Johannesburg – Eight Mozambican children aged between 13 and 17 years, who were trafficked into South Africa to work at a Chinese factory in Nigel, are going to be taken back home.
The Gauteng Department of Social Development Social Workers on Wednesday revealed that it was going to repatriate eight teenage boys to their homes in Mozambique.
The department said the children were found in January this year by the police during a raid at a Chinese factory in Nigel.
The police raid was initiated by the Department of Labour and Employment after it received a tip-off about a Chinese factory that was employing minors and undocumented foreign nationals.
After the raid, the children were placed at the department’s Mary Moodley Child and Youth Care Centre in Benoni.
The Children’s Court in Nigel confirmed the placement of the Mozambican teens at the department’s centre.
Social workers later interviewed the children and found out that they were Mozambicans from Xaixai, Nbacunte Village, Gaza province.
The trafficked children recounted how they were “recruited” by the Nigel company driver in Mozambique.
The driver of the taxi, who reportedly comes from the same village as the trafficked children, sought out young people and their families who were interested in working in South Africa, Johannesburg.
He informed the recruits and their family members that there was no need for passports or documents.
The children recalled that they came to South Africa on 15 January 2024.
The children said they travelled in a minibus taxi with about 14 other boys from their village.
Narrating their story to the department, the children said a minibus taxi was driving around their village while inviting residents to come to South Africa for better opportunities.
The trafficked victims said inside the minibus were other children of the same age wearing expensive sneakers and having iPhones, which convinced them to agree to come to South Africa.
On Tuesday this week, social workers went back to the Children’s Court in Nigel to seek permission to release the children from their place of safety so they can be repatriated to their country.
The children will be handed over to their authorities in Mozambique, who will reunite them with their parents.
The Mozambican consulate has already issued the children with temporary travel documents and allowed a care-to-care process between the Social Development Departments in the two countries.
This was facilitated by the Department of Social Development, International Social Workers Services.
The children will be handed over to Social Workers at the Komatipoort Border Post.
Baby Makhumisani, a Social Work Manager from the Department’s Nigel Office in Ekurhuleni, said repatriation of the children will also spotlight the problem of child trafficking as part of Child Protection Week awareness.
“The children are happy, and we are happy as a team because we managed to complete the matter,” said Makhumisani.
“These children, who were placed in our institutions, were no longer happy since there was a language barrier. Sometimes Social Workers will receive calls from institutions complaining that they are refusing to eat their food”.
Makhumisani said despite receiving new sneakers from the institutions, the children said all they wanted was to be reunited with their families in Mozambique.
“At last, I am happy that I am going back to my family because the man who brought us here in South Africa lied to us,” said a rescued boy.
“Everything he promised us was a lie.
“It is not like we are starving where we are coming from.
“Our intention was to work while studying, and we were going to buy ourselves Air Force sneakers and iPhones, but to our surprise, we were locked in a hall where we worked day and night.
“They paid us R75 a day, and they will open for us only on Sunday to buy ourselves food and toiletries.
“And one thing about South Africa is that it is very cold, and we did not have warm clothes, but thanks to social workers who were able to get us warm clothes.”
Another boy who cannot be named said he was worried about his mother because she did not know that he was trafficked to South Africa.
“I was doing standard six, and this year I was supposed to be doing standard seven since in January we were already in South Africa. I did not have a chance,” he said.
“My reason to get into the taxi that day was because those boys were wearing expensive sneakers and carrying iPhones, and I knew my mother was not going to afford any of them.
“I am happy because, at last, I am going to be reunited with my family after such a long time.
“I will come back to South Africa, but as a responsible person with legal papers.”
A case of child labour, poor working conditions, and employing undocumented minors was opened against the owner of an electrical components supply company in Nigel.
The factory owner has since been arrested, and released on bail.
However, the factory is still operating.