Because traffickers frequently come from the same region as the children whom they recruit, it is easier for this practice to be hidden as they may know the families and the area. If arrested by police at the border it is not unusual for parents to defend the trafficker saying that he had their permission to take the child across the border for work. Most believe the trafficker's promise that he will find the child well-paid work. But, in reality, most get no money at all. Instead, this salary is paid to the intermediary, or their labour is used to repay the cost of their transport and maintenance and they can end up working for years without being paid.
Intermediaries also earn money by selling the children to employers.
Isolated from their family, community and culture these children are under the trafficker and employer's complete control, vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. Conditions are basic and with no consideration for safety standards. On plantations they are poisoned by the chemicals used in farming, they suffer skin diseases, heat stroke, increased heart rate, malnutrition as well as physical abuse. The story of 'ID' is typical of the hardship these children experience. Our day began at 5am.