Malawi is facing a growing crisis of youth labour trafficking, with young people increasingly lured by promises of decent work abroad only to end up exploited, trapped and stripped of basic freedoms.
The reality hit 24-year-old Denis Chikwanje hard when he found himself sleeping behind a refrigerator in a locked shop in South Africa , the doors secured by his employer, no escape route, and the constant fear that thieves or a fire could end his life.
“I was locked inside. Imagine what would happen if the shop caught fire,” he said, a chilling reminder of what many Malawian youths only realise after crossing borders: the ‘opportunity’ is often a trap.
Human-rights groups and labour authorities warn that traffickers continue to prey on unemployed young Malawians, offering contracts that turn into forced labour, withheld wages, confiscated passports and unsafe living conditions. Economic hardship at home is driving more youth to take the risk, causing a spike in cross-border trafficking cases.
Government agencies and civil-society organisations are pushing for tighter regulation of labour recruitment, stronger border surveillance and more public awareness to stop the exploitation pipeline before young people fall victim.
As cases like Chikwanje’s surface, Malawi faces mounting pressure to confront the networks enabling these abuses and to build stronger domestic job pathways so desperation doesn’t push its youth into danger.
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