The trafficking of children for purposes of sexual exploitation

Abduction 3: Alicia's story
Original interview in English
I was walking with Arlene and Shelley on the Parade, after school. We were approached by four men, we didn't know.
They appeared, as if from nowhere and grabbed all three of us. They put us into a white BMW. We were shouting and
going on. We shouted and went on. They pulled our hair and pushed our heads down so that people couldn't see what
they were doing. We were pushed down onto the floor of the car in the back. One of them drove the car and the other
three sat at the back holding us down, between their knees.
Alicia is one of the abducted girls who became a child prostitute. She stayed in the house for three
months before she managed to escape. According to her she just decided that it was time to leave
and she left.
5. What they say about their lives in the gang
5.1. Becoming one of the girls
5.1.1 The Chappie or Tattoo
One evening while we were sitting in the room I decided that I would refuse to be tattooed. The other girl decided she is
going to tattoo "Zunaid" on her fingers. She insisted that I do the same, but I still refused. I then agreed to have my
child's name tattooed on my arm. Much later I realised that all the girls have "Zunaid" tattooed on their fingers. I was
the only one that did not have his name tattooed on my fingers.
One day while we were sitting outside we looked at each other's hands, I closed mine. They asked me why I closed my
hands, I said 'because I don't have Zunaid's name tattooed on my fingers". Then they said "then you are not one of the
girls, you are a danger to us.” Because of that I allowed one of the girls to tattoo my hands. – Chantal
The Friday morning seven o'clock they hijacked her on the road. With guns. They hijacked her into Zunaid's car.
Zunaid was the driver and some of his guards. I can't tell you the names now. They hijacked her, the Friday. So when
hmm, ja hmm so when this case was finished I asked her what did he do when he grabbed her into the car. She said no
he hit her with his fist, and hmm she also mentioned to me like, they made her actually drunk there in the house, and
they tattooed her. She was actually drunk, they used the branding needles on her. She didn't want it. She was forced to.
– Christine
They say, they say why they got tattoos is like, like say for instance hmm, you your Zunaid, we both here, that's like we
must stand together with him in whatever he's going through. And that's why all the girls got that Zunaid's name on
their hands. – Christine
5.1.2. The first time on the street
One night, two of the girls Sylvie and Chantal stayed behind and talked to us about going out with them. They said that
it was really easy the men just stop and you go to the car and you tell them it's R80-00 and then you bring them back to
the house and the boys will follow you in the car. When you get to the house one of the girls will be waiting in the
room, under the bed and you get the client to undress, and then the girl will take his money from his pants and you don't
have sex with him. You just push his penis between his legs and it hurts and he won't be able to do anything and if he
tries to hurt you or fight with you then the boys will be there to deal with him. After another few days I did go out with
them, every night. – Alicia
5.2. Life in the house
Alicia says:
Everyone was locked up, in that house. There were eleven other girls there besides the three of us... . They brought the
men home and robbed them and one night there was a fight because the one man found out that the girls were stealing
money from him. He demanded his money back and Zunaid and the young boy who was there, Sammy, beat the man
and threw him out of the house.
Belinda says:
He comes into the bathroom when you are having a bath and he sits and watches you. If he feels like getting into the
bath with you then he does. And then you have to wash his back - you have to wash him because he is Zunaid.
Chantal says:
Sometimes, when it rains and we can't sit outside then we sit inside the house. We drink our lives away. We drink
55