African children 'enslaved in UK'

Children in West Africa are at risk of slavery

Hundreds of West African children have been brought illegally into Britain and other European countries in a modern-day form of slavery.

An investigation by BBC Radio 4's Today programme, triggered by the case of Victoria Climbié, revealed that young children are promised a life of unparalleled luxury and a good education by distant relatives or family friends.

Their penniless parents readily agree they should leave West Africa.

Slavery facts

Victoria Climbie died in February 2000

Children are used as a means to claim benefits

Up to 10,000 West African children are living in Britain with strangers

'Maid markets' sell girls for as little as £5

False travel documents can be bought for $500

Few children being brought to Britain are DNA tested

Children face sexual abuse, violence and domestic slavery

But the dream ends seconds after they get off the plane in Europe: they are put to work around the home as domestic slaves and never set foot in a classroom.

Some are beaten and abused, others end up as the sexual playthings of paedophiles.

Police fear many are being trafficked to Europe so their relatives can claim a host of welfare benefits.

Beaten and burned

Today journalists travelled to the Ivory Coast to investigate the death of Victoria Climbié, who was taken from the country's capital, Abidjan, to Britain by her aunt, Marie Therese Kouao in the spring of 1999.

Victoria, who was eight, was tied up and made to lie naked in a freezing cold bath in winter and was beaten and burned.

When she died, after seven months of torture, she had 128 injuries on her body.

An inquiry is currently underway to find out how Victoria ended up being the victim of her cruel aunt and her lover, Clinton Manning, who were both jailed for life.

Victoria Climbie's death prompted inquiry

There are thought to be 10,000 West African children living with strangers in the UK, many of whom may not be living the lives they had been promised.

Mary was brought to Britain from Benin by a stranger at the age of ten and worked 17 hours a day for ten years.

I always feel angry about why this has happened to me

Mary
Abuse victim

She was regularly beaten and starved, sometimes for days on end.

When she asked why she had been brought to Britain, she was told it was "business" - meaning the woman could claim child benefits.

She said: "I always feel angry about why this has happened to me. It hurts. I just pray to God to give me strength."

Forced to eat cat food

Mary is still in Britain, but many others flee back to their native countries as soon as they get the chance.

Debe was taken, aged 13, to Italy by a white friend of his father.

For three years he was a sex slave to the man and his paedophile friends.

He was beaten daily and forced to eat cat food. He finally ran away to the Ivorian Embassy in Rome and was returned home.

Debe told the Today investigators: "I am a victim, I am in pain. I can't even look at myself in the mirror."

Organised gangs

Karin Astrom, the head of Save the Children in the Ivory Coast, said organised gangs across West Africa were trafficking children, with the collusion of government officials.

She said: "Children are being brought to Europe to be exploited, either for work or sexually.

"It is poverty which is creating this phenomenon. Certainly it is organised, with involvement at high levels - even government in some countries. But, like all mafia or cartels, it's difficult to know."

Our West Africa correspodnent Mark Doyle says that while there is some political will among governemtn's to tackle the issue, resources for agencies like the police who should stamp out the trade are cruelly lacking.

'Maid market'

Among fruit sellers and scrap metal dealers in the bustling Adjame market district of Abidjan, Today investigators discovered a "maid market" - a ramshackle, corrugated iron and wood shack where human beings were bought and sold.

Teenage girls, posing serenely on long benches, can be bought for as little as £5.

I am a victim, I am in pain, I can't even look at myself in the mirror

Debe
Abuse victim

The necessary documents needed to transport a child to Europe could also be quickly acquired through corruption.

After a few minutes outside the Ministry of the Child, Welfare and the Family, a tout approached an African producer posing as a hopeful parent - $500 and less than 12 hours was all he needed for the paperwork to be in order, and for the stranger to become, officially, his daughter.

The British Ambassador to the Ivory Coast, Francois Gordon, accepts not all of the 200-300 visa issued annually to children are for the genuine offspring of the applicant.

He said: "We are aware of the risk of impersonation. People pretending that young people are their own children when in fact they are more distant family members or not related at all."

Charity officials said the trafficking of children from English-speaking West African states, such as Nigeria, was on an even greater scale than from French-speaking Ivory Coast.