On Saturday October 19, thousands of people across the globe took to the streets to participate in A21’s 10th annual Walk For Freedom, and for the first time, East London supporters were able to participate.
A modest group of supporters braved the rainy weather and took to the streets to raise awareness for the anti-human trafficking cause. A21 is a global anti-human trafficking organisation dedicated to abolishing slavery worldwide.
A21 East London member JP Rosslee said human trafficking was an issue that did not receive enough coverage, which had sparked the need to participate in the global event.
“It has become more and more prevalent in the past couple of months how important it is to raise awareness as there have been so many reports of people being kidnapped in East London.
“We unfortunately turn a blind eye to it when it does not directly impact us, and that is the mindset that we want to change. We would love for people to see the urgency and seriousness of this matter.
“We would love for them to feel a bit more educated in spotting possible signs and be aware of how to help someone who could be in danger and possibly stop it before something serious could happen,” Roslee said.
The organisation was founded by Christine Caine, an international motivational speaker, in 2008, after she found that not enough was being done to raise awareness against human trafficking.
“Walk For Freedom is so much more than just a walk, it’s an educational journey and learning experience where participants and the public are equipped and made aware of the indicators of trafficking and where to report and provided with tools to keep themselves and their children safe.
“It’s a powerful way of spreading awareness, mobilising communities and encouraging individuals to become more proactive in reporting. Showing up matters because when we show up, it awakens something inside of us to make a difference and take action,” Caine said.
In East London, the forms of trafficking included “mail-order” brides, women being abducted from the main street, and active recruitment taking place in the down-town area and in some neighbourhoods.
The A21 website provides insight into some of the statistics of human trafficking globally.
There is an estimate of 49.6- million people enslaved throughout the world today. It has generated an estimate of $236bn (R4.1-trillion). One in every four victims are children.
In terms of gender, 55.5% of victims are women and girls and 44.5% of victims are men and boys. So far they have prosecuted 229 traffickers with a combined sentence of 3,867 years imprisonment.
According to a research paper on Human Trafficking in the Eastern Cape, conducted by Callings’ Major Ngwira, women and children are the biggest targets of human trafficking and modern slavery.
Girls and women of all races were trafficked, some from affluent families. Trafficked victims from the Eastern Cape were regarded as ‘cheap’ relative to those from other provinces. Traffickers categorised victims on the basis of race. African victims were most vulnerable and were sold at R2,500 each, coloured at R5,000 each, and whites at R7,000 each (2009 figures).
On average, traffickers owned between 5-15 victims for sex, and each victim was required to bring in between R1,500 and R5,000 per night.
However, victims received about R20 per day for food.
