Statement by the Minister of Social Development, Ms Bathabile Dlamini, MP, on the occasion of media briefing on the repatriation of South African children in distress in foreign countries, Johannesburg
Good afternoon everyone;
Ladies and gentlemen of the media.
I am pleased to welcome you here this afternoon for the briefing on the repatriation from Malawi of a 14 year-old child and 20 year-old youth who were removed from the country under false pretences and ended up being victims of exploitation. This afternoon I want to highlight the extent and threat of transnational crime, in particular child trafficking. It destroys the lives of children and brings misery to their families. I also want to highlight the services that our department provides to South African citizens in distress in foreign countries.
The child and youth from Mpumalanga province were removed from the care of their grandmother to Malawi in July 2014 by a woman claiming to be from Swaziland and posing as a former teacher.
She had promised to send them to the United Kingdom (UK) to further their education. The matter was referred to our International Social Services unit in May this year by the Mpumalanga provincial department of Social Development. According to the grandmother, the 14 year-old child had learning difficulties and the alleged abductor had offered to take the child to the UK for specialist care which the grandmother could not afford. The promise of taking them to the UK to further their studies had also not materialised. It has also been confirmed to us that the 14 year-old contracted malaria while in Malawi but has since been treated and cured.
Following an investigation, the children were contacted telephonically and they acknowledged that the woman is abusing them physically by forcing them to perform heavy household chores. They wanted to return to South Africa to live with the granny. A specialist team comprised of the Department of Social Development’s International Social Services and Interpol therefore travelled to Malawi on June 22 to return the child and youth safely back home. The two were officially handed by the Malawian Government to the South African Government represented by the South African Higher Commissioner to Malawi, Ms Cassandra Mbuyane-Mokone.
The information we have from our social worker who a few days ago conducted an in-depth interview with the children suggests that their life since removal in the country has been an ordeal. They travelled to Malawi through Mozambique together with their alleged abductor, her husband and four other children because they had no proper documents. They got through the Mozambican border by paying a bribe and spent about 3 months in Mozambique travelling towards the border of Malawi.
During this period, the group rented out different places and at times was evicted because of non-payment of rent. There was a stage where they ended up sleeping at a taxi rank for a whole week. There were instances where they walked for 2 days non-stop, sometimes spending a whole day without food. When they eventually reached the border of Malawi, their alleged abductor approached the police and made a false claim that they were mugged and their passports and money had been stolen. They were ultimately assisted to go through the border illegally. It took them another month from the border of Malawi to reach their village.
Since being handed over to the South African government they have been kept at a transit home for children in Lilongwe. Social workers from Malawi have reported that the siblings were subjected to physical and emotional abuse and have asked the South African government to provide them with extensive counselling. The boy is reportedly very withdrawn and prefers to keep to himself. The child and youth will now be further assessed by social workers and health professionals to ascertain their holistic well-being with the view to providing the necessary care and support as well as a smooth reintegration into the country.
Ladies and gentlemen, this case highlights the need for society as a whole to be vigilant about the trafficking of children, especially those communities situated in regions where South Africa shares borders with other countries. Child trafficking takes place when a child is taken from the place they live to another place (inside or outside the country) in order for the trafficker to take advantage of the child, who will often be misinformed or tricked into leaving his/her home. The South African High Commissioner to Malawi reported that this is not new and that they are inundated with cases of South Africans who are in the country undocumented; especially young women who arrive with their elderly boyfriends and end up being stranded.
Trafficking syndicates traffic children for a number of reasons. This is an organised crime. Some children are forced to do illegal and dangerous work, beg on the streets, smuggle or sell drugs, for illegal adoption, for use as child soldiers, for body parts and organs, as well as for commercial sexual exploitation and child pornography.
According to the UN's 2014 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, in Africa and the Middle East between 2010 and 2012, sexual exploitation accounted for 53% of trafficking victims, while 37% were subjected to forced labour, servitude and modern day slavery. Unfortunately, people are trafficked into our country as well. Research shows that in South Africa, there are 106 000 people living in conditions of slavery, where modern slavery is defined as human trafficking, forced labour, forced marriage, debt bondage and the sale of children.
While South Africa has put in place legislative measures to prevent human trafficking, the country is still a source, transit point, and destination country for children, men and women subjected to trafficking for forced labour and sexual exploitation.
The Department of Social Development renders international social services to individuals, children and families confronted with social problems in foreign countries as a consequence of international migration, displacement or illegal removal, as is the case with the repatriated child and youth.
In order to assist those communities working to create safer environments for children and families, the Government has developed Guidelines for the Prevention of and Response to Child Exploitation. The Guidelines promote a developmental and multidisciplinary approach to child exploitation throughout the continuum of care, including prevention, early intervention, statutory, and reintegration services. The reintegration services for children from other countries and South African children found in foreign countries are undertaken by the International Social Services unit of the Department. International Social Services will contact social services in country of origin to establish whether circumstances of family are favourable to return the child or not.
Ladies and gentlemen, the fact that the children were orphaned and forced by circumstances to live with the grandmother but without any formal foster care process taking place, shows the need to make our foster care system more responsive to the needs of vulnerable children. This is why we have appointed a ministerial committee to help us address the challenges facing our foster care system and improve our monitoring mechanisms. Some of its members are here with us today. An efficient foster care system requires synergy to exist between the various role players. Our guiding principle, as demanded by the Children’s Act, is that everything we do must be in the best interest of the child. The ministerial committee was therefore established to determine the contributing factors to the challenges experienced within the foster care system and advise the Minister on measures that may be considered to improve the quality of foster care services.
In order to further strengthen the foster care system and adoption processes, the Department of Social Development has also proposed amendments to the Children’s Act (Act 38 of 2005) to allow social workers employed by the Department or Provincial Department of Social Development to process child adoption applications as opposed to these being done only by adoption agencies. Social workers employed by the Department work directly with communities, households or families as well as individuals or children and, as such, have an intimate understanding of the circumstances of the children they work with. It is the view of the Department, therefore, that social workers must play a role in the adoption process to reduce the risk of failed adoptions.
Ladies and gentlemen, our national efforts to prevent and combat the trafficking of human beings, especially children, have never been more urgent. At the same time, our government recognises that this is a complex challenge requiring decisive and collective national action. We urge South Africans to be cautious about who they bring into their homes. Just like abuse, child trafficking is often perpetrated by people known to the family.
When children are wrongfully moved between countries and end up exploited, they have no immediate support available to them because they don’t know anyone in the countries they are abducted to. South African citizens – especially parents, teachers, caregivers and people working with children – must educate themselves on the factors that make children vulnerable to exploitation and trafficking in order to prevent it from taking place. Family problems, poverty, having few or limited opportunities for earning a living and employment, lack of education or opportunity to further studies, and living under difficult circumstances such as living on the streets, all make children vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation.
Communities are encouraged to put in place prevention and early intervention programmes offered to children who are at risk of exploitation. Such programmes and interventions can aim to support safe, developmentally appropriate, family-based care for children; enhance community engagement; identification of children at risk through the involvement of the community and other role players as well as develop awareness-raising campaigns involving existing community structures.
On behalf of the South African Government I would like to thank the Malawi authorities for their cooperation in helping us bring our kids home. The kids have also requested me to convey their thanks Mr Chambu, a social worker from the Mulanje District in Malawi. They say he treated them very well and like his own children; they appreciate everything he did for them. This shows that working together, we can eradicate child trafficking and build a better future through our united efforts.
I thank you.
Media inquiries may be directed:
Lumka Oliphant
Cell: 083 484 8067
E-mail: lumkao@dsd.gov.za
