Human trafficking refers to the wide variety of processes by which individuals become physically enslaved. An individual is said to be physically enslaved when she or he is unable to leave a situation without fear of violence and is forced to work while paid little or nothing for any duration of time Therefore, a biblical perspective to deal with this horror is urgently required to theologically interrogate the problem of human trafficking in sub-Saharan Africa in general and Nigeria in particular with the purpose to proffer sustainable solution that is biblically acceptable. The paper employed exegetical method of a diachronic type as well as historical-critical methodology to interrogate the text within its context. The paper concluded that the challenge of human trafficking and kidnapping is endemic in Nigeria and has negated the theology of sanctity and sacredness of life, as well as the salvific work of Jesus Christ for believers.
TopIntroduction
Human trafficking, according to Adepitan (2020) is generally understood to refer to the process through which individuals are placed or maintained in an exploitative situation for economic or material gains. Trafficking can occur within a country or may involve movement across borders. Women, men and children are trafficked for a range of purposes, including forced and exploitative labour in factories, farms and private households, sexual exploitation, organ harvest, and forced marriage. Trafficking affects all regions and most countries of the world, however, most developing and less developed countries are more affected, because at the root of human trafficking is the challenge of poverty and inequality.
International agreement on what constitutes “trafficking in persons” is very recent. In fact, it was not until the late 1990s that countries began the task of separating trafficking from other practices with which it was commonly associated such as facilitated irregular migration. The first-ever agreed definition of trafficking was incorporated into the 2000 Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (Trafficking Protocol). That definition has since been incorporated into many other legal and policy instruments as well as national laws (UNHR, 2014).
Hence, the Trafficking Protocol defines the term “trafficking in persons” as:
the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.
In brief, it involves the exploitation of vulnerable persons by coercing them to be held and transported via abduction, fraud, deception, or use of force. They are exploited for the purpose of sex, farm labour, organ harvest, or other forms of slavery (Afonja, 2001).
It is difficult to be exact about the number of people trafficked because it is a crime that is kept hidden. It is believed that more than 1.5 million people are trafficked each year. The industry is said to be worth $57 billion annually. Through it, human life is reduced to a commodity. This constitutes a tragedy of huge proportions for those who become trapped. It is important not to confuse trafficking with smuggling of people, which refers to procuring or facilitating the illegal entry of people into another State for financial gain, usually using false documentation. Unlike people who have been trafficked, those smuggled – once in the country – will normally be left free to make a new life as best they can (UN, 2008).
Human trafficking is an old infamous practice, as such incidences were also recorded in the Bible in relation to the story of Joseph; the younger son of Jacob and Rachel. Joseph had older half-brothers who did not like him. They considered killing Joseph but eventually settled on throwing him in a pit, which the Bible describes as empty, with no water in it (Gen. 37:24). Then the brothers saw a chance to make money off of their captive younger brother.
Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers agreed. When some Midianite traders passed by, they drew Joseph up, lifting him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt (Gen. 37:26-28 NRSV).
Using today’s definition, the 10 older brothers were guilty of human trafficking, and Joseph was a victim. The brothers saw a chance to make money by exploiting a vulnerable, powerless person. They sold Joseph into slavery. It is also apt to mention that the Scripture specifically condemns the slave trade in the New Testament, not to mention other crimes such as murder, fornication, and lying associated with trafficking.