Malawi: Truck Drivers Learn About Risks Of Human Trafficking

UN NEWS—Truck drivers in southern Africa who have been recruited to traffic or smuggle people illegally are learning about the risks involved thanks to the UN drugs and crime agency, UNODC.

“I used to transport sugar from Malawi,” said an anonymous driver, who was arrested for migrant trafficking. “In 2016, I had to wait for several days at a border crossing in Tanzania for customs checks. I was approached by a man who offered me a lot of money to transport goats.”

His story is not unique.

Malawi is located at the crossroads of several significant flows of people fleeing conflict, instability, and poverty in Central Africa and the Horn of Africa.

Such movements provide lucrative opportunities for smugglers and traffickers and for Malawi’s 5,000 registered international truck drivers.

The driver who shared his story said he was paid in advance, and the man who offered him the deal took photos of both him and his truck. The driver proceeded to spend some of the money and send more to his wife.

“On the day I was due to leave, the man told me the ‘goats’ were actually 30 illegal migrants from Ethiopia,” he said. “They looked very sick, tired, and malnourished. He said I had to take them to a location in Malawi that’s close to a large refugee camp.”