Online Reporter
Thupeyo Muleya-Beitbridge Bureau
In response to a troubling increase in child smuggling cases across the Zimbabwe-South Africa border, the International Organisation for Migration is urging both governments and civil society to launch a united front.
The call focuses on providing communities with accurate information on the risks of irregular migration while promoting safer, legal alternatives.
The issue sees a regular spike during major public and school holidays, when children are often sent across the border unaccompanied. They are typically placed with bus crews or cross-border transporters — known locally as Omalaitsha — who facilitate the irregular movement.
When border security intensifies, these smugglers have been known to abandon children in remote bush areas, leaving them exposed to immediate danger and exploitation.
According to the UN Protocol against the smuggling of migrants, this practice involves organising irregular border crossings in return for financial gain, usually with the consent of the person being moved. However, when those persons are children, the dynamics shift into a severe child protection crisis.
IOM Zimbabwe spokesperson, Ms Fadzai Nyamande-Pangeti, stressed that preventing these dangerous journeys requires a multi-layered approach.
“Increasing awareness in communities about the dangers and legal consequences is essential.”
She highlighted the need to improve access to legal documentation and simplify official cross-border travel procedures for families, which would reduce the incentive to use irregular channels.
Beyond information and paperwork, addressing the root causes is critical.
“Poverty, lack of educational opportunities, and limited access to social services drive parents to take these risks,” Ms Nyamande-Pangeti explained. Targeted social and economic development programmes could offer families viable alternatives and deter perilous decisions.
The spokesperson also clarified that enforcement should focus on the smugglers, not the families.
“Criminalising parents often backfires, pushing migration further underground,” she said. Instead, she advocated for intelligence-led investigations, cross-border police cooperation, financial tracking and robust anti-corruption measures at borders to dismantle smuggling networks.
The psychological toll on children who undergo these journeys is profound and lasting.
Ms Nyamande-Pangeti described how the experience — marked by family separation, potential violence, abuse, and constant uncertainty — can lead to anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. The lack of stability and access to education or healthcare in a new country further deepens their insecurity and isolation, affecting their long-term well-being and ability to adapt.
“When smugglers feel threatened, they abandon children without care, exposing them to even greater danger,” she added. “Throughout the transit, minors are at a high risk of sexual exploitation.” She reiterated that unsafe migration represents a severe child protection threat, with unaccompanied migrant children being among the most vulnerable of all. They face direct risks to their survival, health, and safety and are more likely to experience violence, exploitation, or abuse.
The IOM’s appeal underscores an urgent need for a coordinated response — one that combines awareness, accessible legal pathways, and socioeconomic support to protect children and offer their families hope beyond the hazardous journey.
