The Worst Charity in Africa?
Not all of Africa's problems can be solved in law courts
The Worst Charity in Africa?
Of all the NGOs operating across the continent, this may be one of the most dangerous. Here’s why:
In 2019 Ghanian police arrived at Mawusi Amlade’s house to arrest her. Her two children were taken into state custody. The case was fast-tracked by the court and soon enough Mawusi was handed a 5-year sentence with hard labour for trafficking and exploitation. Whilst she was sick and unable to earn money, she had encouraged her two children to work for some local fishermen.
The police raid and court case were triggered by an American NGO: The International Justice Mission. Their agents had seen the children working in boats on Lake Volta and contacted the police.
Mawusi was unable to see her children in prison. Social services eventually sent them to live with an aunt.
But Mawusi’s story isn’t over. Because a couple years into her sentence, she was contacted by the Sudreau Global Justice Institute. They started working to get Mawusi set free. Her photo was used on social media posts as part of a fundraising campaign. They offered her legal aid. Eventually, her conviction was quashed.
Unknown to Mawusi at the time, the Sudreau Global Justice Institute is a partner organisation to the International Justice Mission, the NGO behind her initial arrest and conviction. In a way, the most traumatic experience of her life started and ended with IJM. Or to put to more directly: did this NGO raise money to create a problem, and then use the problem it created to raise even more money for its partner?
This is the story of IJM’s operations in Africa, of which Mawusi Amlade’s story, is just the tip of an iceberg…
Gary’s Dream
International Justice Mission is a child of Gary Haugen: a prestigious Human Rights Lawyer. Haugen first encountered Africa in the 1980s when he worked with Desmond Tutu on a project launched by Christians who wanted to end the Apartheid state. In the 1990s Haugen directed the UN investigation into the Rwandan Genocide.
Passionate about the quest for justice, he then launched the International Justice Mission with a strong belief in the formal legal process and its connection to the message of Christianity. “I have an opportunity to bring heaven on earth in places that are already hell on earth,” he once told a journalist.
IJM initially made headlines for its work in South-East Asia. Charity agents would go undercover into brothels and nightclubs and ask female workers if they were happy with their life. If they replied “no”, IJM then launched raids on the establishments to ‘rescue’ them.
Sometimes children in terrible situations were rescued, and criminals put in jail. But sometimes poor women were deported or placed in detention centres they escaped from. IJM didn’t do follow up on the people it was ‘rescuing’. Other NGOs complained the charity made it harder to reach those most in need. Their behaviour drove vulnerable people into hiding.
Those ‘Common Criminals’
Gary is a man who spent his whole life training for performances in clean law courts. So, its natural he sees ‘law and order’ as the solution to poverty. In his 2013 co-authored book, the Locust Effect, he argued that: “Without the world noticing, the locusts of common, criminal violence are right now ravaging the lives and dreams of billions of our poorest neighbours.”
There are some problems with pushing this idea too far. Large exploitative corporations are often very aware of legal loopholes. Many keep staff in developing nations trapped in cycles of poverty, on low wages, with limited rights. Sometimes these companies break the law, and no one holds them to account.
Other times it is oppressive laws made by the government which keep citizens poor. Or the government breaks its own laws.
But overall, Gary isn’t so interested in these factors. His focus is on how to bring the ‘common criminal’ to account. A much easier target. So, what does that look like in Africa?
Ugandan Farmers
The land around the town of Mukono in Uganda, has seen a massive population boom. Migrants have flocked to the area looking for jobs and opportunities. Improved healthcare has helped sustain larger families. In 1990 about 7000 people lived there. Today it is well over 200,000. This growth has put more pressure on the land. And there have been more and more cases of disagreement over field boundaries. Some of these cases involve entire communities and can be very complex.
In 2012 IJM launched Project Empaanyi, named after the plants which mark traditional field boundaries. IJM chose to champion the case of widows who have their land taken from them by relatives or neighbours. In its marketing materials, IJM describes this activity as a form of ‘violence’.
A newly widowed mother with young children might struggle to farm the same amount of land as her and husband did. It might make sense to allow someone else to plant crops on part of the land in exchange for something. In some cases, though, the relatives might take matters into their own hands, leaving the widowed family worse off, with less land and nothing in return.
The issue is highly sensitive, since it involves families living close together. For this reason, chiefs and police encourage the parties to seek mediation, through a family member or community leader. The goal is to de-escalate the situation.
But IJM wants to prosecute Ugandan’s who cross these field boundaries with the full force of the law. It wants the people who farm widow’s land to face potential jail time. The charity has tried to radicalize local police through training sessions and additional funding. They seem to want to bring as many cases as possible to the courts whether this is to the long-term advantage of the widow or not. Of course, having an in-law and neighbour sent to jail could create even bigger problems for a widowed family!
Some people have been helped by IJM in Uganda. But there are inherent problems with the charity’s intervention. Unfortunately, there has been a lack of serious journalism looking into their activities in the country. In some cases, IJM offers fellowships to local journalists, making critical news stories about them less likely.
Meanwhile, in its own publications IJM openly criticises all sectors of the Ugandan justice system for not conforming it its ideas. But when miscarriages of justice occur because of pressure created by the charity, they are quick to… again blame local police and judges.
A great example of this has been in Ghana where investigative journalists have managed to get a glimpse at the real impact of IJM’s activities.
Fishing in Ghana
Thousands of Ghanian’s fish in Lake Volta for a living. Many begin learning the trade whilst they are young, going out in the lake with their father or uncle to cast out the nets. But sometimes their family set them up with a fisherman looking for a young assistant. Sometimes the children are beaten or overworked. In some cases, money exchanges hands. Then the children pull out of school. Suddenly a common practice and way of life, slips into exploitation and trafficking.
IJM polices Lake Volta with undercover agents in boats, ‘rescuing’ children who have been trafficked. They tip off police and engage in night time raids on people’s homes. The children are then sent to centres run by Ghanian social services.
But sometimes, IJM staff looking for a promotion may send debatable tip offs to police forces which the charity has radicalized through funding and training sessions. In 2022, one such raid saw armed police break into a home and carry away four children from their grandparents. Two uncles were taken into custody, but the cases against them quickly collapsed. The family were left to pick up the pieces as IJM moved onto new suspects.
Stories like this attracted the attention of local journalists and eventually hit the headlines on the BBC.
In response, IJM issued a long statement where they claimed they weren’t responsible for the actions of police or the Ghanian justice system. Despite the fact the charity activily funds some police activities and encourages local justices to prosecute people they consider criminals. Worryingly IJM is reluctant to do what it wants ‘common criminals’ to do. To take accountability for its actions.
An Injustice mission?
What do the Vice-President of Amazon, Vice-President of Walmart, and Senior Director at Google all have in common? They all sit on the board of IJM. People who may find it easy to criminalize the poor whilst their corporations engage in all kinds of unethical behaviour.
In its global reach and financial resources, IJM has the potential to do more harm than crime syndicates like Black Axe. In Africa, Gary seems intent on prosecuting farmers and fishermen. But the solution to all Africa’s problems may not lie in a court of law.
In his book, Gary defines justice as ‘doing to others as you would have them do to you’. An idea which may seem strange to communities traumatized by IJM’s dramatic interventions. If only an African Justice Mission could launch a similar intervention in his community and family. Perhaps then justice will have been done?
Sources:
https://wng.org/roundups/anti-trafficking-missions-draw-scrutiny-1689882576
https://theurgetohelp.com/articles/international-justice-mission-rescue-or-intervention/
https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/crusade-against-sex-trafficking/
https://www.freedomunited.org/news/international-justice-mission/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-66122058
https://www.modernghana.com/news/963888/er-four-child-traffickers-jailed-5years.html
Well written!
'NGO's' control my country. 'Charity' is political. Political is power. Power is suffering.