To Better Know A Country: Human Trafficking in Nigeria

by Amanda Kloer · 2009-09-02 07:00:00 UTC
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Every year, the U.S. State Department releases a Trafficking in Persons report which rates countries on their efforts to combat human trafficking.  Each week, I'll be providing a brief glance at human trafficking in one of those countries, based off the 2009 Trafficking in Persons report, with my own (often snarky) analysis added.  This is just a snapshot of what's going on in the country.  For more information, you can check out the full text of the 2009 Trafficking in Persons Report here. 

This Week's Country..... Nigeria

Basic Stats

  • Ranking: Tier 1

  • Status: Source, transit and destination country for trafficking victims

  • Political Stability: So stable all their princes and business men want to deposit $1.2 million in your bank account, please

  • Cash Flow:  Not super, despite the number of people duped by above scam

  • Do I Think They Care?: They've worked hard to end trafficking, despite limited resources.

Who Are the Victims and What Are They Doing?

  • Girls: Commercial sex, domestic servitude, and forced labor

  • Boys: Forced labor in street vending, forced begging, and domestic servitude

  • Women: Commercial sex and forced labor

Where Are They Coming From and Where Are They Going?

  • Victims are trafficked from Nigeria to Gabon, Cameroon, Ghana, Chad, Benin, Togo, Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Libya, Morocco, Algeria, Italy, Spain, The Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Switzerland, Ireland, France, Greece and the UK. 

  • Nigerian victims are trafficked internally.

What's Gotta Happen?

  • Continue prosecuting traffickers.

  • Don't question traffickers and victims in the same building.

  • Ensure victims are not detained in shelters against their will. 

What Can I Do?

  •  You can support the Rafiki Foundation, a Christian non-profit organization which helps orphans and at-risk children in Nigeria.

In summary, I give mad props to Nigeria for being the only African country to get a Tier 1 rating from the State Department.  I hope that all the other world leaders and country heads who are reading this blog right now take note of Nigeria's awesome achievement.  You don't have to be the richest country to tackle trafficking, you just have to have the will.  And if anyone from Nigeria is reading, please tell Prince Iniabasi that I'm still waiting on that deposit.

Amanda Kloer is a Change.org Editor and has been a full-time abolitionist in several capacities for seven years. Follow her on Twitter @endhumantraffic
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