Poverty, unemployment drive surge in human trafficking

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…the Internet remains a potent tool for human trafficking

Mpesi Harvester

The surge in human trafficking in Lesotho is due to the country’s high poverty rate, with high unemployment being the main cause of the phenomenon.

This is according to the experts interviewedSunday Express recentThey believe that marginalized Basotho people living in extreme poverty are most vulnerable to human trafficking as they are lured by any false job opportunities hoping to escape their impoverished conditions.

A case in point was the kidnapping of 19-year-old Reitumetse Phiri, who lived in Matokone, Maseru, last weekend.

She wanted to find odd jobs. So she made an ignorant post on Facebook, seeking odd jobs doing laundry and house cleaning, hoping to use the little money she made to ward off the hungry wolves.

Although Reitumetse’s post was innocent, it backfired when a trafficker entered her inbox using a fake account, promising her a job in Masowe (southwest of Maseru) to do some spring cleaning for M900.

Desperate for M900, she travelled to Masowe to meet the dealer. She even told her family that she had met with the dealer. But soon after, Retumetse’s phone became unreachable.

She is missing and her Facebook account has been deleted. Her family has posted many messages on Facebook asking for help in finding her.

It later emerged that Reitumetse had been kidnapped and forcibly taken to Teele Bridge in Quthing district where her captors were trying to smuggle her into neighbouring South Africa through an illegal river crossing.

The suspect was arrested on the evening of August 25, 2024 (Sunday) at Tele Border in Guting.

He allegedly left Reitumetse alone for a minute to test the temperature of the river so they could cross to the other side. It was this minute that saved Reitumetse’s life.

As soon as the kidnappers turned their heads, Retumetse ran away, crying for help. Fortunately, there were police patrolling the river to prevent illegal border crossings. They heard her cries and immediately rescued her. They also realized that Retumetse was the girl whose family had called the police the day before (Saturday). Her father also made several posts on Facebook asking for help in finding his daughter.

Retumets’s story is powerful. The country’s high unemployment and the resulting poverty are major causes of crimes such as human trafficking, stock theft and murder.

according to According to the African Development Bank Group, Lesotho’s unemployment rate is over 24.51%.

The report said the high poverty rate has made people desperate. As a result, they look for work so that they can provide for their families. Sadly, due to desperation, most Basotho people welcome any job opportunity.

This, in turn, makes them vulnerable to traffickers who take advantage of the situation and lure them with the pretense of offering them lucrative job opportunities.

Furthermore, the report states that young people are easy targets for trafficking as they spend much of their time on social media, where traffickers post advertisements for “high-paying jobs and scholarships.”

Speaking ofSunday Express Recently, Senior Inspector Matlotelo Mfola of the Lesotho Mounted Police Force’s Crime Prevention Unit said the victims were trafficked to South Africa, where they were sold into sexual slavery or prostitution.

“We have an unemployment crisis in our country and unemployment leads to poverty. This in turn makes our people vulnerable and therefore they can easily fall into traps,” said S/Ins Mphohla.

“Most of the time, the perpetrators lure their victims through social media platforms where they post job ads and lure them with high pay, but in reality, there are no job opportunities.

“They not only lure victims with job opportunities, but also offer scholarships to study abroad. They will say you have received a fully paid scholarship, including flights, accommodation and other things.”

According to S/Ins Mphohla, most of the victims were lured by their relatives who promised to provide them with jobs in South Africa because of their poor living conditions. After arriving in South Africa, the victims were forced into prostitution.

“Another thing is that Basotho/Lesotho nationals living in South Africa come to the country for recruitment work. They bring their victims, some of whom are their relatives,” he said.

“They take these girls and promise them jobs in South Africa, only to find out that they are being used as sex slaves. This is the worst crime. We have received numerous reports of victims being forced into prostitution.

“It is true that this phenomenon mainly occurs with women. But there are also male victims, about 5% of men, or even less. Most of the trafficked people are women between the ages of 16 and 40. This is because they want someone who is still sexually active.”

S/Ins Mphohla further suggested that in order to combat human trafficking, people should not “expect everyone to be employable”.

Instead, young people should earn their own living, which he noted “starts with them not hesitating to engage in agriculture or even become street vendors in order to survive”.

He again blamed Lesotho’s education system, saying it did not help young people think beyond their own limitations but instead encouraged them to “pin their hopes for a better future on employment”.

“Our people should not expect to be employed. Our education system only produces people who sit in offices and work. People should think outside the box,” he said.

“They have to build projects, especially in the agricultural sector. Yes, the government can provide jobs, but we need to be aggressive in agriculture. Agriculture is the most profitable sector even though most people are reluctant to get involved.

“Even setting up a street stall can earn money. Our education system portrays those doing street business as poor. It is just a perception. The fact is that people can make a decent living by trying their own business. But now our children are reluctant to explore other avenues. We need to create jobs.”

The Lesotho Federation of Women Lawyers also participated in the competition(FIDA)Anti-human trafficking project manager Lebohang Ntlele revealed that some children were even trafficked by their parents.

She said FIDA-Lesotho is currently working on a project calledLesotho fights human traffickingwhich aims to prevent human trafficking by raising awareness and training frontline personnel.

The project is currently running in Butabut, Maseru, Guthin and Mafiteng.

“Most of the cases we come across are not necessarily human trafficking, but kidnapping and abduction. In rare cases, you will see victims of human trafficking speaking up,” Ms Entler said.

“In cases where victims are found, they refuse to admit they have been trafficked. They are reluctant to talk about these issues.

“The reason is that most victims are trafficked by people they live with, cousins ​​or relatives. It is difficult for them to open up.”

She went on to say that they have realised that most Basotho people do not understand what human trafficking is and what elements it encompasses.

“People don’t understand or have enough knowledge about what human trafficking is. There’s still a lot of work to be done,” Ms Entler said.

According to Ms. Entler, the internet is a driving force in human trafficking because offenders use its powerful appeal to find victims.

“Most people don’t have jobs and poverty is the main reason. Most women don’t have jobs and they are the ones who take care of the children; therefore they become vulnerable and accept every job opportunity in South Africa,” she said.

“Young people are most likely to be victims because they are always using the internet. When the pandemic hit, most businesses started operating online and traffickers also started looking for victims online.

“They have a wide customer base. It’s their catalog and it’s not easy for law enforcement to find them, unlike in the past when traffickers preyed on victims in nightclubs.”

The theme of the 2024 World Day against Trafficking in Persons is “Fighting Human Trafficking, Leaving No Child Behind”, which highlights the importance of educating young people about human trafficking.

The United Nations also issued its own statement on this on July 26, noting that: “…children make up one-third of trafficking victims and suffer unspeakable abuses – they are either forced into labour, sold as brides, recruited as soldiers or forced into criminal activity.”

The United Nations continues to point out that growing inequality and globalization have given rise to complex trafficking networks, challenging traditional legal frameworks and creating new forms of slavery.

Meanwhile, a June 2024 U.S. report on human trafficking noted that young girls from Lesotho were trafficked to South Africa and forced into domestic and sex work.

“In Lesotho, traffickers exploit Basotho children, especially orphans, and force them into labor, domestic servitude, livestock herding, and sex work. Young girls are hired to do domestic work in exchange for food and lodging, making them vulnerable to forced labor and abuse.

“Basotho women and girls seeking work migrate to South Africa, where traffickers hold some in prison-like conditions and sex trade others, particularly in Welkom and Klerksdorp.

“Some parents send their children to South Africa as domestic workers where they are exploited and forced into labour. Basotho traffickers target factory workers in Maseru, offering them lucrative jobs in South Africa and force them to work in factories in Newcastle and Mandeni, South Africa.”