In 1999 and 2000 it was more than 700. The Benin social protection ministry says 50 victims have been rescued so far this year. Benin people are very poor and need jobs. They see places like Gabon as an El Dorado. Benin is one of the world's poorest nations, while Gabon, thinly populated and oil-producing, is relatively wealthy by African standards.
Girls often end up as domestic workers or prostitutes.
Conditions are harsh. The children are spotted by small groups of well-organized villagers a few days before the smugglers arrive. Northern regions are spared from the trade, since children there are employed by their families on cotton plantations. The Christian Science Monitor. All rights reserved.