Slavery refers to a condition in which individuals are owned by others, who control where they live and at what they work. Surprisingly, slavery is still widespread in most countries in Africa. Slavery has never been eradicated despite great efforts. Africa just recorded the highest rate of modern-day enslavement in the world. Armed conflict, forced labor, and forced marriages are the main causes behind the 9.2 million Africans who were enslaved in 2018. Despite these practices being widespread, slavery has remained a largely invisible issue, in part, because it affects the most marginalized members of society, such as minorities, women, and children.
Malawi rates as one of the most densely populated and least developed countries around the world which makes Malawi a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children to be trafficked for the purpose of forced labor. In Malawi, children are most likely to fall into slavery while trying to help support their families. Poverty fuels human trafficking, with traffickers often enticing children from their parents with promises of employment that will pay them a lot. Malawi has many white-owned plantations with products including tea, tobacco, sugar, cotton and peanuts. Most slave labor is found on plantations; children and some adults doing all the hard labor that comes with farming and running a plantation. In 1971 a man named Banda, made himself “president” of Malawi forever. Over his presidency, he censored telephone calls, letters, films, and magazines. He also made himself very rich which made the country very poor. Then in 1992 Malawi suffered a severe drought, which helped cause violent protests in Malawi. Also, some western countries suspended aid. The Malawian churches also publicly denounced the situation. Finally in 1993 Banda was forced to hold a general vote for the public to ask the people if they wanted to continue one-party rule or return to democracy. The great majority voted for democracy, so elections were held on May 17, 1993. Bilki Muluzi became the new president. The country is still trying to greaten economically but is having trouble.
The fight for protection from, prosecution and prevention of trafficking has been a long and winding journey; it has taken Malawi 10 years of consultations, awareness and lobbying for the Trafficking in Persons Act to be enacted into law. To stop the traffickers, citizens, enforcement authorities and judicial officers all have a role to play.
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Increased enforcement of laws, cross-border cooperation and information-sharing can all be effective, but ending human trafficking also means tackling the root causes: extreme poverty, inequality, a lack of education and opportunities. The Trafficking in Persons Act 2015 tries to criminalize sex traffickers. To continue to make sure slave labor and sex trafficking stops, everyone has a role to play. It will take everyone coming together to protect each other from the horrible reality of sex trafficking and slave labor. These laws that were put in place are helping more than hurting. They are trying to criminalize the people responsible and trying to prevent more sex trafficking and slave labor. The UN is trying really hard to advocate for the victims to make everyone safe. Also, The British American Tobacco Company is also trying to stop child labor in the tobacco industry. They really take a look at the documents and ethnographic data of the company to make sure that child labor laws are being followed.
Three steps that I think that could aid in slave labor are simple. Step one is to find the main sources/companies that are responsible for slave and child labor. If you can find the main sources you can eliminate a good number of adults and children that are being treated unfairly. The next step is to make sure the right laws are in place so once you find the main people involved you can arrest them. Being in charge of a company that is treating children and adults unfairly is an arrestable offense and needs to be treated as such. The third step is to try to advocate for everyone to work together to end this for good. If everyone works together and brings attention to it, no one can get away with it. I think police and the working class need to take more of a part in stopping this and take it more seriously.
Slavery in Africa is a growing problem that needs to be stopped. Slavery is a condition in which individuals are owned by others, who control where they live and at what they work. Slavery is very widespread all around the world and occurs more than you would think. Malawi is a country in Africa that is one of the most densely populated countries but also one of the least developed. If everyone works together, slavery can be stopped for good. But it can\’t just be done by a few people.
