Christians steal kids for cash: Ghanaian children wrongly taken in raids backed by US charity IJM

[cbabe]

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-66122058

Ghanaian children wrongly taken in raids backed by US charity IJM

By Chiara Francavilla, Kwakye Afreh-Nuamah & Kyenkyenhene Boateng
BBC Africa Eye

Ghanaian children have been taken from their homes in an operation backed by one of the world's leading anti-slavery organisations, according to a BBC Africa Eye investigation.
The multimillion-dollar charity, International Justice Mission, aims to rescue trafficked children and reunite them with their families. But serious concerns have been raised about their West African operations.

…
A gun pointed at her neck, Fatima's grandmother Sana pleaded with the men. She did not understand why the children were being taken away. Two of the children's uncles were also taken. Sana feared she would never see her relatives again.

In the eyes of Mogyigna's villagers, a violent kidnapping had taken place.
But this was not a kidnapping.
Officially, it was a rescue operation carried out by Ghanaian police officers, under Ghana's Human Trafficking Act. The children were transferred into the care of social services.

The operation was instigated by IJM.
With around $100m (£78m) in funding annually over the past two years, IJM is one of the world's leading anti-trafficking organisations.
In the UK, IJM says it can count on the support of nearly 300 churches, and more than £220,000 ($280,000) was raised last year from churches and other donors by IJM UK to support activities in Ghana.
But according to our investigation, IJM has removed some children from their families in cases where there was scarce-to-no evidence of trafficking and this aggressive approach may have been fuelled by a target-driven culture inside IJM.

…

In a secretly filmed conversation with a senior IJM staff member, the reporter was told IJM staff needed to rescue a set number of victims and secure a set number of prosecutions every year. Another staff member said that IJM staff were denied pay rises or were at risk of being sacked if they did not reach these targets.
In a separate conversation, the reporter asked an IJM investigator what would happen if staff on a mission were unable to take the children away. "We can't say we didn't get even one, we need to get some," the staff member replied.

…more…

[Elessar Zappa]

1. Disturbing story.

[NowISeetheLight]

2. Rescue?

Yeah... like Christians "rescued" indigenous Native Americans, tossed then in Christian schools and stole their heritage.