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Two enormous explosions devastated Beirut’s port on Tuesday, August 4, 2020 leaving at least 78 people dead and thousands injured, shaking distant buildings and spreading panic and chaos across the Lebanese capital. When this happened, hundreds of Kenyans trapped in a human trafficking situation took the opportunity to rise up and demand to be repatriated.  Owing to their fears of the deteriorating security and economic conditions in Lebanon they ‘stormed’ the Kenyan embassy, prompting the Kenyan government to send a special delegation to assess the situation. Furthermore, all of them were women who had been trapped into exploitation owing to abusive working environment and their inability to travel back to Kenya due to lack of travel documents. Many of them had been trapped in exploitative conditions for over 5 years.

Through the concerted efforts by CHTEA and her partners, a total of 129 Kenyans were evacuated/repatriated back to Kenya between September and November 2020. CHTEA can now for the first time bring you a comprehensive interview clip which provides you with an in-depth set of survivor and expert voices regarding the Lebanese situation as well as the dynamics of trafficking of Kenyans to the Gulf region at large.

You can listen and view the clip here How Kenyan Workers are Trafficked Abroad

 CHTEA & Trauma Counseling

Subsequent to their return, CHTEA has never been able to support the full total of 129 survivors towards their rehabilitation, reintegration and business start-up capital. CHTEA was able to give support to 60 survivors, most of whom were in total despair and had deep Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) conditions.  Some of them had to be referred to a specialist in Trauma Counselling. He is Dr L. Khasakhala, MD. Psychiatrist, PhD in Clinical Psychology and Lecturer at the University of Nairobi.  He has done tremendous work with us for over 8 years when we first took a post-Rwanda genocide survivor to him and he gave her excellent care.  Later she did some studies here and subsequently returned home a totally transformed 21 year old lady.

Special Donations Appeal

As a way of commemorating the first anniversary of the Kenyan Lebanese survivors, CHTEA is making another passionate Appeal for Donations in order to support the pending cases and restore some of the relapses. The average estimate cost of supporting one survivor is approximately USD$200 (psycho-social and business start-up capital).  Some also need school fees assistance to take their children who have been neglected in this critical area to re-enter education and help to break the cycle of poverty in the future. CHTEA will give an equivalent match to any contribution towards this cause. Any donations received will be receipted and full accountability will be provided with respect to expenditure. You can donate using the provided portal elsewhere on this newsletter (either through bank or PayPal). CHTEA will further acknowledge your donation by sending you an Honorary Certificate of Donation for Survivors of Human Trafficking.

RAHT had its annual conference on 16^th October 2021 at the Tangaza University College, Nairobi. Even though a majority of the participants were following proceeding online, the conference nevertheless, attracted major speakers from the Government of Kenya, Talitha Kum, University Dons, The Church and the Civil Society. The RAHT annual conference idea was conceived in 2018. CHTEA is a collaborating member of RAHT.

Foundations of RAHT

Vision: Inspired by the mercy of God, we envision a world free from Human Trafficking.
Mission: To uphold human dignity at all costs from modern-day slavery to freedom by collaborating in eradicating human trafficking.

Founding Congregations

Canossian Sisters
Comboni Missionary Sisters
Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd
Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul
Medical Missionaries of Mary
Missionary Benedictine Sisters
Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa
St. Patrick’s Missionary Society
Brothers of St Francis Xavier (Xaverian Brothers)

Later, the founder members admitted the following membership:

• Consolata Missionaries (IMC)
• Contemplative Missionary Sisters of St De Foucauld (MDF)
• Edmund Rice Advocacy Network (ERAN)
• Franciscan Missionaries of Mary (FMM)
• Franciscan Sisters of St Joseph (FSJ)
• Incarnate Word Sisters (CVI)
• Institute of the Blessed Virgin of Mary – Loreto Sisters (IBVM)
• Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB)
• Little Sisters of St. Joseph (LSSJ)
• Quebec Missionaries (Foreign Mission Society, SME)
• Religious Sisters of Mercy (RSM)
• Sisters of St Joseph of Mombasa (SSJ)
• Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (SSHJ)
• Society of Missionaries of Africa (M. Afr.)
• Yarumal Missionaries (MXY)

Collaborators

• Counter Human Trafficking Trust – East Africa (CHTEA)
• HAART- Kenya
• Sema Nami

Laity 

• Justice and Peace group (Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish – South B)
• Patrick Society & SPS Safeguarding Children Project
• Maryknoll Lay Missionaries

RAHT is hosted by RACK and AOSK and an affiliate of the Talitha Kum International (a global network of women religious congregations with headquarters in Rome).

 The Journey: RAHT from 2019 to 2021

• On February 9^th 2019 a Symposium was convened, followed by a 3-days training in March the same year.
• In April 2019, field research was carried out in Kayamaiko, Nairobi to establish the child trafficking and child labor situation at the slaughter houses. A Position Paper was submitted to KCCB for endorsement. The research project was done in collaboration with CHTEA and members of Yarumal Missionaries and Contemplative Missionaries of St Charles de Foucauld.
• In July 2019, RAHT convened a 3-days’ Training-of-Trainers’ workshop which had representation from the Eastern Africa region.
• In September, 19-27, 2019, RAHT–KENYA was officially represented at the 10^th anniversary of the international assembly of Talitha Kum in Rome, Italy.
• In October 2019, a 3-days’ training was conducted to ground workers of slum areas within Mathare-Kariobangi-Kayamaiko-Ruaraka. The training was conducted by CHTEA, a collaborator with RAHT.
• In November 2019, Human Trafficking awareness was carried out at the Tanzania-Kenya Border of Namanga to the youth by the Quebec Missionaries Parish.
• On February 8^th, 2020, RAHT participated in the World Day of Prayer through members’ initiatives
• In April-May, 2020, members responded to the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns in different ways for example, St Patrick Society used the Child Safeguarding Program. Changes had to be effected to align with the changing Covid-19 situation/environment.
• In July 2020, RAHT held an online sharing of Best Practices of Members and collaborators and this was carried out successfully.
• On January 7^th, 2021, Talitha Kum conducted a Leadership Course through an on-line workshop. It was dubbed “Impact of COVID-19 to migrants vulnerable to Human Trafficking”. The course incorporated participants from Kenya, Uganda & the United Arab Emirates.
• On January 31^st, 2021, RAHT held its first Annual General Meeting of members. During the same meeting, the leadership presented the final version of the RAHT Policy and 2021 program of activities.
• On February 8^th, during the World Day of Prayer, members took different initiatives in their Parishes.
• On February 11-12, 2021, there was an on-line awareness training to the Seminarians & Lay partners of the Quebec Missionaries.
• On March 6^th, 2021, during the Celebration of International Day of Women, RAHT commemorated the event at Mombasa in collaboration with the Association of Sisterhoods of Kenya, Misereor and the Archdiocese of Mombasa.
• From May 22^nd to 23^rd, RAHT convened the first of 3-phased Training- of-Trainers for the Coastal areas in collaboration with Caritas Mombasa and with funding by Talitha Kum
• During July and August 2021, in an effort to commemorate the international United Nations’ World Day against Human Trafficking, RAHT organized a talk show series through a Catholic FM Radio called Waumini. RAHT members and survivors participated in the talk shows some of which drew a lot of interest from the public audience.

Tanzanian police arrested three suspected child traffickers transporting a group of children aged between 10 and 14 years. According to police, the children were headed for various domestic duties ranging from house help, farming and livestock tending.

On 7^th September 2021, the Police Commandant of the Mbeya Province, Mr. Ulrich Matei reported that the suspects were arrested while organizing to transport the children to Mbarali district in Mbeya Province for very small wages. This is against the International Labour Organisation’s statutes which prohibits the use of children for labour under all circumstances.

According to the Police Commandant, the traffickers were expected to receive an equivalent of a month’s salary for each child successfully delivered to their exploiters. This was happening even as the Tanzanian law prohibits child labour as well as child trafficking.

The Executive Director of a non-governmental organisation called “Sauti ya Mama Africa (Women Voice in Africa), Ms. Thabitha Bughali asked the Tanzanian government to take stern action on the perpetrators as their actions were depriving vulnerable child the right to education and instead exposing them to social abuse and all manner of deprivation and suffering.  Reports of lost or stolen children are quite rampant in Tanzania, yet most of these cases are targeting local child market destinations for a myriad of petty jobs for profit.

For more see: CLICK HERE ( A Kiswahili version)

James is a minor boy aged 9 years hailing from a single parent family. He has two other siblings; an elder brother aged 14 years who is in F/2 and a younger sister aged 9 months. They reside with their mother at the Mukuru kwa Njenga slum. Coming from an unstable background makes him vulnerable to many realities of social, environmental and economic dynamics of life.

The young James was used to supporting his mother with house chores and other minor economic activities. He used to accompany his mother daily to her business venue selling cabbages and charcoal in the vast slum village. On the fateful day in April 202, at around 3.00pm in the afternoon, James requested his mother to allow him to go for football practice at a training ground called Galaxy, not far from their home.  Due to the fact that James had a great passion for playing football and a champion player for his team, his mother had no objection hence, she let him go for the practice.

When James’ mother time for business closure was due, she closed at around 8.00pm but without seeing her son return from the football practice. She consoled herself by assuming that he may have decided to go straight back home. At about 9.00pm, she arrived back home but James was nowhere to be found. She rushed to report the matter to the local security team where she was referred to report the matter at the nearest Police station.

James’ case was later referred to the CHTEA office by a Community Health Volunteer based at the Medical Missionaries of Mary – Counter Human Trafficking unit at the St. Mary’s Health Centre. The case was immediately profiled at CHTEA office after which the mother was facilitated to report the case to the Criminal Investigation Department (Child Protection Unit) where she was assisted to locate the telephone number an alleged kidnapper who had been calling from Western Kenya. The mother was further facilitated to travel to her separated husband’s home to confirm if he might have been involved in kidnapping the boy but to no avail.

Fast forward: On 22^nd`August 2021, James’ mother claimed that she received a reverse call from her son and after a long chat with him, she alleged that a lady who claimed to be the kidnapper’s sister also spoke to her. During their discussion, the alleged sister offered to sneak the boy (James) back to his mother in Nairobi. The alleged sister further indicated that the kidnapper was allegedly her brother who she claimed was a psycho. The two ladies agreed to meet at Nakuru where the alleged sister would escort and hand over the boy while her alleged brother was away from home attending a burial function. It was not easy to trust the alleged sister to the kidnapper.

Armed with this information, James’ mother was accompanied by a CHTEA staff to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations with one mission: to ascertain the location of the caller. The initial plan was for the mother to travel to pick the boy from Western Kenya the following day. However, this was not to be, as a call was received early morning the same day from the alleged kidnapper’s sister who committed to take the boy up to Nakuru if facilitated with transport. James’ mother and a CHTEA staff took time to consult with the police on the new developments and also to examine security considerations. At the least they did not know that the alleged sister of the kidnapper had already left Western Kenya for Nakuru. As consultations concluded in Nairobi, the alleged sister to the kidnapper called to say that she was already at Nakuru (half way between the kidnapper’s village and Nairobi).

A series of negotiations kicked off with the alleged sister to the kidnapper to ascertain if indeed she had traveled with James. The first card on the table was to quickly express willingness to refund all expenses incurred during the journey. Then a handover discussion was done. As it was not possible to travel to Nakuru at that late hour, it was agreed that Peter be put in to a public transport vehicle headed to Nairobi as the mother and a CHTEA staff waited to receive him. They had allegedly arrived at Nakuru at around 12noon.

As fate would have it, the whole story turned out to be true.  At exactly 5.00pm, James’s mother shed tears of joy when she finally spotted her son alighting from the designated public vehicle. He was carrying a back pack and showed he was in good health. She hugged him incessantly for some 10 minutes without believing her eyes.

In the ensuing moments, James (the survivor) recalled how he was called by a stranger from the football field where he had gone to practice. The eventual kidnapper lured him to a corner where he grabbed him and held him tightly by his mouth and warned him not to make any noise lest he kills him. The 9 year old boy decided to cooperate with the kidnapper who in turn took him to his house in Mukuru Kwa Njenga and instructed James to say that he was his father in case he was asked by anyone. On the following day, the kidnapper traveled with James to Webuye, in Western Kenya. According to James, there were other children he found at the same home and who he later learnt had been abducted from other parts of the country.

The main pre-occupation during his stay at the kidnapper’s home in Webuye was to work at his family farm. His main duties included collecting firewood, cooking and washing utensils until late in the evening. Even though he was woken up very early in the mornings to start his duties (alongside other kidnapped boys), he never got to rest for the full day until past midnight. He was not allowed to walk alone and some times he was denied food depending on the moods of the kidnapper.

This case is still under investigation as the kidnapper/trafficker is still at large. The Directorate of Criminal Investigations is still working closely with CHTEA with a consideration to eventually arrest the perpetrator.

The victim’s real name has been changed to protect his identity

(See a video clip at the bottom)

Child trafficking has taken a dramatic turn in Kenya over the last six months of 2021. There are more reports of children being lost without a trace, abductions, executions and even organ harvesting. This is a new development, considering that Kenya has had a fairly good and robust law that safeguards, prevents and protects children from or against any form of harm or violence.

As security agencies endevour to crack down on perpetrators, the society has had to deal with this unprecedented situation. Communities and especially those living within the urban poor neighborhoods have found themselves under siege from the “faceless” child targeting perpetrators who take advantage of huge populations mainly surviving on shoe string budgets to fend for their families.

According to the Daily Nation newspaper published in Nairobi on 13^th July, one family in Nairobi’s Zimmerman estate has been living in agony for a month now after their 14-year-old son, Abraham Nhial, disappeared without a trace on June 5. Nhial went out to get a haircut during the recent school midterm break and was not seen again, said his father, Daniel Mawut.

A few metres away, the family of a three-year-old Franklin Gicheru is desperately searching for the boy, who vanished on June 22 after breakfast. Franklin’s parents James Mwangi and Loise Mwangi are in agony over his kidnapping in broad daylight. On the fateful day, James said he was notified by a neighbor that his son was seen walking away with an unknown woman. The neighbor thought she was a relative of the family.

The two disappearances were two weeks apart, but many more children have vanished leaving families in anguish. At least 61 children were reported missing between March and May 2021.

Although some 33 were found, with the whereabouts of the rest unknown, Missing Child Kenya, a non-governmental organisation, says there’s growing concern that a criminal network could be stealing the children.

More disturbing, however, is that the perpetrators of these abductions, torture and murders have also increasingly been targeting defenseless children. The fears are not misplaced given the horrific ending to the kidnap and murder in May of eight-year-old Shantel Nzembi. The girl was kidnapped in Kitengelain Kajiado County. Her abductors demanded Sh300,000 in ransom. The family contacted police only for the girl to be found dead days later.

In June, 11-year-old Priscilla Naserian, from Kajiado, went missing. Her body was later found dumped in a bush a few kilometres from her home.

Early July, 2021 in Moi’s Bridge, Eldoret, Linda Cherono, 13, who had been missing for several days, was found murdered. In Kasarani, Githurai and Zimmerman (Nairobi suburbs), victims who have been rescued and other eyewitnesses describe a woman reported to be luring the children with goodies.  Families are so desperately poor that a child can easily be lured for a few sweets or a soda.

Human traffickers

According to the Daily Nation newspaper report however, aggrieved parties are taking to social media to report the missing loved ones instead of taking such reports to the police. This makes follow ups difficult and reduces the chances of tracking down perpetrators who are known to use technology to communicate with relatives of the children.

At least 242 children aged 18 and below were reported missing between January and December 2020, the report by Missing Child Kenya said – 125 girls and 117 boys. Some of them were found and reunited with their families, while others were taken to government shelters. A few were found dead while others are still missing.

“A total of 131 children were found and reunited with their families, 16 have recently been found, 10 were found dead while 18 are still missing,” the report said. From 2016 to 2020, a total of 780 children were reported missing. Of those, 496 were found and reunited with their loved ones, 73 were taken to government-run children’s homes, 21 were found dead and 190 were still missing.

The report comes a few weeks after the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) cautioned parents to monitor how their children use social media and the people they interact with. In a statement in June 2021, the DCI alerted parents about human traffickers targeting young girls to sell as sex slaves: “Sex traffickers have come up with a new technique of kidnapping and targeting teenage school-going girls or those who have just completed their secondary education” “The crooks lure the young girls on social media where they access their personal details before enticing them into a trap,” the statement read.

Prosecution and Convictions

Even as the effort to apprehend perpetrators of child trafficking continues, the Kenyan Security agencies have made gains through arrests, prosecution and conviction of the offenders. For example, the correctional services at the Naivasha maximum prison allowed media access to document some of the jailed perpetrators who spoke about their underworld illegal trade in children. The prison’s authorities also shared their experience with the media regarding how traffickers operate in total disguise with respect to their true identity.

You can watch HERE the video clip.

Is it the dark side of the moon or what darkness am I reflecting on now?  We met a priest last week from DR Congo (DRC), he is a missionary in Bukavu, that side of DRC where the terrible volcanos erupted, particularly in the area of Goma.  He came to visit us to learn more on how we started doing Counter Human Trafficking (CHT) work.  He even hinted that we might come and do the initial training. Fr Bernard is working with a group of local Sisters helping him to run a center for young girls, 250 of them who are very severely wounded in mind, body and spirit.  They are in a high state of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  Not only is that country ruled by hundreds of militia groups but women and children are suffering the worst weapon of war which is sexual violence.  In fact he told us that it is hard to meet a young woman or girl child who has not met rape and defilement. I came away feeling very sad at one of the examples he shared with us, of a 5 year old girl “who is so damaged both internally and externally that she will never give birth” these were his words.  In the African context this is a curse the innocent little girl must live with, the hospital where she was taken did their best and she did survive but the real cost will fall on the most vulnerable in our society and the world at large. This is the kind of darkness I am sharing with you now.

Recently, I met an orphaned girl ‘Cindy’ who had just come back from the burial of her grandmother, she was an elderly lady almost 90 years old.  The story which emerged was as horrific as the act itself.  The pain, grief and loss coupled with the background of Cindy herself made this whole scenario even more intensely painful.  Cindy was orphaned of the only parent she can vaguely recall, then stayed with her grandmother till she was 12 years old.  Then she was sent to reside with an uncle and his wife in one of Nairobi’s largest slums.  The idea of the people in the far rural community was that she would get better educational opportunities in Nairobi.  His wife went to work early and this beastly relative choose to defile the unsuspecting, innocent 12 year old girl.  Minutes later ‘to add insult to injury’ he walked outside laughing to himself while Cindy picked herself up from the floor.  It was a major trauma to this child and a very dark shadow in her life.

Despite intensive counseling Cindy carries this dark scenario in her head – and it will never go away.  After that horrific assault Cindy gathered together her school books and uniform and left the one roomed shack which had been her home for the past month.  Where to go now?  she had no clue but definitely she was in no mood to face her school-going peers on that awful day.  So, she hired herself out as a domestic help to get odd jobs in whatever was available but it meant an end to formal class work.  Luckily, she met a community health volunteer of Medical Missionaries of Mary where MMM Sisters run a health center, one of them called Rose assured Cindy that she was always welcome to stay at her place and from time to time she took shelter there.

During the school holidays Cindy went to her grandmother, after all she was the only parent figure in her life.  When she returned from the burial of “my Granny” last week I could see that she was totally shattered, the big tears dropped like the onset of heavy rains here in Kenya.  Despite the great age of this elderly grandmother, she sold a cow that morning for KShs 14.000/- (125/- to one Euro), to send an orphaned granddaughter to F/1 (start of secondary school year).  She bought some shopping items for the girl and stuffed the balance inside her belt.  On the way home walking, she diverted into the forest to pick some small sticks for firewood.  That simple diversion resulted in her death – ‘Anna’ was robbed, raped and strangulated.  Next morning some children also on a short diversion to collect firewood, found her body. To those left behind especially Cindy, these are horrific details of the end of life of the woman she had known and loved so dearly.  It underlines again her own personal defilement at 12 years old, and knowing that this uncle still walks free.  Whoever is the man who snuffed out the life of an elderly grandmother may never be named.  Sadly, we live in a country where corruption is the order of the day.  There is nobody to follow-up or name and charge the man who murdered this brave woman in such a ruthless fashion.  We salute this extraordinary woman of courage, despite her advanced years, she valued the benefits of education for a child.  She had nurtured Cindy well, she also gave thanks to God each day that a Good Samaritan had come to her aid and taken her through secondary education.   Cindy was just one point short of university entrance but the same Good Samaritan also sent her on a fifteen month beauty course.  She has excelled in her theory and practical exams and values the highly marketable skills she now holds.  Now at 20 years old she is set to launch herself on a very worthwhile career.

Conclusion

Now with three stories rolled into one, we have seen very painful personal tragedies in the lives of the feminine gender.  Three females who have paid a very high price – and in extremes of age – between the 5 year old and the 90 year old.  Does our world have to be such a dark place?  What has gone so horribly wrong?  Have we spoken so much of the girl child to the detriment of the boy child that this insane and horrific violence is being played out so randomly and for no apparent provocation?  Has pornography almost completely overtaken our sexuality?  Just as sure that we have a Coronavirus pandemic there is a parallel pandemic in our midst – every bit as prevalent and transmissible as Covid-19.  Let’s arm ourselves to fight for our youth and all people who are easily lured and sucked into a vortex of ‘hell’ which can only further work to wreck more havoc in the lives of countless millions of women and girls especially in every continent and small village.

 Mary O’ Malley, MMM
 31^st May, 2021