By Jude Abanseka
Participants at the coordination meeting
Stakeholders of a project to combat child trafficking in Buea Diocese have resolved to continually sensitise the public to this ill, intensify education on responsible parenthood and monitor street children.
These measures were taken at the close of a Buea Diocese Justice and Peace Commission-organised coordination meeting in Molyko, Buea, Friday, February 26, 2010. Participants at the meeting also agreed to follow up and visit the homes of identified cases. It was also decided Vigilante committees be expanded and reports be made available to the Justice and Peace office.
The project coordinator, Enjema Nkeme, explained the meeting was aimed at following up what had been done since last November and discussing a way forward. At the start of the meeting a resource person from the South West Regional Delegation for Women's Empowerment and the Family, Clara Manga, enjoined all to review discussions during the first child trafficking project meeting which centred on the causes and the consequences of child trafficking.
Seven institutions presented reports on what they had been doing since the project was launched and the methods used in fighting this canker worm. It emerged most had been sensitising the public to the consequences of child trafficking. From their reports one could conclude that, like corruption which is a daily discussion topic, child trafficking is difficult to fight as there will always be a need, especially in urban areas, for house helps, nannies or baby sitters and sales people.
Unfortunately, there is no organised structure to manage these needs, permitting child trafficking perpetrators to bring their nebulous skills into play. Case studies were used to show the consequences of child trafficking. The Ekona Vigilante group reported the case of a woman believed to have won a contract to supply child labourers in Mpondo. Her victims are students of Government Bilingual Secondary School, Ekona.
Another pathetic, though comic report, was that of a practice referred to as "trial marriage", peculiar to people of Momo Division. It consists of a man asking that a girl be brought from his village for him to spend time with to observe if she can make a good wife. If at the end of the trial period he does not find the girl worthy of becoming his wife, the man is free to send the girl back to her village, whether she is pregnant or not.
After each presentation participants discussed problems raised and how they could be solved. It was agreed child trafficking is common because of the non-mastery of family planning methods and ignorance about people’s rights. The resource person advocated the need to introduce responsible parenthood education into the school curricula from the elementary level.
Buea Diocese Justice and Peace Commission director, Prof. Boniface Nasah, decried most people’s indifference to the practice and called on participants to be their neighbours’ keepers. Citing the Bepanda 9 and Buea University cases in which some young men and students lost their lives during strikes; Prof. Nasah regretted that a culture of death is stealthily creeping into Cameroon as people are taking the law into their hands. A recent example is the Rapid Intervention Battalion’s ransacking of Limbe, injuring many civilians and damaging property worth several millions of francs. Prof. Nasah regretted the African communal life is waning.
He suggested when dealing with child trafficking in Africa, emphasis should not be laid on the imported concepts of "rights and obligation of a child", which in most cases do not tie with the African reality, but focus should be on whether a child is being treated in a humane manner. Participants were also trained on using victims’ Identification Forms. They resolved to step up sensitising and educating the public and to keep the Justice and Peace Commission abreast of their activities through reports.
About 20 participants, drawn from the ranks of the Forces of Law and Order, delegations of Women's empowerment and the Family and Social Affairs, the Justice department, NGO's, human rights groups and vigilante committees, participated in the meeting.
The project coordinator, Enjema Nkeme, explained the meeting was aimed at following up what had been done since last November and discussing a way forward. At the start of the meeting a resource person from the South West Regional Delegation for Women's Empowerment and the Family, Clara Manga, enjoined all to review discussions during the first child trafficking project meeting which centred on the causes and the consequences of child trafficking.
Seven institutions presented reports on what they had been doing since the project was launched and the methods used in fighting this canker worm. It emerged most had been sensitising the public to the consequences of child trafficking. From their reports one could conclude that, like corruption which is a daily discussion topic, child trafficking is difficult to fight as there will always be a need, especially in urban areas, for house helps, nannies or baby sitters and sales people.
Unfortunately, there is no organised structure to manage these needs, permitting child trafficking perpetrators to bring their nebulous skills into play. Case studies were used to show the consequences of child trafficking. The Ekona Vigilante group reported the case of a woman believed to have won a contract to supply child labourers in Mpondo. Her victims are students of Government Bilingual Secondary School, Ekona.
Another pathetic, though comic report, was that of a practice referred to as "trial marriage", peculiar to people of Momo Division. It consists of a man asking that a girl be brought from his village for him to spend time with to observe if she can make a good wife. If at the end of the trial period he does not find the girl worthy of becoming his wife, the man is free to send the girl back to her village, whether she is pregnant or not.
After each presentation participants discussed problems raised and how they could be solved. It was agreed child trafficking is common because of the non-mastery of family planning methods and ignorance about people’s rights. The resource person advocated the need to introduce responsible parenthood education into the school curricula from the elementary level.
Buea Diocese Justice and Peace Commission director, Prof. Boniface Nasah, decried most people’s indifference to the practice and called on participants to be their neighbours’ keepers. Citing the Bepanda 9 and Buea University cases in which some young men and students lost their lives during strikes; Prof. Nasah regretted that a culture of death is stealthily creeping into Cameroon as people are taking the law into their hands. A recent example is the Rapid Intervention Battalion’s ransacking of Limbe, injuring many civilians and damaging property worth several millions of francs. Prof. Nasah regretted the African communal life is waning.
He suggested when dealing with child trafficking in Africa, emphasis should not be laid on the imported concepts of "rights and obligation of a child", which in most cases do not tie with the African reality, but focus should be on whether a child is being treated in a humane manner. Participants were also trained on using victims’ Identification Forms. They resolved to step up sensitising and educating the public and to keep the Justice and Peace Commission abreast of their activities through reports.
About 20 participants, drawn from the ranks of the Forces of Law and Order, delegations of Women's empowerment and the Family and Social Affairs, the Justice department, NGO's, human rights groups and vigilante committees, participated in the meeting.
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