'It's children we're talking about'

05 August 2015 - 02:04 By Mayihlome Tshwete

Justice Malala has climbed on the bandwagon questioning the new visa regulations and the need to have a balance between protecting children and tourism interests "Monday Morning Matters" (August 3). Malala [should acknowledge] that children go missing, are still abducted, kidnapped, trafficked and subjected to callous forms of forced labour and abuse.Fresh in my mind are the South African children who were taken most treacherously to Malawi and those snatched by fathers to Egypt without the consent of their mothers. It is to fail the women of our country if we don't speak out on these issues .The US's Trafficking in Persons Report 2015 says the events necessitating collective action to protect the vulnerable have not changed. Introducing the report, Secretary of State John Kerry asserts that "trafficking in persons is an insult to human dignity and an assault".The facts have not changed, unless we want to say human trafficking is no longer a crime to be stopped.The UN's Office on Drugs and Crime's 2014 report on human trafficking states that, in most parts of the world, adults are more affected by trafficking, with around 18% of children trafficked in Europe and Central Asia. But in Africa and the Middle East, it is largely children trafficked, at 62%.Yet, back home, the thinking goes: "Why worry?" It's a negligible "23 cases of child-trafficking". Not 30 000. It is children we are talking about. They are not "cases" or numbers.Old immigration laws lacked sufficient guidelines for immigration officers to protect children as required by the Children's Act of 2005, which requires parents to consent for children to travel. A part of the rationale for amending immigration law was to comply with and promote the Children's Act in respect of care for, and protection of, children. This was 10 years ago, before the 2015 resurgence of the contested numbers debate on trafficking, numbers that the Home Affairs director-general neither endorsed nor claimed.Contrary to what Malala says, Home Affairs did consider how amended visa laws would help in fighting trafficking. It's a burning issue for us, thus the emphasis on birth certificates.How would we verify that this is Malala's child without proof, such as a birth certificate?It is wrong to for Malala to allege that the immigration regulations are "onerous" and "Draconian".[He] is accepting without question that tourism lost R1.6-billion from measures to protect children. Child travel requirements are barely three months in force.Even the report of the expert panel assigned to review SA Tourism concedes that it is too early to reach such lofty conclusions. It presents factors at play that precede the immigration amendments.Malala says that when Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba walked into office the new regulations had just been announced. He should know that the minister served as deputy minister of Home Affairs. As an M P he had engaged in parliamentary debates when immigration law was reviewed, leading to the amendments of 2007 and 2011.People sound alarm bells when we protect and care for children and others. But deafening silence reigns supreme on regulating matters materialist, like driving abroad, involving readiness to produce original driver's licences, international driving permits, verification letters, original vehicle registration documents, stickers, and so on.Real change is when all are, and feel, safe; when sober analysis points to clear progress in mobilising international migration to drive socioeconomic goals without compromising national security or international human rights.Mayihlome Tshwete is Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba's spokesman..

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