600 Ugandan girls 'victims of Malaysia sex trade'

At least 600 Ugandan girls have been forced into Malaysia’s sex trade in what has become a human trafficking epidemic, a foreign diplomat has said.

Hajah Noraihan, the Malaysian consul to Uganda, said despite an early warning to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2008 when the number of trafficked girls stood at 30, the constant flow of victims had not slowed.

She said Malaysian intelligence indicated 10 girls continued to fall through the cracks of Uganda’s immigration and labour systems daily.

“Nothing was done and this is what happened,” Ms Noraihan said.

Malaysia is currently on a US State Department watch list for not having shown adequate evidence of its efforts to combat the scourge.

However, it has been working to curb the illegal practice after a raid last October in which 21 Ugandan girls were freed from forced prostitution.

Only five of these have since returned to Uganda, while the rest were being held in a Malaysian detention centre, Ms Noraihan said.

A total of 60 girls were being held on fraudulent visa charges as a result of an ongoing immigration sweep.

The line between girls who were “caught” or “saved” as Ms Noraihan termed them, was often a matter of technicality. A victim’s silence or shame could see them face criminal charges instead of being brought back to Uganda, she said.

Coming home

The International Organisation of Migration (IOM) said it had successfully returned 14 girls to Uganda from Malaysia, but that they were only able to move victims who had been clearly identified and volunteered to come home.

Director of Interpol Asan Kasingye, who confirmed the figure of more than 600, said young, poor and vulnerable girls were targeted by recruiters after being lured overseas with the promise of legitimate high-paying jobs.

He said many more may be trapped in an unknown location, or were intimidated into silence by their captors.

According to Ms Noraihan, three Ugandan women had been killed in Malaysia since 2010 for trying to escape.

Mr James Mugume, the Permanent Secretary of the ministry of Foreign Affairs, said he was unaware of the staggering figures the consul presented.

However, he said, an Internal Affairs committee made up of Interpol, Immigration and ministry of Labour representatives had been tasked with identifying recruiters and addressing lax immigration procedures.

The return trips for the 60 girls still in Malaysian prisons would have to be funded by their families or the IOM, Mr Mugume said.

“The biggest issue is we have to stop the traffic from here,” Mr Mugume said. “You have to focus on the root causes – who is recruiting these people?”