Tragic Human Trafficking that made headlines in Zimbabwe two years ago, is set to be relived in a film titled Boundaries Within.
Over 200 women have fallen victim to human trafficking in the Middle East.
The movie touches on how women fall prey to human traffickers after being promised better paying jobs, but end up being forced to engage in prostitution and labor enslavement on foreign soils.
Annie Bridget Paradza, the scriptwriter and lead character in the movie told 263Chat that the movie was borne out of the sad tale of the women, most of whom were trafficked to Kuwait and Sudan.
“In 2016, Zimbabwean women fell prey to human trafficking where they promised better paying jobs and so on then they would be forced into prostitution and forced labor. So it is against this background that I came up with the film.
“This movie will be shown in cinemas soon because we are done with the editing. We are waiting for a final date of this movie,” Paradza told 263Chat.
In the movie, Paradza plays the role of Faith, a young woman who is languishing in poverty at home.
She is then forced to look for a job and in the process; she unknowingly, together with four other girls, comes face to face with human traffickers who persuade her to take up a job abroad.
Paradza said there is lack of knowledge of human trafficking and Boundaries Within will clearly articulate the dangers of the scourge.
“We aim to clearly indicate to Zimbabweans that human trafficking is real. Our country is reeling under economic hardships and many people are likely to take any opportunity outside the country in search of greener pastures.
“However, it is that desperation which then leads to human trafficking. It is worth noting that there is a decrease in cases of human trafficking due to education which has been given out there. We hope this movie will also add to those channels of education, “she said.
The Zimbabwean government has enacted the Trafficking in Persons Act (Chapter 9:25). Beyond that, it has also used the same Act to domesticate the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children Supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime.
Domestication is the legal process of incorporating regional and international treaties and conventions into national law as required by our Constitution.
The Act is comprehensive in its scope since it does not only provide for the punishment of the offender but it also provides for the protection of the victim.
Paradza, though, feels that there has not been enough prosecution of human traffickers.
“Those people who did this heinous crime are still out there, they have not been arrested and it is highly likely that they will come up with another way of taking people out there, and most people will unknowing fall prey because they will not be aware of what will be happening,” she lamented.
According to a report by the U.S Department of State in 2017, the Government of Zimbabwe does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so.
The government made key achievements during the reporting period; therefore, Zimbabwe was upgraded to Tier 2 Watch List.
“Despite the achievements, the government did not convict any traffickers during the reporting period. It did not amend the 2014 Trafficking in Persons Act, which was inconsistent with international law.
“Prosecutors used non-trafficking laws to charge cases that were potentially trafficking due to a lack of training on application of the anti-trafficking law,” reads the report.
It also states that the government did not monitor transnational borders adequately, where corruption and official complicity can facilitate trafficking with impunity.
