Gambian children are being sold to British paedophiles for as little as £2-a-time by their desperate parents, Sun Online has revealed the heartbreaking story.
A huge number of old white men are taking advantage of lax laws in a poverty-stricken African country to embark on sick child abuse holidays where they openly target little boys and girls.
According to The Sun UK, British paedos often visit the beach resorts that dot Kololi on the country’s picturesque Atlantic coastline.
During the investigation, a reporter was shocked by the number of unaccompanied African minors he saw being cared for by middle-aged, Western men who did not appear to be their biological fathers.
The reporter also witnessed included a girl aged between six and eight having lunch with a balding, white-haired man in a restaurant filled with similarly aged tourists.
“The same day we saw a stoutly built man in his 50s or 60s wading into the ocean gripping the hand of a tiny African child in white swimming shorts”.
Another shocking story reported was that at about 11.30 pm at night when the air was thick with cigarette smoke, a child, no older than two, was being held closely by a white man with a British accent.
According to an eye witness, they said some of the parents turn blind eyes.
“Some of the parents know their children are being abused and they accept it because they are so desperate for food in their bellies.
“Others are too naïve to realise. They think the Westerner is paying their bills and helping their boy or girl out of the kindness of their heart, while in reality, they have bad intentions.
“Child abuse is going on all the time in The Gambia and the government is not doing enough to put a stop to it.
“Our children are being approached directly on the beaches or the street and child abusers from all over Europe including the UK are coming here for this.
“I want to make clear that this does not just involve men but also adult women who are paying for sex with teenage boys in The Gambia.
“We have laws that are supposed to stop this from happening but they are not being enforced so we have become a paradise for paedophiles.”
Locals ‘desperate’ after Thomas Cook collapse
As tourism makes up one-third of the country’s GDP, there are fears that businesses will go bust and locals will go hungry following an estimated 50 per cent drop in economic activity that has already hit beach resorts.
Lawyer and children’s rights advocate Malick Jallow told Sun Online: “While some tourists will always want to help poor Gambians, others will see this situation as an opportunity to exploit young children.
“The problem is that the abuse is sometimes carried out with the blessing of the parents because they are so in need.
“The perception is that white people, or ‘toubabs’ as they call them, have stacks of cash and these parents are often excited that their child has attracted the attention of a white man.
“It actually makes them feel proud so they give their permission for the boy or girl to go with the person and when the police try to question them they will not co-operate.”
‘She didn’t look comfortable at all’
Former Thomas Cook rep Anne Heap, 53, from Wigan, said: “These people are as poor as poor can be — it’s rare to see a child wearing shoes — and there isn’t any other trade for them outside tourism.
“Thomas Cook used to always give us an extra 10kg luggage allowance so the workers and passengers could bring aid boxes to The Gambia — basic things like clothes, medicine and school equipment.
“The first thing I thought of when we went under was, ‘What is going to happen to people in The Gambia?’ We were the only airline flying directly there.
“I’ve heard that crime has already shot up as there is not enough money coming in — the hand that feeds them is gone.
“Sex tourism is already huge in The Gambia — some bars are like brothels — and I do worry that more children will get lured into prostitution to feed their families.
“When I was working there I would see old men walking with girls as young as 10, 11 or 12. There is a dark side to The Gambia.
“One time when we were flying back to Manchester there was a British man in his 70s with a girl who was only about eight or nine. This was about eight years ago.
“I was so concerned about what was going on that I got chatting to him outside the toilet during the flight. I wanted to speak to the girl too but she never left her seat, she didn’t look comfortable at all.
“I reported it and border security later told me the man had been ‘apprehended’ but I was not able to find out what happened to him or the girl after that.”
Former Thomas Cook rep Anne Heap, 53, from Wigan, said: “These people are as poor as poor can be — it’s rare to see a child wearing shoes — and there isn’t any other trade for them outside tourism.
“Thomas Cook used to always give us an extra 10kg luggage allowance so the workers and passengers could bring aid boxes to The Gambia — basic things like clothes, medicine and school equipment.
“The first thing I thought of when we went under was, ‘What is going to happen to people in The Gambia?’ We were the only airline flying directly there.
“I’ve heard that crime has already shot up as there is not enough money coming in — the hand that feeds them is gone.
“Sex tourism is already huge in The Gambia — some bars are like brothels — and I do worry that more children will get lured into prostitution to feed their families.
“When I was working there I would see old men walking with girls as young as 10, 11 or 12. There is a dark side to The Gambia.
“One time when we were flying back to Manchester there was a British man in his 70s with a girl who was only about eight or nine. This was about eight years ago.
“I was so concerned about what was going on that I got chatting to him outside the toilet during the flight. I wanted to speak to the girl too but she never left her seat, she didn’t look comfortable at all.
“I reported it and border security later told me the man had been ‘apprehended’ but I was not able to find out what happened to him or the girl after that.”
In October last year an official UN investigation found that Gambia’s tourist areas continue to be a dangerous place for children and that predators now stay in motels and private apartments so they can avoid prying eyes.
UN Special Rapporteur Maud de Boer-Buquicchio reported: “The rare instances when complaints are lodged with the police are not duly acted upon, the gathering of compelling evidence is delayed, and investigation and prosecution is stalled, resulting in victims or witnesses withdrawing their complaints.
“Some cases have also reportedly been dismissed on the grounds that statements by child victims were allegedly inconsistent.”
Tragically, child abuse is now endemic in The Gambia, where 60 per cent of the 1.9m population live below the poverty line.
Previous research has shown that paedophiles often pose as charity workers and Good Samaritans so they can befriend poor families — and UNICEF has warned that The Gambia is one of Africa’s top destinations for child sex tourism.
The report by Sun Online comes after the UK government was slammed for failing to protect children overseas from British predators.
Story by:
This article was first published in The Sun UK. Read the full story here
