Child trafficking from Guinea-Bissau to Senegal is on the decline

Child trafficking from Guinea-Bissau to Senegal is on the decline, partly due to better collaboration among local residents, civil society groups and government. Community village chiefs, the governors of Kolda and Bafata on the Senegal and Guinea-Bissau sides of the border respectively, and border police from both countries, have set up surveillance committees that work with local authorities to report suspected transport of children crossing into Senegal.

Government and aid workers closely following child trafficking say most of the children crossing the border are being sent to Senegal to become ‘talibés’ or followers of a religious leader – a marabout – to whom families send their children for learning the Koran.

The biggest difficulty NGOs face, other than working on a shoestring budget, is getting religious leaders, or Imams, on board.