At the least 3,000 Cameroonian youths fleeing violence within the nation’s Anglophone areas have fallen sufferer to human trafficking networks and at the moment are trapped in Nigeria, in response to the Justice and Peace Fee of the Catholic Diocese of Kumbo.
The alarming determine was confirmed by Lukong Isidore Njodzeven, deputy diocesan coordinator for the Fee, who revealed the victims have been lured from the North West and South West areas.
“We labored carefully with a pastor in Nigeria and might affirm that round 3,000 Cameroonians from the Anglophone areas at the moment are trapped in Nigeria’s human trafficking ring.
“The disaster has created widespread displacement and deep poverty, and traffickers are taking full benefit,” Njodzeven advised Crux.
The humanitarian toll of the battle is devastating. UNICEF estimates that roughly 800,000 youngsters are out of college as a result of battle, making them extra susceptible to trafficking and exploitation.
Houses have been destroyed, households torn aside, and full communities destabilized, leaving many vulnerable to guarantees of security and prosperity overseas.
Njodzeven defined that traffickers typically current nations like Ghana, Togo, Burkina Faso, and Niger as perfect locations with job alternatives, particularly in booming sectors like gold mining. Determined households, clinging to hope, typically promote their land or belongings to fund the journey.
Nonetheless, victims typically find yourself in Nigeria as an alternative, the place they’re subjected to pressured labour, sexual exploitation, and different types of abuse.
“They’re promised a greater life however discover themselves in captivity. As soon as throughout the border, their passports and telephones are taken.
“Occasionally, traffickers permit them to name residence, however solely to ask for more cash below the guise that they’re okay,” Njodzeven mentioned.
The Worldwide Labour Group’s 2024 report highlights the size of the worldwide trafficking disaster, estimating that pressured industrial sexual exploitation alone generates $172.6 billion yearly.
The UN places the variety of folks in trendy slavery at 49.6 million, together with 12 million youngsters.
The United Nations Workplace on Medication and Crime (UNODC) provides that 17.3 million trafficking victims are exploited by non-public entities, 6.3 million are pressured into industrial intercourse work, and three.9 million are victims of pressured labor by state actors.
“These aren’t simply statistics. These are lives,” mentioned Yvonne Fonka, Gender-Based mostly Violence Focal Level on the Kumbo Diocese.
“Combating trafficking is tough as a result of the networks are well-connected—typically involving highly effective people,” she added.
Fonka famous that victims typically keep silent out of worry of retribution or disgrace, particularly when their households have sacrificed every part to finance their migration.