Terri Dunbar-Curran
OFTEN practices viewed as “traditional” or “normal” in South Africa amount to little more than human trafficking, says filmmaker Pam Zokufa. But through her various film projects she aims to change that.
Together with Anne Abok, Zokufa has produced the films Portia, My Story and Fumanekile– all three tackling human trafficking in its various guises. The pair describe themselves as activists against human trafficking.
Fumanekile tells the story of a young girl who is abducted by her uncle. “When a young girl becomes a woman they can’t keep her in the family – she has to become a wife. And her uncle wanted the money to feed his alcoholism,” she says, explaining that what many see as traditional practice is actually a form of trafficking.
Portia was written and directed by Abok, and deals with the experiences of a young woman trafficked from the Eastern Cape. It features Grizelda Grootboom and Tim Okunade.
“And My Story is about a woman forced into marriage because her Xhosa parents said it was time. She became a second wife to a man who takes women and abuses them sexually until they develop diseases,” says Zokufa.
The three stories were developed after time spent with people who have first-hand experience of being trafficked. Zokufa and Abok, who work closely with Media Campaign Against Human Trafficking (MeCAHT), have done extensive interviews with a wide range of people and are united in their drive to put an end to trafficking.
“We want to use the media to give awareness to the world. Make sure people understand and know what is happening,” adds Zokufa. “These are stories you hear from people on the streets.”
She is encouraged by the fact that at the moment she is able to devote her time to creating films and telling stories that can impact the lives of people in a positive way. And beyond just producing films she often goes out at night to connect with sex workers and young women on the streets, giving them the chance to tell their stories and offering them access to counselling she they want it.
Her work with MeCAHT takes her to schools and churches, where she feels she will be able to have the strongest impact. “I show them the films and I know that I may have saved someone’s life by raising awareness.”
She teaches people to be able to identify the warning signs, especially with so many people moving cities for the promise of new jobs so they can support their families. For many, those “jobs” are just a ploy and women find themselves being locked up and trafficked, with no way of getting word to their families. She urges people to research companies offering jobs and to ask questions
“I’m trying my best so that people will know. In our communities there are poor people who will do anything to get a job,” she says. “ I want to warn people to be careful. Even your own child can be sold by someone who is close to you.”
Funds raised from the sale of the films go straight back into making more movies and continuing to raise awareness. Because Zokufa and Abok are funding the projects from their own pockets any assistance is appreciated. One of their biggest challenges is finding people who are able to act for them for free, and volunteer their time and skills. So far, she says, people who have seen the films have been shocked. “Some of them don’t understand or know about trafficking,” which fuels her need to reach even more people.
She wants to appeal to community churches especially to give them the platform to get their message out. “Sometimes we find it difficult to get them to give us opportunities to speak to people. They must do more, they are here to save people’s lives and uplift their communities. You can do prevention rather than just counselling afterwards.”
Zokufa’s main concern is the safety of those involved or at risk. She says they are too frightened to escape or ask for help because they are told that their families will be harmed if they do. One of her dreams is to see all of the agencies dealing with trafficking and related crimes working together for one cause. “We need to work together to restore people’s lives,” she says.
l www.mecahtinternational.org, www.zaflix.com/#!fumanekile/crpg