Monrovia – Defence for Children International (DCI-Liberia), a local non-governmental child rights organization early October reunified nine Sierra Leoneans children with their family in that neighboring West African country.
According to DCI-Liberia Executive Director, Atty. Foday M. Kawah, the nine children constitute the first batch of 33 children already identified for reunification, adding that the last group of 24 children would be reunified with their parents by late October or early November 2018.
“We have conducted the family tracing and identify the legal parents of these children. We want to make sure that children are protected from trafficking. Children that are trafficked or move across borders in search of greener pasture are most vulnerable to prostitution, rape, violence, sexual exploitation and abuse among many other in human treatment,” he said.
Presenting the children to the Sierra Leonean Immigration authorities at the Jedema Border, the DCI-Liberia boss said many of the children came to Liberia alone in search of greener pastures, but found it difficult to return to their family when they found that the pasture in Liberia was not as green as they had thought.
He said the children were identified through the organizations ongoing “children on the move” program that tracks the movement of unaccompanied children, vulnerable youth and women in Liberia and reunite them with their legal family in their country of birth.
“These children came to Liberia with the hope to go to school, get easy access to do business or better living condition. Seventeen years have passed since some of them arrived and they are yet to realize any of these dreams or achieve these ambitious plans. They want to go back home without any problem,” Atty. Kawah added.
According to him, the organization’s initiative to reunify children with their families back in their country of origin is being supporting by the Fund for Global Human Rights, adding that this has being ongoing for the past seven years.
For his part, DCI-Liberia Project Officer Mustapha Manabah said the organization is currently managing the case of 257 children from several West African Countries including Guinea, Sierra Leone and Gambia, adding that many unaccompanied children are crossing into Liberia through the border in Grand Cape Mount County.
“On my estimation, about 30 children cross the border every day. There are 48 entry points in Grand Cape Mounty and only about eight of these are being manned by immigration authority so it is a challenge in tackling issues related to children on the move but we are making sure that children who cross the border do not fall into the wrong hands or come in harm’s way,” he said.
Receiving the nine Sierra Leonean children on behalf of their parents, the Officer-in-Charge of the Sierra Leonean Immigration authority at the Jedema border, Mohammed Abdullai Kamara, lauded DCI-Liberia for helping his kinsmen return home.
“The government and people of Sierra Leone thank you for your service to humanity especially for helping us track down our citizens. We assure you of our support to ensuring the safety and protection of all children across this border,” he noted.
According to the West Africa Network (WAN) about one million children are on the move in the West African region alone. Reasons range from search for better living conditions, jobs, education, and business among others. The DCI-Liberia initiative is part of the efforts of the ECOWAS community to tackle issues related to children on the move across borders as a form to combat child trafficking, and abuse.