BRIKAMA — West African lawmakers and anti-trafficking officials have launched a major campaign in The Gambia, hearing harrowing testimonies from migration survivors and warning that children as young as 12 are being trapped in modern slavery.
The community forum in Brikama, south of the capital Banjul, is part of a week-long regional push by the Ecowas Parliament to curb irregular migration and combat human trafficking networks across West Africa.
Officials say organized criminal syndicates are increasingly exploiting porous borders and the economic desperation of young people seeking quick financial success.
Lured by false promises
Seedy Bojang, an official from The Gambia’s National Agency Against Trafficking in Persons (NAATIP), revealed that trafficking networks are using deceptive tactics to recruit vulnerable youth.
Many victims are lured from across the region with promises of legitimate employment in restaurants and beauty salons, only to be forced into commercial sexual exploitation upon arrival in The Gambia.
“Some victims, including girls as young as 12, are manipulated through threats and intimidation before being exploited by trafficking syndicates,” Mr. Bojang told the forum.
Over the past year, NAATIP has investigated roughly 30 trafficking cases, most of them involving sexual exploitation. The crackdown has resulted in:
- 50+ victims rescued from exploitation
- 30+ suspects arrested by law enforcement
- 4 successful criminal convictions secured in court
‘I witnessed the killing of a mother and son’
The Brikama forum also heard emotional, first-hand accounts from young Gambians who attempted the perilous journey to Europe via irregular migration routes before being forced to return.
One returnee, Alhagie Kanteh, gave a graphic account of the violence migrants face at the hands of smugglers and detention guards. Kanteh recounted surviving targeted torture, starvation, and arbitrary imprisonment.
He told a muted audience that he had witnessed the brutal killing of fellow migrants along the route, including a mother and her young son.
“While migration is a fundamental reality, irregular migration exposes our young people to extreme exploitation, trafficking, and death.” — Maimuna Ceesay, Member of the Ecowas Parliament
A disproportionate burden
Local community leaders welcomed the town hall initiative, agreeing that public awareness is one of the most effective tools to dismantle the false promises made by human smugglers.
Hon. Alhagie S. Darboe, The Gambia’s minority leader and a member of the Ecowas parliamentary delegation, noted that the small West African nation continues to bear a “disproportionate impact” from the irregular migration crisis, losing vital human capital to dangerous routes across the Sahara and the Mediterranean.
The regional legislative campaign is scheduled to move to the coastal town of Barra in the North Bank Region tomorrow, as lawmakers continue their drive to promote safe, legal pathways for migration.
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