The Deadly Toll of Immigration Deaths and Human Trafficking: Malawi Mass Grave

By Emily Stokes

Immigration laws and protections are often on the forefront of political issues that cause the most disagreement in the world and respective governments. Many of the arguments are centered around the issue of how to allow people into new countries and how that affects the distribution of services to people native to said country. Something that we don’t talk about enough is also the dangers these people face when trying to migrate and assume a better life for themselves and their families in the future.

Malawi is a landlocked country in southeastern Africa. A part of the United Nations group, the country of Malawi follows similar principles to that of the U.S. in that they aim for solutions to the region’s problems through negotiations and peaceful resolution. It is a devastating reality to hear that a mass grave site has been found in Malawi, containing the bodies of twenty-five immigrant victims between the ages of twenty-five and forty years old.

The identities of the bodies are suspected to be that of illegal Ethiopian migrants who were victims of human trafficking.

Additionally, arrests have been made on other illegal Ethiopian migrants and even some Malawi citizens who were suspected of aiding in the transportation and hiding of these migrants. The country has seen a recent uptake in migration patterns both internal and external. Internally, both women and men move for aspirations of marriage and work opportunities. External migration follows common patterns of reasoning and also includes the 2020 uptake in forced displacement which went from 150 to 29,000 persons as a result of natural disasters.

Although migration contributes to the debate over illegal and legal immigration, human trafficking has also been a common concern for the country of Malawi, which by the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000, does not meet the “minimum standard for elimination of human trafficking activities.” A lot of Malawi citizens work as farmers and laborers, which is a perfect environment for human trafficking.

A lot of the victims can be put to work in forced labor conditions in agricultural farms, goat and cattle herding, and brickmaking.

Generally, victims are lured from the southern part of the country into the central and northern regions where they are put to work. Mass grave sites found recently attest to the human trafficking patterns going on in the country. Overall, these deaths set a grim reality regarding the issue of human trafficking. Although it is highlighted sometimes in the media, it is not talked about enough to where action is being taken or to where people know the facts. Human trafficking is a real problem not only in Malawi but internationally, and oftentimes, victims can be overlooked until mass problems occur or it is too late to help the people in captivity, as in the case of the Malawi Mass Grave.