As part of its efforts to address the rising incidences of human trafficking in the state, the Anambra State chapter of the Network Against Child Trafficking, Abuse and Labour, NACTAL, played a critical role on Wednesday, as the State Taskforce on Human Trafficking commenced a statewide sensitisation and awareness creation programme in schools.
The programme, which integrated inputs from relevant stakeholders, including the State Ministry of Justice, among others, commenced with a visit to Father Joseph Memorial High School and Little Angels School, both in the Aguleri community, Anambra East Council Area.
The programme witnessed interactions with young pupils and students on the forms of human trafficking and how they can protect themselves.
The idea, according to the State Coordinator of NACTAL, Miss Eucheria Onyemaobi, was to begin to break the culture of silence that has aided the crime of human trafficking and to empower the young people to be able to identify the gimmicks of traffickers.
Onyemaobi, who explained that the initiative to sensitize the young people was to expose them to the dangers associated with trafficking, also noted that desperate adults can also become victims of trafficking.
She advised the young people to develop stronger bonds with their parents and teachers, ensuring they communicate with them whenever they feel they are in situations they do not understand or where they are being taken advantage of.
“Exploiting, recruiting and harbouring for human trafficking thrives where there is a culture of silence, both from the victim and the families.Â
“So, it has become important that we catch these ones young, to equip them with the right knowledge to, first of all, be able to identify the tricks used by these traffickers, to resist them, and to speak up when for any reason, they find themselves in an exploitative environment.Â
“We also urge the children to be close to their parents and teachers, so that when anyone begins to tell them things they do not understand, they could relate the same to these adults, who would advise them accordingly,” she noted.
Onyemaobi noted that the NACTAL in Anambra State remains committed to its mandate of collaborating with other relevant stakeholders to rid the state of the scourge of human trafficking, which she noted, diminishes human dignity.
Citing cases the association had handled in the state, Onyemaobi noted that most victims never remain the same after such an experience, which is why they are intensifying efforts to educate the populace to be aware and not fall victim to such criminals.
Highlighting the theme of the campaign as “Human trafficking is Organized Crime – End the Exploitation”, Onyemaobi said if the various stakeholders commit to the fight, trafficking would soon be a thing of the past.
