In the Saturday Times of March 28, a story under the headline ‘Sex slavery, hard labour; a tale of two human trafficking victims’, highlighted the real threat that human trafficking poses to human dignity. 

Two women gave touching testimonies of how they were subjected to hard labour and sex slavery in Asia, after being lured with promises of high paying jobs. Such stories keep coming up in the media, but gullible people still fall victim to human trafficking.

It is a puzzle that despite the horrifying tales, some people still risk to take that journey in search for greener pastures abroad.

Measures have been put in place to curb human trafficking in Rwanda, but the country remains a preferred target for traffickers.

The threat is real, and needs combined efforts to stamp it out. Human trafficking is modern day slavery which deprives people of their human rights and dignity. People need to be sensitised not to blindly trust anyone promising them good jobs abroad-not even a relative.

The traffickers usually use someone close to lure their targeted victim. Usually it’s a close friend or relative who comes with the ‘good news’ to end the victim’s problem of poverty and unemployment. For the victims, it is easy to believe since these are people they trust.

However, with the bad experience of many people who have been connected by friends and relatives, no one should accept such offers without doing due diligence. Even if the person is your relative or close friend, don’t rush into taking up such deals to avoid regrets.

Concerned authorities should sensitise people about how human traffickers operate and the tricks they use to lure unsuspecting people especially young girls and the unemployed youth.

We need to step up efforts to stop human trafficking in the country.