Sao Tome and Principe discuss contemporary trends in migration and human trafficking.

Melba de Seita - São Tomé.

The seminar organised by the Episcopal Conference of Angola, Sao Tomé and Principe (CEAST) is taking place at Sao Tome and Principe’s Radio Jubilar Conference Centre.

Training on Migration

The seminar was promoted by the office for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People under the auspices of CEAST.

According to Angola’s Archbishop of Huambo, Zeferino Zeca Martins, who oversees the commission on behalf of the Bishops’ Conference, the seminar was in part training on migration and human trafficking issues.

The first day of work focused on the causes, consequences and contemporary trends in the area of migration. This was followed by input on human trafficking and testimonies on the situation in Sao Tome and Principe.

Awareness of trafficking by relations

Regarding the country’s current reality, Vera Cravid spoke to participants from a legal point of view. She observed that because of economic challenges in Sao Tome and Principe, there is the cultural habit and tendency of sending children off to well-to-do relations or family friends in the cities. The hope is that these relations would, in turn, offer better opportunities for learning and mobility in society. Unfortunately, said Cravid, this sometimes leads to the exploitation of children by relations and family friends.

Sao Tome and Principe is an Island country in Central Africa, located on the Equator in the Gulf of Guinea. It consists of two main islands—Sao Tome and Principe. There are also Islets, including Rôlas, south of Sao Tome, and Caroço, Pedras, and Tinhosas, south of Principe.