Ishmael Bayoh
Sierra Leone Embassy Dakar, Senegal* Six Sierra Leonean girls aged 14, 16,17, 18, 20, and 22 years have been rescued from forced prostitution in Dakar and are now in the custody of the Sierra Leone Embassy in Dakar awaiting repatriation. These girls were tricked by their aunt resident in Dakar with a promise of employment in a restaurant to prepare Sierra Leonean foods. It turned out that the girls were prostitutes. The girls were residing at Mile 4, for Water Junction, Waterloo, with three of them going to school and the older ones doing petty trading. Explaining their ordeals, the eldest, Hawanatu Sesay, who is 22 years old, said they were told by their aunt, Isatu Deen whom they were residing with in Freetown that her sister Hafsatu Leigh who is residing in Dakar, that a woman she was working for in Senegal had asked her to get 6 girls for her to be employed in a Sierra Leonean restaurant. These girls were selected, and national identity cards were prepared for them to travel. The national ID cards that were prepared for them and seen were fake. Hafsatu Leigh had already arranged with a driver to pick up the girls from Conakry, Guinea. They left Freetown through Conakry on October 5th, 2023, by road to Dakar. “When we reached Senegal on the 9th, of October, we called her on this number +2217646096 and the driver took us to a place called Diamniado, where we met our aunty Hafsatu. She told us that she was known as Adama in Senegal and not Hafsatu. ” Hawanatu continued her explanation that when they were taken home by Isatu now known in Senegal as Adama, she introduced them to another woman that they met at home. “After we had washed and eaten, they took away our telephones and all papers that we had written down some telephone numbers. This woman that we had met asked us whether we knew why we were brought to Senegal. We answered that it was to work in a Sierra Leonean restaurant. With shock, she continued “The woman told us that we were brought to do prostitution. I did not understand that word, so I asked what was it, and then she said ‘na for cam do array gal woke’ (it is to do prostitution). ” At that stage, the girls said they all declined that they would not do that. Whilst they were on that, they explained that six other women arrived at the scene. “Adama introduced us to them as our madams and that they had come to take each one of us to start the prostitution work that same day. Some of the girls began crying, and Adama told the madams to wait for the following day as we were tired after over four days journey”. Continuing, she narrated, “We heard the madams and Adama quarrelling that was not what they bargained. Adama locked us in a room and told us to rest till the sunset then we would go out somewhere to swear an oath that we would never tell anyone what we were brought to Senegal to do”. In the room, the 16 years old (name withheld) said she told the rest to pray on the water they were drinking and sprinkled it around to avert ill luck when they were to escape. “God answered our prayers, and on the 9th, of October, we escaped after I had cried to Adama that my head was aching and needed paracetamol. So she opened the door and left it unlocked. ” How did these girls trace their steps to the embassy? Hawanatu said when they were coming to Senegal, they met a Sierra Leonean man on the bus named Augustine, and they shared contacts. “His number I had written on one small piece of paper and put it in a corner of my bag. So when we had escaped and had gone far away, I searched for his number and called him. ” They thanked Augustine for coming to their aid immediately, who then got in touch with a Sierra Leonean woman named Mimi Sharp and told her about the situation. Both Augustine and Mimi informed the Sierra Leone Ambassador, H.E Alhaji Brima Elvis Koroma, who told them to bring the girls to the Sierra Leone Embassy on 19th October 2023. Their arrival at the embassy coincided with the visit of the Minister of Information and Civic Education Chernor Bah, who said it was a serious issue that needed lots of civic education. The girls were placed in safe lodging on the 19th, of October, as the embassy is collaborating with the IOM for their repatriation. Taking further steps to trace and prosecute the perpetrators, Ambassador Koroma has informed the Senegalese law enforcement authorities. He is also scheduled to inform Sierra Leoneans during his community outreach activities to desist and identify those involved in trafficking in persons.
