ABANDONED TEENS FORCED INTO SEX TRADE

The teenager *Samu was found at one of the bars she hangs around at and does sexual favours that will earn her money. (Pic: Bonisile Makhubu)

MBABANE – At the age of 15, she hangs around bars, and does sexual favours that will earn her money.

The plight of this teenager has been raised by concerned patrons of a bar located at the periphery of the Mbabane City.

*Samu believes that she was disowned by both her father who lives in Durban South Africa and her mother who lives at Logoba in Manzini.
All she does now is to wake up and go to the bar where she has been seen sitting and drinking alcoholic beverages with men until late into the night.
A concerned woman, who said she suspected that the child was underage yet she was a regular patron at two of the bars that the woman also visited, said: “One day I approached her to find out why she was here and she explained that she had to make money.”

The woman said the girl narrated to her how she was forced to fend for herself and her 13-year-old sister, because they lived alone.
They  had to cook for themselves in their one-room house, which she said was allocated to them by their maternal grandfather.

Waylaying

The Swazi News team managed to get hold of the girl after waylaying her for three days at the bar early in the week.
She said she came into the country in 2015 when her father brought them together with her sister.
“We used to stay and school in Durban where my father originates. When we came over in 2015 my father said we were visiting my mother’s parents and we were due to return to Durban in January 2016,” she said.

She said their father dropped them at an informal crossing point on the South African side because they did not have passports.
Samu narrated that when January came they did not have bus fare and means to return to Durban.

“Our grandfather tried to call my dad but he was not reachable and we have not been able to get hold of him since then.”
She said for all the years that followed she has been idling at home because she did not even have a birth certificate to enrol in a local school and catch up since she was doing Grade VII in Durban.

When she was asked why she opted hanging out in drinking spots and allegedly offering sexual favours to male patrons, as claimed by the concerned woman, the girl said it was due to circumstances.

“My sister was fortunate because she had a birth certificate which she used to enrol at a local primary school where she is doing Grade V. I have been idling home since I came and I have to provide food and other necessities for the two of us,” she said.

She alleged that her grandfather told them to use a one-room flat while he and his family lived in the main house.
This is where the two cook using firewood or a paraffin stove.

Seeking

“My grandparents told me to go out and search for money so I started off by doing washing for neighbours who offered this job but the money was not always enough because I would earn between E30 and E50 on those particular days where I had a job offered.”

When asked if they ever considered seeking help from other relatives or relevant organisations, Samu said they had no other relatives except their parents and the ones they lived with currently.

“Sometimes we do approach neighbours for assistance, especially for money for purchasing paraffin because we cannot cook outside during rainy days,” she said.

She said some people, who are tenants in neighbouring homes, often gave them rice and meat to cook.
It was gathered that the children’s grandparents have no formal jobs save for piece jobs they carry out for neighbours.

“My grandfather is a builder while his wife does house chores in people’s houses. Two of my aunts do not live here while one is still at high school,” Samu said.
When the news team arrived at the girls’ home on Tuesday there was no one in sight.

The head teacher of the school that is attended by the younger girl said they had learned about the conditions under which the children lived.
“When I first heard that the older girl was literally sitting at home and not attending school I made attempts to call their mother and at first she seemed to be cooperative but later on she would not answer my calls,” he said.

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