We ask the children to draw a picture of their life. It’s a man beating them: Special report on modern slavery

The entrance to Lydia House, on the outskirts of Addis Ababa, is marked by two red buckets filled with flowers. A metal gate opens onto a courtyard, where girls, some as young as eight, are waiting happily for a turn on the ping pong table that sits in the shade of a tall tree.

There is no hint of the miseries these brave children have endured. Yet this is one of the centres run by the charity Retrak, which provides support for trafficked children. Here, with the help of British funding and expertise and with the backing of the Evening Standard’s anti-modern slavery initiative, some of Ethiopia’s most vulnerable children are being given a fresh chance. As our special investigation comes to an end, I wanted to see their work for myself.

When these young girls are picked up, from houses where they are working or on smuggling routes, often by the police, they can be referred here, where they will be safe from traffickers and taught the skills they need to reintegrate into society.

“When we ask the children to draw a picture of their life, the first one they draw is nearly always of them cowering while a man beats them with a stick,” Lynnette Kay, the Australian who manages Retrak’s operations in Ethiopia, told me.

“Most have been brought from rural communities by extended family, with the promise of work in Addis Ababa. Then they are sold to another family, and trapped in the house, not allowed to leave, harassed by male bosses and working 10-12 hours a day.” From there they can be trafficked on further: to the Middle East, Europe, and even the UK.

The latest research says 46 per cent of trafficked Ethiopians originate in rural areas. Despite the remarkable economic strides the country has made in recent years, parts of rural Ethiopia remain among the world’s poorest, and for many families the lure of money from more prosperous cities or countries is a powerful incentive. Yet too often, I learnt, children end up in the hands of exploitative and abusive criminals.

Over the past two months the Evening Standard’s special investigation into modern slavery has shown how the UK, and London in particular, is a hub for trafficking from all over the world. We have encouraged corporate leaders to pledge diligence over their supply chains, and highlighted the challenges facing support providers and law enforcement agencies.

I’m delighted that in the new year our think tank will present recommendations at the Santa Marta conference in Rome, one of the world’s leading forums on this terrible crime.

Any effort to support victims and improve law enforcement in the UK counts for little without an equal effort in source countries to prevent these young people from being trafficked in the first place. Impressively, Retrak’s work is being funded in part by the Modern Slavery Innovation Fund originally established by Theresa May when she was at the Home Office, which is providing £780,000. It’s not the only assistance provided. The Ethiopian government, led by the First Lady, has been seeking to help abused children. Furthermore, every year a delegation of volunteers from Greater Manchester Police comes out to help the charity. British officers visiting last week found the local law admirably rigorous at clamping down on trafficking. Domestic work is another matter. The use of children is so widespread that, despite the government seeking to crack down, often no prosecutions are brought.

Emenet Tadesse, one of the counsellors, who’s from Addis Ababa and has worked here since 2011, tells me that despite Retrak’s efforts the situation is deteriorating, mainly due to the poverty in the Ethiopian countryside. “The UK people are doing their best to support the life of these children to improve their lives as this problem is getting worse. We appreciate it — and long may it continue — but while it’s a significant help it’s not enough. In just one district of Addis Ababa, there are 1,000 children living as domestic workers.”

Yet from what I saw at this wonderful centre, I am more committed than ever to our cause. Modern slavery, in all its forms, is a horrendous crime which has no place in our world. Wherever we see it, we must stamp it out, and do what we can to support the victims. Hopefully the work this paper has done over the past few months will help that process. While at the centre I saw a picture drawn by a girl who had been helped there. It showed her life before and after her arrival at Retrak. “The old life” drawing shows a figure cowering under a beating, sweeping floors, cooking and washing and in tears. In the picture of her life at Retrak, she is playing with her friends, reading a book, and walking to school. This time there’s a smile on her face. I am proud that Britain, and all of us here in London, have been able to support such work.

Praise for the Evening Standard's reports

Leading lights of the anti-slavery movement pay tribute to the Evening Standard’s Slaves On Our Streets investigation:

Norree Webb

First responder co-ordinator, Anti-Human Trafficking Team, The Salvation Army

“The campaign has helped raise awareness about modern slavery. For me it has opened up conversations with people who have read the articles and are shocked by how rampant and serious the problem is. They find it hard to believe the inhumanity with which one human being can behave to another.”

Marissa Begonia

Founder, The Voice of Domestic Workers

“I am so grateful to the Evening Standard for highlighting the abuse and exploitation of migrant domestic workers. The Slaves On Our Streets campaign has given a voice to the voiceless, those workers hidden behind closed doors in private houses who cannot escape. The paper’s support is vital towards policy change, to improve the plight of domestic workers in the UK.”

Abigail

Victim of modern slavery whose story has been highlighted by the Standard.

“I am very happy that awareness is being raised about modern slavery in London. The investigation by the Evening Standard has allowed many people across London to understand the reality of the issue. I hope that now more people will want to volunteer in specialist organisations such as Hestia so they can support other women just like me.”

Luis C. deBaca

Former US Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons

“Knowing that the Evening Standard and Independent are spending the time to do this is really heartening, because we have seen it in other countries where it becomes a race to the top. Multi-part series like this make the difference. If you do a trafficking story once a year nothing happens. But if you do a good, multi-part story with in-depth reporting, that has an impact.”