Human Trafficking and Personhood: Implications for Africans

Abstract

There are many activities people engage in as a means of livelihood, and one such activity is human trafficking, which has become a global concern to humanity as it manifests itself in varied forms such as forced labor, child trafficking, baby factories, prostitution, organ harvesting, and debt bondage, among others. Human traffickers take undue advantage of Africans due to the poor and pathetic state of most African nations. Human traffickers could be Africans or not, colluding with foreign individuals or organizations. Human trafficking, for pro-human traffickers, is a transnational lucrative business, while for anti-human traffickers, it is illegal. As such, our lead questions are: How justifiable are the conflicting viewpoints of pro-human and anti-human traffickers? How justifiable are the actions of human traffickers benefitting at the expense of human value (trafficked victim)? How best can the African government combat this age-long problem of human trafficking? Thus, adopting the analytic method, we argue for the dignity of the African person (Africanness) and endorse “contentment” and “alternative choice” as underlying principles for combating trafficking in human beings