Pirogues
- Libreville, Gabon
Traffickers move their victims away from their homes and
families, taking them to towns or cities, or across borders
to other countries. By removing them from their communities,
they make their victims vulnerable and so easier to exploit.
For children trafficked across borders, boats are often
the cheapest form of transport. Between Benin and Gabon
hundreds of children are trafficked in pirogues,
dug-out boats like these. Terrified, the children are loaded
onto the boats, over 100 to a vessel. For many, it is the
first time they have seen the sea. The journey to Gabon
can take weeks; it is a distance equivalent to travelling
from London to Edinburgh three times. Reports tell of lack
of food and water, and children dying from thirst and exhaustion.
Others die when boats capsize in rough seas.
|
