This article contains descriptions of rape, exploitation and sexual assault.
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article → contain → rape
Reader discretion is advised.
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discretion → advise → ?
Sadio Konimba had hoped for a better future.
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Konimba → hop → future
The 26-year-old had lost her husband and was left alone with her child in Bamako, the capital of Mali.
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old → lose → Mali
When an acquaintance told her about the possibility of reaching Europe via the West African nation of Guinea-Bissau, she decided to make the journey.
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she → tell → journey
She left her 6-year-old daughter behind with relatives for the time being.
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She → leave → time
Konimba says she was invited to the country's capital, Bissau, with the promise of work and better chances of eventually continuing on to Europe.
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she → say → Europe
She was told the journey from Bamako to Bissau would cost between 100,000–125,000 CFA francs (roughly €150-€190, or $170-$210), which she paid.
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she → tell → which
She had only intended to stay temporarily in Guinea-Bissau, but when she wanted to return to Mali, her money was not refunded.
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money → intend → Mali
"I had to pay a large sum of money," Sadio told DW, adding that instead of the prospects she had been promised, she was confronted with a very different reality.
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she → have → reality
According to Konimba's account, men from Senegal offered to repay the money she had paid if she "worked" for them.
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she → accord → them
When she realized what that meant, she refused and demanded her money back.
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she → realize → money
To this day, she has received nothing.
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she → receive → nothing
Jane, a 21-year-old woman from Sierra Leone, recounted how she was subjected to an attempted rape and other abuses at the hands of a criminal network.
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she → recount → network
She told French news agency Agence France-Presse they even tried to force her into prostitution.
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they → tell → prostitution
Sadio and Jane are among dozens of victims of a suspected human trafficking ring that was dismantled by police following an operation in Guinea-Bissau on October 21.
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that → suspect → October
The intervention followed complaints from victims who had reported abductions and fraud.
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who → follow → abductions
In a written statement to DW, the criminal investigation police said that more than five suspects had been arrested.
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suspects → write → DW
Trapped by fales promises
According to police, the network used a front company to lure people with promises of jobs and assistance with migration to Europe.
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network → trap → Europe
Around 70 people are believed to have fallen victim to the scheme.
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people → believe → scheme
Most came from abroad, including Guinea, Mali, Cote d'Ivoire and Senegal.
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Most → come → Guinea
The suspected perpetrators allegedly charged victims between 400,000 and 700,000 CFA francs for each journey to Guinea-Bissau.
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perpetrators → suspect → Bissau
According to preliminary findings, the victims were held against their will in Bissau, subjected to pressure and forced to take part in fraudulent pyramid schemes.
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victims → accord → schemes
They were expected to recruit additional participants into the schemes through social media.
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They → expect → media
To make their operations appear legitimate, those responsible allegedly used false contact details for supposed offices in Canada, the United States and Portugal.
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those → make → Canada
Information from Interpol, the international police agency, helped investigators uncover the network, according to police.
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investigators → help → police
Issa, a 23-year-old from Guinea, says he paid a smuggler 10 million Guinean francs (around €1,000).
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he → say → francs
When he refused to recruit more people, he was allegedly threatened with death.
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he → refuse → death
A growing criminal network
For Bubacar Ture, head of the Guinean League of Human Rights, the case is an alarming sign.
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case → grow → Rights
"As a human rights organization, we are extremely concerned about this phenomenon, which has now reached deeply troubling proportions," he told DW.
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he → reach → DW
In May, authorities rescued 60 foreign nationals during a similar operation.
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authorities → rescue → operation
Ture sees a link between the human trafficking problem and Guinea-Bissau's weak institutions.
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Ture → see → problem
Criminal networks exploit these conditions to continue their activities, he said, noting that women are particularly vulnerable to human rights abuses.
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women → exploit → abuses
The small Portuguese-speaking West African country has been plagued by political instability since independence in 1975 and is also known as a transit hub for cocaine bound for Europe.
Rescued, but still trapped far from home
A week after their rescue, the victims face a new problem: many lack the funds needed to travel back to Mali, Sierra Leone or elsewhere in West Africa.
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many → speak → Africa
Sadio Konimba is temporarily staying with an acquaintance in Bissau.
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Konimba → stay → Bissau
Her friend told DW that Konimba had been deeply traumatized by what she had experienced.
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she → tell → what
She had never imagined she could fall into the hands of a human trafficking network that might force her into prostitution.
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that → imagine → prostitution
Konimba herself does not want to discuss in detail what kind of work she was asked to do.
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she → want → work
Police confirm that women in such cases are often sexually exploited.
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women → confirm → cases
Konimba says she has managed to borrow around 75,000 CFA francs from acquaintances in recent days.
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she → say → days
…and 14 more, not listed.
The Aporia
