Trafficking Survivors in Ghana Raise their Voices to Advocate for an Equal Future and Opportunities for Young Women and Girls
Accra - Sherrynorth from Ghana, 27, and Adaku from Nigeria, 18, have gone through a lot already in their lives. Both are smart and creative. Both have big dreams for their own future. Both are survivors of trafficking in persons.
Today, they are keen on sharing their stories to raise awareness of this scourge among their communities, including their young sisters.
Sherrynorth went to Iraq convinced that she would find greener pastures there; when she arrived, she realized she was being trafficked.
“I left Ghana in April 2019. When I got to the airport in Erbil, my passport was withdrawn. It was very horrific. Together with other ladies, we were moved to Bagdad. We were forced to work long hours, without rest or time off,” she recalls. “When in need of medical support, we were left suffering. I was abused physically, mentally, emotionally, sexually. Eventually, I managed to escape,” she adds.
In October 2019, with support from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, United States Department of State, she managed to voluntary return to Ghana. Her reintegration process was challenging, even more so since COVID-19 hit Ghana in March 2020. Nonetheless, she has been pushing through.
Today, Sherrynorth is working as a seamstress and is running a small second-hand clothing business. She is among a group of returnees who have started to produce nose masks to support the Government in their COVID-19 response, under the EU-IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and Reintegration, funded by the European Union Emergency Trust Fund for Africa. “At least I could also help save some lives out there,” she says.
But Sherrynorth's dreams are bigger.
“I’m aspiring to be a journalist to reach out to the youth and my fellow young women. So, besides the second-hand clothing business, I am studying in a Media school,” Sherrynorth explains.
“I wouldn’t want any young girl to go through what I experienced. I was lucky that I got back home because I know some of my sisters are dead out there without a trace,” she says. “You should focus on the little you can do in your own country, where you have your peace and no one is going to torment you and try set-up something here,” she urges young women.
Just like Sherrynorth, Adaku left Nigeria in 2019 to seek better economic opportunities. In Nigeria, Adaku was an apprentice to become a hairdresser. She was only 17 years old and was trafficked by a fellow Nigerian lady to Ghana.
“The lady told me I was going to Ghana for work and I would have a good life. I found out that she brought me there for prostitution. I had to run as fast as my legs could take me. I went to the police and they took me to IOM,” Adaku recounts.
Following her escape, she stayed at a Government-run shelter for victims of trafficking.
During her stay at the shelter, Adaku reflected on what has happened to her. She is using poetry, music, and writing to process what she has been through. She wrote over 20 songs, and a short theatre play. Before she left Ghana, she shared with IOM not only her story, but a song and a scene she wrote to warn other young girls of the dangers of trafficking.
Her advice to her fellow Nigerian sisters is: “Think twice before you travel. You should be careful if someone promises you a better feature abroad. They might be liars and take advantage of you.”
Due to COVID-19 Adaku and her friend couldn’t return to Nigeria until just recently when Ghana reopened its air borders in September 2020. “I am looking forward to going back to school when I get to Nigeria to study theatre. I want to become an actress, my biggest dream,” she said.
Girls and women like Sherrynorth and Adaku are important messengers for their peers. Sherrynorth reminds: “I want to be an advocate and lead by a good example. We need to reach out to each other and be there for one another. Girls face multiple challenges jeopardizing their freedoms every day. We need to ensure that every girl and the young woman has the power over her own life. With the freedom to move, the freedom to live as we want, the freedom to socialize, the freedom to speak up, and the freedom to take action for positive change, without fear of discrimination or violence or harassment. This is my vision for a future that is equal for young girls.”
At the occasion of the International Day of the Girl Child, IOM Ghana is proud to share the voices of strong and resilient girls and young women. Together, let’s support them to make their vision of an equal future become a reality.
The return and reintegration of the two survivors of trafficking has been supported by the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, United States Department of State (J/TIP).