One of the evilest systems upon the face of the earth is the trafficking of humans, especially children. We see in the United States the horror of it all through the reporting surrounding the Jeffrey Epstein human trafficking ring in which many prominent politicians and wealthy businesspeople participate with impunity. Beneath that high-end is an array of slave trade levels. China, for example, enslaves people to work for the state, which in turn, produces many products that Americans consume—NIKE, Wal Mart—are just the larger examples. In Ghana, where our ministry to the rural areas exposes many human conditions, we are again seeing that human trafficking is on the rise.
Before COVID, our ministry was beginning to work with the Ghana government and other nonprofits to educate about and prevent human trafficking. Often agents of these child traffickers, commonly Muslim, gain the confidence of young girls and lure them away to a “better” life. Just as we thought Covid-19 had brought at least a temporary end to child trafficking, the situation has deteriorated to a different level altogether. Pastor William Agbeti reports: “Only four days after Ghana lifted the ban on air travel, there has been an astronomical surge in child trafficking operations in rural Ghana. Poor families that we have been helping in the wake of Covid-19 report that several agents have surfaced in and around their villages and towns, seeking young girls to send abroad to work and live in rich households.
“A parent reported that a “white man” was spotted in their community, operating through a local native, to recruit girls to travel overseas. This parent, a single mother, had to warn her children not to listen to any such offers. Even more aggressively, a 16-year-old Muslim girl befriended a 13-year-old, one of a family of six girls being looked after by their Grandma, a widow, to live with the family. The Grandma narrated the story when we visited to bring the family some foodstuffs. Already, this Muslim girl had succeeded in convincing the 13-year-old and two other granddaughters not to attend church. It was Grandma, whilst discussing the Muslim girl, who told us about the widespread operations of agents asking young girls to travel to the Middle East for greener pastures.
“We prayed with Grandma, and led her 13-year-old granddaughter to renew her vows to Christ and reasoned Biblically with her. We also counseled the 16-year-old. We advised Grandma to immediately seek temporary residential assistance for the Muslim girl and have her move out. Evil agents have descended on poor families in rural Ghana. We will continue to pray and believe God to use us to save these vulnerable children. We also will call the authorities about this new development.” Jesus said in Matthew 18:6, “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” That’s how The Daily Jot sees human traffickers. We are committed to do something about it.
