Hundreds of children have been trafficked into the Republic of Congo from several West African states, according to a report from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
The majority of the children – many as young as nine – come to Pointe-Noire, the Congo’s second-largest city, from Benin, Mali, Guinea, Senegal, Togo and Cameroon. They are promised work and money to return home by compatriots who employ them.
The children are given to ‘tutors’ from West Africa against a certain amount of money with the promise of a job or apprenticeship. Some of the children are illiterate, while others have had some kind of schooling.
Most of the children in the Congolese capital, Brazzaville, come from the Democratic Republic of Congo, brought there by intermediaries who promise them a visa to Europe or South Africa.
In reality, they are used as cheap labour, and girls over the age of 12 are pushed into prostitution.
The children were victims of exploitation, including sexual abuse, and denied an education.
The survey on which the UNICEF report was based was conducted in November 2006.
Kilde: www.irinnews.org
