Mama Itohan was in
the kitchen singing as she always did while carrying out her chores. She heard
her name being called from outside so loudly that it made her jump. "Na who dey
shout my name this afternoon" she answered.
She ran to hug her
friend whom she had not seen in at least three years. "Ivie na so you just
waka comot from village, I no come see you since?!" Ivie looked good and
somewhere in Mama Itohan's heart she wondered why the gods had not yet smiled
on her. She had been in the same village with Ivie until her disappearance three
years ago with no forwarding address.
The two women spent
time catching up and laughing heartily like old times. They grew up together
and had been closest of friends for as long as they both could remember.
When Mama Itohan
asked Ivie where she had been, Ivie only told her that she had moved to the
city and quickly changed the topic. A secret she intended to keep.
Mama Itohan's
children returned from school and were equally excited to see their mother's
friend. Unfortunately, they knew their mother would neglect them for the rest
of the day. She had not even cooked for them. Itohan swung into action and made
sure a meal was prepared for herself and her siblings.
Ivie had been
studying Itohan, her mother noticed and asked what the problem might be. Ivie
then told her how Itohan was growing into a beautiful young woman and she would
like to take Itohan to the city. Itohan would be her children’s nanny and in
return, she would ensure that Itohan completed her secondary school. It would
be up to Itohan to choose if she wanted to continue schooling after then. Mama
Itohan leaped for joy, her child would become the star in the village, she
thought to herself. She accepted the proposal without even checking with
Itohan.
Itohan packed her
things amidst tears, she was forced to leave her life behind and the one she
was just beginning to fall in love with. She was only fifteen. A part of her
was curious to see outside her village but she just was not ready.
Two years down the
line, Itohan was not very pleased with the way her guardian had been
treating her in this strange land. She only got to
speak very briefly to her family once a week. They had moved to a European
country and for that Itohan was grateful. She remembered the joy in her
mother’s voice the day her mother was told they were leaving Nigeria. For some
reason, parents in her state loved the thought of their children moving abroad,
it gave their reputations a boost.
Itohan would turn
eighteen soon but Ivie had started to act even more coldly towards
her. The affection Ivie once showed seemed to vanish with every passing day. Itohan
kept her cool and passed her time bonding with Ivie’s children. They were such
a joy to be around.
On that fateful day, Ivie
walked straight to Itohan looking extremely mad at her. Itohan was shaken to
her bones. She had never seen the woman so angry. After having it out and
raining all the insults on Itohan, she finally made her declaration. "You have
to find a way of paying me back for bringing you to this country". Itohan was
blank, wondering what she meant. It was like Ivie heard her thoughts, “keep
staring, I will show you how when I have your time” she said.
A night to Itohan’s eighteenth birthday, she woke Itohan up at night and asked
her to get dressed. Itohan obeyed and she took her on a long drive. Itohan was
so sleepy that she hardly heard anything Ivie had to say. Suddenly, they seemed
to be in a red light district. Itohan was wide awake. Girls so skimpily dressed
were all over the streets, they seemed to be having the time of their lives.
"You like what you see don’t you?" The question jolted her out of her thoughts.
That was when the realisation suddenly hit her. This was how she was meant to
pay! She jumped out of the car and ran, ran for her dear life!
Ivie was in shock
that she could not even bring herself to chase after Itohan. Knowing she didn’t
have any place in the country, she knew Itohan would be back. Then, she would
learn a hard lesson.
Itohan finally
stopped to breathe, that was when it hit her that she had probably made the
biggest mistake…or not? Her travel documents had been confiscated by Ivie, she
had absolutely nowhere to go. She wondered what Ivie's role in this could be...was she a ring owner?
Weeks passed, yet
Itohan had not returned. Ivie knew she had to do something drastic. She took a trip
back to the village to meet with Mama Itohan.
She stormed into the compound
calling out as usual, only this time, angrily!
Mama Itohan ran out
to embrace her friend but that wasn’t welcomed. Ivie took her by the wrapper,
"where is my money?" "Ahn ahn" Mama Itohan managed to let out in confusion wondering what was happening. Ivie was enraged but Mama Itohan could not understand why. The neighbours heard the shouting and people started to gather. "Wetin dey happen?" they asked. "She dey owe me money" Ivie replied. Mama
Itohan just looked on at this point. It suddenly hit her, "where Itohan dey" she
asked. And that was when it became a heated argument.
Ivie was caught off
guard and everyone seemed to turn on her asking for Itohan. She remained firm
that her money had to be paid for taking the girl abroad. She maintained that
all the girls she had taken away were doing well and building houses back home
with the money they saved for their parents. She asked them what they thought the girls did for a living. Ivie found a way to make it clear to Mama Itohan that her
daughter ran away the very day she was supposed to be taught how to pull the
ropes. Mama Itohan was
distraught, wondering where her daughter could be, but was silently proud that
her girl still had her values intact!
I had heard so many
stories about human trafficking in Nigeria. Edo state has always been identified as the hub of this human trafficking.
I visited Benin city (the capital of Edo state) two
years ago but very briefly, it was a weekend trip as I attended a friend's
wedding. I went on a Friday, attended the wedding on Saturday and was out of
the city early on Sunday morning. I may have seen a few places but I was in the
company of friends so I didn't really see or interact with the indigenous
people.
This time I went
looking and ready to interact with everybody I would come in contact with. I
went to villages, different towns and had to meet different people, I had to
get an impression about this human trafficking. The impression I got in general was that the traffickers were protected, people were unwilling to release information. There was a general sense of hostility, suspicion and a conspiracy of silence. You could be part of the authorities and nobody wanted to be implicated.
I had heard stories
of ladies who were taken from rural areas and promised a better life outside Nigeria but
ended up being forced into a ring of prostitution. I watched a documentary once
in Paris
focusing on girls trafficked from Edo state, Nigeria. The
ring got busted! It was shameful to see and of course, a few friends called to
ask if I was watching. I walked past some of them a few times and after hearing
them speak, I could tell where they were from!
There are ladies in situations similar to Itohan but the question to ask would be how
they would integrate themselves back into normal lives if/when they finally find
a way out. How would they even find a way out in the first place?
The National Agency
for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and Other Related Matters (NAPTIP) works
tirelessly to prevent human trafficking but also has a series of activities
that help to rehabilitate and reintegrate victims back into society.
The Women Trafficking
and Child Labour Eradication Foundation (WOTCLEF) is another organisation that provides
counselling and rehabilitation.
NAPTIP and WOTCLEF
have facts, figures and amazing evidence of cases of human trafficking and how
they have managed to intervene.
I recently found out,
that among the many things the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
and the Red Cross (RC) do, they deal with such cases. Where family contact
has been lost due to human trafficking, the one seeking to re-establish contact
would need to find the nearest ICRC/RC office and send a message or initiate a
request for the family to be contacted or found. As long as precise information
is given, the case would be treated and when successful, both parties would be
put back in touch.
It saddens me that
people are able to profit from such wicked acts. In any case, this is my little
contribution to enlighten anyone who may be interested in this subject. Should you know anyone whose family member may have been
trafficked, they can reach out to these organisations.
Note
Mama Itohan = Itohan's mother
Ahn ahn = an exclamation. In this case, expressing shock
Some sentences are in pidgin. If you do not understand pidgin, please find a Nigerian around you and ask. Or feel free to write me :-)
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