gun tucked into armpit, and he's holding up a tiny girlfigure in his other hand as if to parade her in front of an audience. Her mouth is down-turned; fear is evident by the small lines drawn around her head as if she is shaking. At a table sits the other large, sexless figure. This figure is holding up a large bag in front of a gathering of many anonymous stick-figures. Behind the girl and the man, there are three other small girls. I know they're girls because of their hair and skirts and they, too, send a powerful message of fear. It is clear that this is a sale of children to the highest bidders, possibly for the sex industry or for forced labour. Did you think slavery was abolished two centuries ago? Think again. It is alive and flourishing, both here in South Africa and around the world. Indeed, trafficking in people, especially women and children, for prostitution and forced labour is one of the fastest growing arenas of international criminal activity. Worth an annual $19 billion globally, it is now the third highest illicit industry in the world, behind drug trafficking and arms trafficking (International Commission for Women of African Descent [ICWADI, 2004). As an active member of Amnesty International South Africa, I had only been peripherally aware of the global trade in women and children, and it was only after the organisation launched its 'Stop Violence Against Women' campaign in March 2004, coupled with an invitation to address the Dominican Sisters' Justice and Peace group in Durban, that some of the shocking facts about trafficking impacted on my consciousness. I realised that more research is needed if we are to best deal with this problem within our own country (Martens, 2005).