Ethiopia: 20 000 children sold

2005-10-19 22:48

Anothony Mitchell

Addis Ababa - Poverty-stricken Ethiopians sell thousands of their children for as little as $1.20 (about R8) each to traffickers who put them to work as prostitutes, domestic labour, weavers or professional beggars, said the International Organisation for Migration on Wednesday.

Families sell as many as 20 000 children, some as young as 10, every year.

About two-thirds are trafficked by brokers who earn a part of the child's earnings, while a third are trafficked by friends and family, said Alem Brook, a legal expert with the group's counter-trafficking unit in Ethiopia.

"The parents are often deceived with promises of money or that the child will be educated," said Alem.

"Traffickers pay around 10 to 20 birr (about R8 to R16) for each child."

At least 85% of Ethiopia's 71 million people survive on subsistence farming, and more than 45% of those live in abject poverty. Annual incomes are just $100 (about 660).

The spread of HIV/Aids has taken its toll on families, leaving many children without proper care-takers and vulnerable to traffickers.

Traffickers are also increasing recruitment of Ethiopian women to work as prostitutes abroad, according to the International Organisation for Migration.

At least 10 000 Ethiopian women have been trafficked to the Gulf States to work as prostitutes, according to the group.

Traffickers who prey on girls in Ethiopia expect to earn around 7 000 Birr (about R5 500) for each person they send overseas.

Human trafficking is one of the fastest-growing crimes in the world, earning those involved about $10bn (about R66bn) a year.

If caught, brokers can face jail sentences of up to 20 years, but few are ever prosecuted.

- AP