"I believed the lies of a trafficker"

Source: BBC, Addis Ababa

By: Mohammed Adow

Article: Ethiopian tells of migrant ordeal

*The following are excerpts from the aforementioned article: 

An Ethiopian woman has gone public with her harrowing story about being trafficked to work in Bahrain, hoping this will serve as a warning to others. "I believed the lies of a trafficker and a family friend whom I thought I could trust," says Alem Teklu, 29.

"I ended up being abused, exploited, and held against my will. "My employer refused to pay my salary of more than six months and wanted me to forcefully marry her brother." Ethiopia has for a long time been a source of men, women, and children trafficked for forced labour and sexual exploitation. Every year thousands of young Ethiopians are trafficked for involuntary domestic labour to the Middle East, particularly Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia. "Sexual harassment by male members of the family I worked for were a commonplace.  They can endure severe hardship and even death on their arduous journeys to the Middle East. Many believe that trafficking is being fuelled by the abject poverty facing many Ethiopians.

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*Note the abovementioned excerpts are direct quotes from the article and thus all credit and references should be afforded to the authors/sources.