Luanda, 23 May, 2025 / 6:08 pm (ACI Africa).
The Executive Secretary of the Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants (CEPAMI) in Angola has lamented the reported surge in cases of human trafficking and exploitation in the Southern African nation, where children are disappearing under mysterious and often criminal circumstances.
Speaking at a conference on the theme, “Moral Conscience and the Défense of the Human Rights of Migrants and Refugees”, which Angola’s Catholic Diocese of Sumbe organized, Sr. Carla Luísa Frei Bamberg appealed for urgent measures to tackle human trafficking.
“In Angola, there are constant reports of missing children, especially in the interior provinces. Many times, these children are sent by their families to Luanda with promises of education and a better life, but they end up being victims of exploitation,” Sr. Carla lamented during the Thursday, May 22 conference.
She added, “We know that in the provinces we visit, many children disappear without a trace—even in areas with immigration or border police presence. The structures involved are so well organized that neither civil society nor religious institutions can dismantle them.”
“Trafficking is so sophisticated that not even immigration or border authorities can adequately control it, despite the use of passports and visas. We hear testimonies, especially from village chiefs, about children disappearing after being deceived by false promises,” Sr. Carla said.
