MARCH 3/2008

 Ethiopian Women Suffering In Northern Iraq/Kurdish Territory/

Dozens of Ethiopian women have been trafficked to Northern Iraq, to Erbil and other Kurdish towns, and they are enduring not only crude racism but inhumane exploitation and mistreatment too. More than seven young girls have “disappeared”, evidently kidnapped by their “employers” and held as domestic/sex slaves somewhere in Northern Iraq.

The EPRDF regime continues to unofficially sell young girls to the Middle East to what has proved to be modern day slavery. Unscrupulous agents linked to the ruling party have forged ties with similar agencies even in Iraq and have sent dozens of defenseless girls to Northern Iraq where they are enduring indescribable pain and suffering. Below, we present a report on the fate of such girls and domestic workers in Northern Iraq.

“An agent who has brought in hundreds of Asian and African women in their teens and early 20s said that some had complained of unwanted sexual advances. She told of one client who expressed interest in an exceptionally beautiful young Ethiopian woman, offering extra money for her. He disappeared with the woman for several months, and then inexplicably sent her home at his own expense. “I suspect he got her pregnant,” the agency manager said, insisting on anonymity.

Sana Muhammad, a Qadamkher employee, said business was growing rapidly. The agency collects a one-time fee of $2,500 from Kurdish families for each domestic worker.

“We have requests for 10 Indonesian girls right now that we’re trying to fill,” she added. “We have Ethiopian girls available but clients don’t want them. They say their faces are ugly — the black skin is unfamiliar.” (Similarly, the city cleaning supervisor said the Bangladeshi cleaners had to be moved away from the market because they were being racially harassed”.) 

The young women are held in bondage by the cruel agencies and even when they get work they hand over their wages to the loan sharks for long months. They can’t leave as their passports are held by the agencies and getting their passports back costs thousands of dollars. 

SOCEPP