By Allieu Sahid Tunkara
The Anti- human Trafficking project is slowly ridding into the sunset and personnel are folding up their papers and emptying the shelves.
The project ends in February this year and hopes for extension are faint.
The project is within the purview of the Advocacy Movement Network (AMNet), a local organisation specialised in human trafficking issues. It is implemented in seven border communities in the country including Kambia, Kailahun, Kabala, Pujehun among others.
The movement started work in Sierra Leone in 2004 and registered as rights based non-governmental organisation in 2006 with the government of Sierra Leone.
The organisation’s key objective is to see a free Sierra Leone where a rights-based approach to human dignity is accepted.
The Anti-human trafficking project commenced last year to contain the spiralling incidents of human trafficking.
The project is within the framework of the support to Free movement and Migration of persons in West Africa jointly supported by the ECOWAS Commission and the European Union, AMNet Sierra Leone in partnership with International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
The IOM, one of the UN agencies, is implementing a project on combating human trafficking and protecting the rights of children migrants and women victims through community engagement actions.
Although AMNet anti-human trafficking project is folding up, the trafficking realities are still grim . Sierra Leone is still considered a transit country for the trafficking in persons. A report recently released by the US state department has indicated that Sierra Leone has been placed at the Tier-2 Watchlist category.
Countries in this category, according to the report, are not worthy of receiving American aid and cooperation. No American company is permitted by law to do business with a Trafficking In Person (TIP) country.
The most terrible situation is the non-cooperation of frontline institutions supposed to create the desired momentum in the fight against TIP.
The report singled out the Sierra Leone Police (SLP) and the judiciary for creating fertile grounds for human trafficking.
The SLP, the report says, rape and sexually harass victims of human trafficking. The report also accuses the judiciary of corruption that goes a long way to undermine the campaign against TIP.
Government of Sierra Leone, according to the report, has failed to secure convictions. The international community is of the view that convictions of traffickers would produce a deterrent effect.
However, the investigation, prosecution and convictions of traffickers is in the hands of the police and the judiciary. The report entreats Sierra Leone Government to take reasonable measure to prosecute and convict as the country faces TIP evaluation in March, this year.
The report says, no country is permitted to remain in a particular status for two consecutive years. The country either goes one step above or slide down to Tier-3, the most dangerous stage for any country.
Sierrra Leone is heading for the last and perilous tier if it fails to take the measures recommended by the report.
It goes without saying that Sierra Leone still struggles in the bottom rungs of the TIP benchmark.
Trainings and public education campaigns have been conducted by AMNet to stem the tide of human trafficking as residents in the border communities have been educated about it.
During the training sessions, resident in rural communities have been told not to let out their children to traffickers.
Sam Bangura is the programme manager of AMNet. He told Nightwatch that he would appreciate any extension of the project if the financiers deem it prudent to do so. Bangura always makes no mince of words in exposing the financial constraints faced by the project. “ At the initial phase of the project, some areas were not budget for. We have to look for other alternatives to foot the bill especially when we invite people for training and meetings,” Bangura said. “The steering committee is one those areas in the project that was not budgeted for” he added.
However, few weeks back, the AMNet programme Manager said another tranche of funds were in to expedite the project.
But the funds is a drop in the ocean considering the huge task that lie ahead of the government of Sierra Leone.
Since Sierra Leone stands to be evaluated in the not too distant future on TIP, It would be prudent for the government and international community to maintain the anti-human trafficking project.