Human trafficking scare during World Cup
2010-06-10
THE World Cup is here, but so too has the threat of human trafficking arrived. Human trafficking is mostly sex slavery where especially girls under the age of 18 years are kidnapped and sold to the highest bidder. This trade has been around since the beginning of time, but it is especially during such elaborate events as the World Cup, when it becomes popular in the host country. This is due to the influx of visitors who are not only here for the sport, but for their own pleasure as well. A locally respected farm worker of Wellington, Klaas Morkel, recently had a scare, when he was told by an acquaintance that his daughter was being advertised on the internet for R45 000. Morkel was devastated when he was shown the website and the picture which was advertising his daughter. “I started to shake with shock. The picture was a photograph which had been taken of my 15-year-old daughter at school. “Unfortunately I did not write down the address of the website, and my acquaintance soon after this went back to the Eastern Cape. “I still do not know how they got hold of the photograph.” And then Morkel started receiving telephone calls from a man who said he was going to take his daughter away. Morkel has since been in close contact with the Wellington Police, who are following all leads. But often trafficking networks are highly sophisticated and their footsteps are almost instantly erased. A spokesperson for the police said that there was no reason for panic, as they are on high alert. “But the public must be cautious at all times to protect themselves and their property.”
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