Hungry, homeless and hopeless

Hundreds of children who have snuck into Namibia from southern Angola say the hunger in their native country forced them to seek a better life here.

In Windhoek alone, the children can be seen daily at traffic intersections and several busy areas across the city, selling wooden crafts to motorists and members of the public in order to make a living.

They have no identification paperwork, no place to call home, no food, and many have to endure the scorching sun and - at times - rainy weather barefooted, their bodies barely covered with flimsy cloths.

They claim the lack of education opportunities, poor healthcare and lack of food in Angola prompted them to cross the border.

Namibian Sun spoke to an adult vendor who, along with her children, flogs her wares along Abraham Mashego Street in Katutura.

The woman, who refused to be named, said she entered the country after sneaking past immigration controls along the northern border.

Hunger in their native Okaluheke village in southern Angola was the main motivation behind their trek, she said.

When asked where they live now, she said they mostly move from place to place, fleeing the elements while trying to eke out a living.

Grave concern

Lawyer Kadhila Amoomo this week wrote to President Nangolo Mbumba, asking him to address the plight of the Angolan child labourers.

Amoomo described the situation as a violation of international labour conventions, and the worst form of child labour.

The matter was one of grave concern, he noted.

Meanwhile, according to social activist Linda Baumann, the matter has not been attended to adequately.

“This has been a big issue and it has not been given the [necessary] attention. It started with the children who are selling sausages to these ones now selling these craft goods. Those young people we see need to be documented so that there are social protection mechanisms in place, because leaving them undocumented presents a danger,” she said.

“These young people need to be documented and placed in refugee camps to house them and afford them access to schools.”

According to Baumann, it was also critical that government initiate conversations with its Angolan counterpart to find a meaningful solution to the crisis.

“Conversations must be had to attract visibility and repatriate these children,” she said.

'Distressingly common'

Another important move is for communities to report these children to social services to ensure they are tracked and investigations conducted to assess whether they are subject to human rights abuses, Baumann said.

“The sight of these young children - often barely past infancy - being forced to work long hours, selling wooden products on the streets, is becoming distressingly common in our nation. Namibians are presented daily with this disheartening sight at the hands of child traffickers and abusers,” Amoomo said.

“The children selling these wooden products and other items are moreover met with several violations of their fundamental rights not limited to the right to protection from forced labour, economic exploitation and hazardous work.”

Government must go the distance to ensure children forced into labour have their right to food, shelter and education met, he said.

Further, it is “imperative that the Namibian government take decisive action to address this violation of their basic human rights and ensure that their well-being and proper developmental needs - not limited to food, shelter and education - are met,” his letter read.