Child Trafficking in the Mother City (Published previously in the Weekend Argus)

Photo by Alexia Webster
Lured with promises of work and a new life in the big city, children as young as 13 are being poached from rural towns and brought to Cape Town to work on fruit and flower stalls. When they are not working, these children are virtual prisoners in a Wendy House in the back garden of their “employer”. Occasionally they are fed bread – if they are lucky - and are rarely paid. Most of them run away and, alone in a strange city, take to the streets like so many other poverty-stricken and uneducated youth. It sounds Dickensian at best, cruel and criminal at worst, yet the man accused of abducting them walked out of court a free man earlier this month after charges against him were dismissed.

Although the Children’s Bill signed by the President in 2006, is a progressive legislative tool that deals specifically with child labour and child trafficking, it will only come into effect next year, or possibly as late as 2009, leaving many children like these vulnerable to exploitation and abuse in the interim. A man known only to the children in question, as, “Boere” has, allegedly, been trafficking children from places like Upington and Mossel Bay to work at his fruit and flower since 2006. According to Sandra Morreira, Director of The Homestead and Chairperson of the Western Cape Street Children's Forum, a number of boys from upcountry have been released into their care claiming that “Boere” had promised them work but that they had run away because he did not pay them. One of the boys aged 14, from Mossel Bay, claimed that he ran away because he was being kept in the city against his will by “Boere” who had invited him for a weekend in Cape Town. Fortunately, his parents had reported him missing and the social worker at The Homestead managed to re-unite him with his family. “It’s because of us that those boys are now safely back with their parents”, says Morreira.

Earlier this month, “Boere” was arrested by Woodstock police and appeared in the Cape Town Magistrate Court for charges of abduction. In some instances, parents had given “Boere” their consent to bring the youth to Cape Town, so the charges were withdrawn and the case dismissed. Sandra Morreira is dismayed at the outcome and says, “He is now free to keep bringing in children who then end up on the street”. At the time of going press, the South African Police Services (SAPS) had not responded to questions regarding the case, despite a number of emails requesting them to do so. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) could not comment directly on the case or respond to the issue of why “Boere” was not charged with child labour. However, Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, Bronwyn Pithey indicated that the matter is being investigated and that the police docket will be re-opened.

To date, prosecutors at the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) have been unable to identify any cases prosecuted for trafficking specifically, and practical measures to address human trafficking have been limited despite research showing that it is occurring regularly in South Africa. According to the International Organisation of Migration (IOM), part of the problem is that the concept of trafficking is not widely understood or even regarded as an urgent problem. The absence of a specific trafficking offence within the legal system has also made it difficult to identify or track cases that may have included an element of trafficking, but were prosecuted under other laws. An IOM report suggests that due to a lack of statistics, some law enforcement officials have even gone so far as to deny that there is any human trafficking in South Africa. Patrick Solomons, Director of Molo Shongololo, an organisation that actively campaigns for children rights, says that because the current legislative framework does not deal with trafficking specifically, offenders can only be brought to book through legal action related to common law and statutory offences that are often committed in the course of trafficking. Solomon says, “There is very little protection against child trafficking besides charging [perpetrators] for offences such as kidnapping, sexual assault and child labour.”

According to the IOM, one of the main problems with relying on existing laws to prosecute offenders is that they do not adequately address the various elements that make up the distinct crime of trafficking such as sexual exploitation, fraudulent employment recruitment and the exploitation of migrant labour. What is equally problematic is that current legislation does not account for the all the individuals who participate, directly or indirectly, in the crime. For example, in the case of parents who consented to “Boere” taking their children to Cape Town, with the explicit purpose of working for him.

According to the Department of Labour, some of the worst instances of child labour occur where children are taken from rural households to work in urban areas. In many instances, as in the case of “Boere”, the children are offered no payment in return other than board and lodging. Some children are held captive by their employer and there have been reports of psychological and physical abuse. According to Sandra Morreira, although there is no evidence indicating that “Boere” had sexually or physical abused the boys, they had told her that “Boere” had kept them locked up in a Wendy-house in his garden in the evenings when they were not working and hardly provided much in the way of food except for some bread. She says, “These boys are extremely traumatised by the experience. It’s straight, disgusting exploitation.”

Although commercial sexual exploitation of children is being addressed in the Sexual Offences Bill, child slavery, forced labour and debt bondage, are not specifically designated as criminal offences with South Africa’s current legislation. Morreira welcomes the Children’s Bill and is confident that it will plug this loophole but she is concerned about what will happen to children in the year, or more, it may take for it to be implemented. “It can take a while before it can actually be promulgated and now people like him [Boere] is free to keep bringing in children who then end up on the street”, she says.

Article by Raffaella Delle Donne

Day 49: 12 January - Change Is Most Definitely Inevitable

Today I have been overwhelmed by change; or maybe more the concept of change...wait, let me back up…

In my first year of studies at U.C.T., I had this course called “Text in Context”. I remember having a discussion in one of the first days of class. We were all trying to wrap our heads around this concept of “texts in context”, and the professor seemed to be taking it to the next level of “deepness”. Of course as first year students, eager to impress, we were all trying to show how deep we could also think and express. I am sure we were real impressive. Anyways, I guess the general idea was that contexts can be changed by texts…or was it texts are changed by contexts? Ok, obviously it did not really stick with me, but that doesn’t really matter. The discussion that day in class got me thinking about “contexts” and how we (the texts) change them.

For instance, I thought about the place I would go every Tuesday and Thursday night, at that time, to do boxing training. It was actually a church hall in an old Methodist church. Some nights it was used for boxing, other nights Tai Kwan Do, some days it was used for yoga, Sundays it was used for “children’s church”, and other days it was used for NA meetings. The building didn’t ever change, but the context did depending on who was in it and what they were doing in it. A heroin addict who has been clean for three years knows it as a place of accountability and safety, a little boy knows it as a place where he draws different pictures and plays with clay while his parents are in church, and I know it as a place where I exercised until I worked up disgusting amounts of sweat and punched a punching bag until my knuckles bled. So the building never changed, but depending on what day of the week, the people actually changed the context of the meaning the building has.

Where am I going with this?

Ok, so back to today. I was just overwhelmed with change in all different ways. I had the opportunity to show a couple of American girls around Cape Town a bit today. I got to town early so I went to check my email. I went to the same internet café that I went to every day during my 16 days on the streets. It was really weird. The place was exactly the same. It looked the same. It smelled the same. It was the same temperature. I even sat at the same computer that I usually sat at. Everything was pretty much the same but it felt so different! I had changed. I was not dirty, or self conscious of my smell and worried that the other customers might complain, or desperately needing to make use of the toilet, or craving one of the Cokes that sat in the ice cold refrigerator but not able to buy it. I was showered, didn’t need the toilet, and had just drank a wonderful, expensive latte on the way to town. The place was the same but I had changed, which changed my experience of the place.

I met the two American girls, Blanca and Liz, and we drank some coffee and then went to Crippie. Again, it was the same building that I ate in for 16 days, every single morning. It was the same place that provided a very important meal in my daily schedule. And within it was the same stew that I loved so dear during those 16 days! I remember standing in line and looking at the stew being served to other people in front of me in the line and my mouth would water. So when I walked in today, many of the people excitedly greeted me and said, “Ryan! It’s stew!!”. I hadn’t eaten this morning, but knowing that I could easily obtain a meal elsewhere, the stew did not seem as appetizing as it did during the 16 days. That made me sad! Crippie had not changed, the stew had not changed (except I think they may have added some noodles), but I had…and it was weird!

I took Liz and Blanca around town a bit after that and then we decided to go out and visit Town Two, Khayelitsha (a community that I worked in for a few years). I already felt a bit of guilt in going out there because I had not visited in a LONG time! And of course, when I got there, what was I confronted with but…change. The kids all seemed three feet taller, my favorite spaza shop is going under because the owner is sick, and many of the kids that were in the programs we had running are now standing on the street corners and getting into trouble; one of them was arrested over the holiday season and he was one of our star boxers in our sports program just a few years ago! The community, as in structure, had not changed all that much; a little bit here in there. But the kids had, and I have too. It was kind of eerie. It was really sad to see some of the kids that had so much potential making absolutely nothing of their lives and just getting into trouble because of lack of support structures.

That is when I realized…

They are being changed by the “context” around them. And until that context sees serious change, it will continue to impact the youth in a negative way. It is unreasonable for us as adults to expect young people not to be changed by the context in which they find themselves in. But it is our responsibility to teach them how to interact with the different contexts, bringing positive change, when needed, both within the contexts and in they themselves.

I don’t know if this makes since. I questioned even writing this blog. It is kind of profound, but might not even be. It is late, and I have alot running through my head! I hope you managed to grasp some sort of concrete thought from this!

a sense of community we don't know...

one of the things that struck me during my time with ryan on the streets, was the sense of community that existed with the people that lived on the streets. there was a serious support of one another that is not so prevalent in our more affluent societies. Ryan told me how money and food that one would find oneself with would be shared, no matter how little there was to start with. the concept being, i have today, but who knows about tomorrow... of course there are some who do not share, and sooner or later, they will not be shared with either. i too experienced this one day, ryan's last day on the street: it was late in town and i had left my lights on and when i got to my car, my battery was dead. not a great moment. around the courner came the two biggest smiles you can see in the picture to the left. they were running from the police or something. when i explained the situation, they got completely involved - watching my car while i found someone with jumper leads, when that didn't work, pushing the car down the street; when that didn't work, waited while i called the AA; when my phone died, offered me their R3 so i could call and get some help; waited with me until the AA came...... they were the champions of champions. i had luckily gained access to their hearts in that moment and it moved me. especially when they offered me their money.... the community is strong on the street. we can all stand to learn from it x x x

Horrendous New Year!!

Shocking...that is the only word that can come to my mind right now after watching the video of Oscar Grant being shot in the back by a police officer, while he was being restrained by another. A young man, only 22 years old, was shot in the back when he was completely defenseless and was causing a danger to no one.

I had hoped to say more, but I think the video speaks for itself...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OJTa9F2O14

We have to bring an end to this type of police brutality!

my love for kids go beyond the streets

This boy is the image of me when i was in the streets,my first year and in him i see a great person his name is innocent and his mother is doing time in Pollsmoor.i last saw him on Christmas Eve only to see him still smiling and as witty as ever in a brand new year like this!wow he is just an amzing little boy who plays chess and can do nice photography work.

If we can allow a kid this age to be in the streets,how do we feel when we eat,when we sleep ,when we go out for fun?

I am still getting to know the boy better but i promise you i would like to make sure that this little angel gets a good life and live a normal life as much as he can.In him there is innocents,there is wonder,there is joy ,no pain like what i feel for i have been there and i wont,in my life time ,let a kid be in the streets.

its good that i have moved to Cape town and i will be able to work with everyone on this blog as much as we can to see to it that we care,we wanna see the kids living normal lives.

Day 41: 4 January - With My Own Two Hands

This blog might come across as controversial or maybe offensive to some. I personally do not believe that it has to, but I know that what I am about to type may question certain people’s beliefs a bit, and in so rub them the wrong way. My intentions are not to offend or irritate people, so if you find that this entry does in fact rub you the wrong way, I ask that you finish reading it, think about it a bit, and give the subject matter a little more thought; before you just cast it aside. And though this blog has a “spiritual” slant to it, I feel that it is relevant to people of all walks of life and faiths.

I guess it is important to start off by saying that I am a Christian. I have a strong faith in God that is a very important part of my life. Lately it seems I have been confronted with a certain “theme” over and over again; through conversations, observations, movies, music, and so on. Summing up or defining this “theme” in few words is difficult, but I guess the easiest way to describe it is I have noticed how people seem to put too much blame, and responsibility, on God when it comes to the negativity that they see in their life and in the world around them. Not only do they blame God for the bad that they see or experience, but they also put too much responsibility on Him to fix it.

Ok, now I guess that is the controversial part that I was talking about but hear me out. I think prayer is important. I think it is equally important to ask God for strength, hope, help, comfort, and whatever else you may need in life. But I also think that we are sometimes way to quick to look up and blame God for bad things happening, or good things not happening, when we have the power to change those things ourselves. An example would be a man that passed by a hungry, half-naked, shivering street child on a cold winter night. As the man passed the child he truly felt moved with emotion, outraged that a child would have to live in such a situation, and broken hearted thinking about the child.

The man immediately began to pray, “Dear God please help this child! He looks so hungry and cold. I pray that you would send someone across his path that could give him shelter, food and clothes! It is not fair for this child to live in this situation for another day…”. The man did not even question or consider that he most probably was that very person! That he himself possessed the ability and power to immediately change that child’s reality. But it is easier to ask God to do it. A few days later the man may pass the child again, and see that he is in the exact same predicament, and nothing has changed for the good. The man might then take out his anger, and even guilt, on God, “Oh God why do you not answer my prayers?! How can you let this child live under these circumstances?! Why?”. God is probably asking the man the same thing!

I know that example is kind of extreme, but I hope my point is clear. I was watching Bruce Almighty the other day when it came on television. For those of you that haven’t seen it, Bruce (played by Jim Carrey) basically questions God (played by Morgan Freeman) on how he “runs” things and God gives him the chance to do a better job if he thinks he can. At first Bruce is drunk with power, and he misuses it for his own selfish will. Then he begins granting every single prayer that every single person prays! Things begin to utterly spin out of control and total chaos ensues. When things are totally devastatingly terrible Bruce speaks with God. God then tells him, “That's your problem, Bruce. That's everybody's problem. You keep looking up… People want me to do everything for them. What they don't realize is that they have the power. You want to see a miracle? Be the miracle.” From that point on Bruce starts to make “right” the “wrongs” he had made.

He doesn’t use his divine supernatural powers to do so either! He merely uses his free will, power to choose, and, most importantly, power to ACT. So he gives the job back to the guy he stole it from by misusing his powers, he realizes he cannot put a spell on his girlfriend to make her not be mad at him and he has to work to earn her love back (after he really messed things up with her), and he does things as simple as getting out in traffic to help a guy whose car is broken down. This does not take the role of God completely out of the picture, but Bruce realized an important lesson: So many of the things that he complained about in life were merely “that way” because good people decided not to act, but by simply choosing to “act”, no matter how small the deed may be, true change can come and slowly solutions are found for the problems that cause grief. He realized not only that we are part of the problem, but that we can also be a part of the solution; we can BE the solution.

Now as I said, this does not take God out of the equation; at least not for me. I still look to Him for wisdom, strength, hope, guidance and the other things I need to assist me along the way. But I just realize that, for whatever reason, we live in a world where God chooses to work through people; people that have the gift of free will. And so when we see something we see something that we feel is not right, or someone that we feel needs help, or a situation where change should come, instead of asking God, “How can you let that happen?”, we should look to ourselves and as the same question, and see what is in our power and capacity to see needed change come. Like Gandhi said, “Be the change you want to see!”.

“I can change the world
With my own two hands
Make a better place
With my own two hands
Make a kinder place

I can make peace on earth
With my own two hands
And I can clean up the earth
With my own two hands
And I can reach out to you
With my own two hands”

(Ben Harper, With My Own Two Hands)

Day 38: 1 January - Happy New Year!

I hope you managed to sit back and take stock of 2008; remembering the good and bad, what can be taken into the new year and maybe what shouldn't, and being grateful for another year gone by. I hope that 2009 will be a wonderful year for you! I don't know what is up with this, seemingly new, trend of trying to sum up how the year will be with a little rhyme (e.g. 2008 is going to be great!), but whatever rhyme you come up with, i hope 2009 is...fine, time to shine, be my valentine, all mine, every night we dine, walking the line, building a shrine, divine, not like a Philistine, time to lay off the wine, swing from a vine, oh Clementine...um, yeah.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!! Have a stupendous 2009!!!!!!!