@L'uiz Quincy D'zaenar
Bottomline: The blending mixture of Islamic and African culture helps in concealing the extent of the problem
A common trend in cities, child prostitution has not only affected young girls but also young boys. Many havens include Malindi, Ukunda, Nairobi and the 12th century Lamu town; are slowly gaining reputation as attractive destinations for tourists looking for young boys.
Sex tourism is growing at an alarming rate, no one seem to take the initiative to tame the trade. The prospect of easy money due to high unemployment rates drives more and more girls into the trade.
Apparently, the blending mixture of Islamic and African culture helps in concealing the extent of the problem. Tackling the issue of child prostitution is complicated in some traditional practices.
Local towns present the greatest opportunities given their economic dominance, their range of sophisticated resources ‘by local standards’ and their attraction for shadow red light activities. Any significant improvement on the sex trade front could reverberate positively around the country.
The phrase’ bangaiza na mzungu’ is a Swahili expression commonly used by Mombasa youth meaning to make ends meet by means of a white person.
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| Inset:Child prostitution along the Kenyan Coast ,Photo courtesy of Tonny Karumba AFP |
As a coastal native I discovered that the tourism industry generates high revenue courtesy of aggressive marketing of its beautiful white sandy beaches and historical sites .The revenue is however not used to accelerate economic growth at the coast and its inhabitants resulting in visibly high rates of poverty. Lack of self- ambition, low education levels and limited opportunities available to the coastal youth render them vulnerable thus venturing into sex tourism for sustenance.
Beach boys live by the rhythm of the week, flights to Mombasa on the eastern coast of Africa arrive on Monday ,Tuesday ,Friday and Sunday .Tourists need the first day to relax in the sun and get their bearings .Beach boys therefore strategize and meticulously calculate before approaching them.First try to make his first contact with her, find a connection and lay a foundation for the week ahead.
“Jambo “he says “Hakuna matata.” as he waves her away.
All day, every day in Mombasa, hundreds of young men stand in the hard African sun, hoping to sell a sailboat ride, sell some float tubes, snorkelling trips to the reef of their bodies.
For some tourists the beach boy is a hustler a plague to be avoided by down cast eyes and a muttered ‘No thanks.” but for many beach boys are seen as an active strong virile young black man who can satisfy a woman’s sexual demands and a complete perfectionist in bed. Beach boys know how to spot such a woman. She is a secretary, school teacher or a nurse. She is a divorcee, widow or a spinster. She is from Augsburg, Hannover, Manchester or Paris. She is lonesome, shy and a woman who is ignored by most men back at home. She is self- conscious in her bathing suit but desperate for love or something like it.
As the days pass, the mzungu lays basking under the sun, slicking her skin with coconut palm oil, the beach boy knows just when to pounce so he does not lose his prey to the other beach boys.
She is a big mama in this part of the world, in a land full of disillusionment and which is poverty stricken. Big mamas have big money, power and all the control that comes with it. They are not afraid of splashing cash on their virile boyfriends. This is however not such a posh life on the beach boy’s part. They are vitally denied freedom. One has to stick to the mzungu’s demands. It is more of modern day slavery for the black man. You only get to leave home on strictest command.
Most of these beach boys are young children. Forced by circumstances and as poverty bites hard, these children drop out of school due to high school fees. Beaches become homes for these desperate young beings. Young girls fall into the bait of old white men. The life they live is almost similar to that of the beach boys, but then full of misery.
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| Inset:child prostitution at the Kenyan Coast, photo courtesy |
Laws in place illegalize sex trade, however the practice is still rampant. Are the general laws against prostitution and child sex tourism not effective in combating these vices? Are some youth in Mombasa engaging in sex tourism despite its direct and indirect criminalization under statuary law and the municipal by laws? Are some youth in Mombasa internally trafficked from rural areas to be exploited in the sex tourism industry? Are law the enforcement authorities in Mombasa ill-equipped to detect and intercept publication of information that promotes sexual exploitation of the youth by potential foreign sex tourists?
The issue has not been talked on. No one seems to view it as a pandemonium yet it is. Failure to prosecute and extradite foreign tourists and intermediaries who facilitate sexual exploitation of the youth show a lack of seriousness on part of the Government in tackling of the problem. If the Government does not stand firm on combating the practice, it might remain to consume our children for years to come.
