Voodoo used to enslave girls & justify it

Yesterday a Togolese woman residing legally in the United States, Akouavi Kpade Afolabi , was found guilty on October 14 on 22 counts of human trafficking and obtaining US visas by fraud. She had been a well-to-do textile merchant in Lome, and a traditional or voodoo worshiper. Her name Afolabi, which is common in Nigeria, means "coming into wealth suddenly". But the wealth she gained by her trade in textiles was not enough for her. She took girls into her home in Togo and gained control over their lives. Parents even sent their precious young teenage daughters to her when she promised them a better life in America. They should have known something was wrong when they were forced to swear loyalty to her using voodoo curses. If they did not obey her, they would go mad. So she caused them to think. It's a ploy I've heard over and over in regard to the trokosi slaves of Ghana. In traditional families, these kinds of curses are the way things are done. So the girls accepted them. They were accustomed to seeing Afolabi pray and offer chicken sacrifices in front of the stone voodoo idol in her home.

They should have known something was wrong when Afolabi had to stage a fake wedding for one of them in order to get a visa to America. For sure, these uneducated girls did not understand American law, but at least one should have known something was fishy. But the pull of a new life in America was so strong, and her parents were counting on her to send money home from her earnings.

Once the girls got to America, they never got any earnings. They worked hard--14 hour days, six days a week, braiding hair in Afolabi's salons. Occasionally Afolabi sent some money home to some families. Best to keep them thinking everything was OK. The girls themselves never got any salary at all. Even the smallest tips given by customers were confiscated by the greedy trafficker.

As is the case with so many trafficking victims, the girls had their passports and personal documents confiscated. They were denied the right to call home or to call friends or anyone. They had to come right back to their room after work. If they didn't, or if they asked for their salaries or any money at all, Afolabi's husband Lassissi would beat them. He even beat the head of one of the girls against a table. That didn't stop him and their son, Dereck Hounakey, from raping the girls, nor did the fact that they were nearly all under the legal age of consent, ranging from 10 to 19 years.

Voodoo was used not only to enslave the girls, but also raised by her lawyer as a justification for her actions. He claimed that what Afolabi had done was admirable, saving the girls from poverty. Only a West African custom. Done all the time in Togo and Ghana, where the girls were from. It's OK, because it's her tradition.

Hmm. Now, where have I heard that argument before? I know! Isn't that the same argument the Afrikania Mission uses to justify trokosi slavery in Ghana? If it's their tradition, it's sacred, unquestionable, unchallengable.

Hogwash. Slavery was our (American) tradition. I'm glad we got rid of it. Every culture has traditions that need to change.

Hogwash. That's what the jury said in Newark, New Jersey. They quickly returned a unanimous verdict of guilty on all 22 counts of human trafficking.

And now some of the girls parents are upset, blaming their daughters for "telling" on their traffickers. Why? The pittance that Afolabi sent them on occasion, a very small percentage of what she stole from their daughters, I'm sure. Never mind that their daughters work without pay. Never mind that they have no life of their own. Never mind that they are beaten, have their heads bashed on tables. Never mind that they are raped. Just send us our little pittance.
Hogvomit.