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Hundreds of Nigerian Asylum Seekers Missing in Netherlands

Marthe van der Wolf

   AMSTERDAM - A group of investigative reporters says almost half of
   Nigerian asylum seekers arriving in the Netherlands last year
   disappeared. It is believed that many fell victim to human traffickers
   who forced them into prostitution or drug trafficking across the
   European Union.

   A European journalism collective says of the 2,461 Nigerians seeking
   asylum in the Netherlands in 2019, 961 cannot be located. Another 128
   Nigerians who arrived in January of this year also disappeared,
   according to an investigation by the journalist group Lost in Europe.

   Reacting to the investigative group's findings, Shamir Ceuleers of the
   Dutch Centre Against Human and Child Trafficking says the results are
   not surprising because they follow a pattern that has been going on for
   years. The non-governmental organization says more has to be done to
   protect the Nigerian men and women who fall victim to human traffickers
   in the Netherlands.

   "The Dutch police should create a specific West African human
   trafficking unit, which invests in knowledge and expertise and is well
   connected to the West African community that we have here in the
   Netherlands. And by using this and creating this expertise, the Dutch
   police would be well equipped to prosecute these trafficking rings," it
   said.

   Young people from Nigeria are lured with promises of a better life in
   Europe. After arriving in the European Union, often by crossing the
   Mediterranean Sea by boat, they are forced to work in prostitution or
   other forms of forced labor. It is a profitable business for the
   traffickers, as each person has to pay off a debt up to $50,000.

   It is believed that such trafficking is not just a Dutch problem, but
   that the criminal organizations behind such illegal practices are
   active across Western Europe.

   The Dutch national prosecutor for human trafficking and people
   smuggling, Warner ten Kate, says more international cooperation is
   needed to prevent human trafficking.

   "Within Europe, it's essential to work together and to exchange
   experiences but also exchange data of the missing children and women
   and men. So if they disappear and pop up somewhere in conditions
   considered human trafficking, they can easily be identified. I think
   that's really essential, and to give them the protection they need," he
   said.

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