Kamonyi: Mediators, community health workers enlightened on human trafficking

{Mediators and community health workers have been called upon to make awareness against human trafficking ‎part of their duties in their day-to-day community issues to raise the understanding on the issue of modern day slavery, as a preventive measure.
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The call was made on December 8 during a meeting that brought together about 50 mediators and community health workers, and police in Kamonyi.

It was also attended by local leaders in the district.

Inspector of Police (IP) Athanase Niyonagira, explained to the participants the meaning of human trafficking, how it’s carried out, and their role to raise awareness against it.

The meeting was part of the Rwanda National Police to fight and prevent crimes through a community policing proactive a‎pproach.

‎”Human traffickers mainly target the youth, especially girls, promising them jobs or educations, but when they arrive at the destination they confiscate their travel documents and use them the way they want in exploitative activities including sexual exploitation,” IP Niyonagira explained.

‎”That’s why fighting it requires the involvement of everyone. In you meetings and duties, make this fight against human trafficking and criminality in general, part of your discussions and pass over the awareness messages to everyone because only together as a team, we will overcome this,” he added.

He explained that although the human trafficking is not yet a threat in Rwanda, with majority victims being foreigners intercepted in Rwanda trying to use it as a transit‎ route, it can be a serious threat is not dealt with at an early stage.

Majority participants said they knew almost nothing about human trafficking while others were flank to add that it was their first time to hear about it.

“To be flank, I didn’t know anything about human trafficking, it sounds new to me but it’s a serious threat that everyone should know about,” LaurenceUwimana, one of the participants and a mediator, said.

Participants thanked Rwanda National Police for reaching out to them to prevent their children from falling prey, and pledged to take on the awareness mantle.