The return of Slave Trade in the 21st century

By Julie Okah Donli

Many people cast suspicious stares at me when I tell them that we are still in the era of slave trade. Before you begin to tow that line of thought and jump to consult your history books that talks about how slave trade has been abolished in different countries of world, take a chill pill and read through till the end of this edition of my diary as I draw out practical comparison between the two.

Once again, I reiterate that we are still in the era of slave trade only that this venture has become modernized as a result of time, advancement in technology and enlightenment campaigns.

Rather than call it slave trade, what we now have to contend with is human trafficking or modern day slavery. Same trade, same aim, same target victims but different mode of operation.

During the peak of traditional slave trade, the enterprise was considered as one of the most capital intensive and lucrative businesses. Interestingly, human trafficking has also become one of the most profitable multi-billion business for transnational criminal groups, making it the third largest source of income after weapons and drug trafficking.

In other words, slave trade involves different countries, that is, countries of origin, transit and destination. As we all know, Africa was a hot spot for slave trade because of the continent’s vast population, ignorance and cheap human labour.

A lot has not changed in this regard as many international syndicate groups still capitalize on some of the factors mentioned above to traffic children, men and women to other countries.

Another similarity between slave trade and human trafficking is that in both cases traffickers use different control mechanisms to control their victims.

This is so true because as the former DG of NAPTIP, I had access to listening to many victims recount their ordeal and when you ask the reason why they didn’t run for help or report to relevant authorities earlier, they gave similar reasons to what I had read in my history books about slave trade.

Victims were subjected to threats and intimidation which includes violence, rape, emotional abuse, watching of violence against other victims, threats of torture or murder of the victim or their loved ones, blackmail etc.

As far as back as the 17th century when slave trade was booming, victims were burnt and had indelible incisions ingrained on their body as a means of identity or as punishment to anyone who attempted to escape. Today, victims of human trafficking also suffer similar fate.

Lies, deception, oaths taking, debt bondage, identity control, etc. are all control mechanisms used by slave masters and human traffickers.

Let me borrow from my secondary school debating mantra and say that I hope I have been able to convince and not confuse you that indeed we are still in the era of modernized slave trade.

Now, that there are no doubts about human trafficking being the modern face of slavery, then all hands ought to be on deck like it used to be so as to tackle it head on like it was done with the traditional slave trade.

Personally. I think that tackling human trafficking in this modern day requires more than the energy used in abolishing slave trade because with advancement in technology, traffickers are steadily stepping up their games via the use of technology.

For instance, in the era of slave trade, slave masters had to travel from Europe and other countries of the world down to Africa. These trips usually took several weeks and sometimes months and then travelling back with the slaves takes an even longer time.

However, today, technology has greatly reduced to the barest minimum the need for traffickers to travel before having access to their victims. With the aid of a syndicate group in the country of origin, traffickers outside the shores of the country can communicate effectively and these syndicates even go as far as sending pictures of their victims before sending them across.

Also, technological breakthrough in the area of transportation such as air planes, ships, light trains etc. has also made it easy to travel to different countries in a few hours and this has completely eradicated the constraints of time that was associated with the traditional slave trade.

What this means is that in tackling human trafficking in this era, time is of great essence. We cannot afford to keep beating about the bush and wasting precious time because like we all know, prevention is better than cure.

Social media also provides an avenue for traffickers to lure unsuspecting victims right from the comfort of their homes.

As parents, guardians and teachers, there is the need to be vigilant in supervising the social media activities of our wards because you may be at home thinking that slave trade has been abolished whereas your ward is getting carried away with chats from a trafficker who is promising him or her greener pastures abroad.

Combating this war also requires that we adopt the use of technology especially in the area of tracking traffickers within and outside the shores of the country. The wide nature of this fight makes it capital intensive and as such non-governmental organisations should also be supported to offer support to governmental organisations and agencies involved in this.

Dame Julie Okah Donli is the new chair of the board of trustees of the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in Persons (UNVTF). She was until December 2020, the Director-General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).