It is believed there are nearly nine million children around the world today who are enslaved.
Slavery is a word which immediately conjures up very specific images in our minds. We do not see slavery as something which is still happening today.
Sexual slavery – There are an estimated 1.2 million children that the International Labour Organisation believes are trafficked every year, and tricked and forced into prostitution.
Unregulated industry – Parents and other relatives sell children to a fishing master, far from believing they are being sold into anything approximating slavery. Many are indeed given an apprenticeship, a chance to learn a trade. But they are sold nevertheless, usually for around $50.
Many people will be shocked and horrified by such a figure. How can anyone, let alone a mother, put a price on a child's head? But $50 may very well be the equivalent of two months salary for a local teacher, or enough water to meet the needs of a family of six for over three months.
Forced to beg – Children in wealthier Arab countries, such Saudi Arabia, are smuggled in from Yemen and sold to gangs and forced to beg each year to beg on the streets. Many of these children smuggled over the border are often sold by families who are duped into believing their offspring will get a better life.
[Excerpt of an article by Rageh Omaar, BBC Two]
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