Cote d'Ivoire, United Kingdom
An 11 year old Malian boy dreamed of buying a bicycle. When a man approached him and told him he could work on a cocoa farm and make enough money to buy a bicycle, a radio and more, the boy did not suspect the man of being a child trafficker. He went with the man to Cote d'Ivoire, where the man sold him to a cocoa farmer. He and other trafficked boys worked long hours doing back-breaking and dangerous work farming cocoa and bananas. The farmer gave them little to eat, beat them severely, and forbade them from leaving the farm. At last he realized he had become a slave.
Location
United Kingdom · Cote d'Ivoire · 2009 (location generalized to protect survivors)
Response & intervention
The victim suffered in forced labor for two years before he escaped and returned to Mali. He now works in a market garden but still doesn’t earn enough to buy a bicycle. More Information: and other trafficked boys worked long hours doing back-breaking and dangerous work farming cocoa and bananas. The farmer gave them little to eat, beat them severely, and forbade them from leaving the farm. Ibrahim suffered in forced labor for two years before he escaped and returned to Mali. He now works in a market garden but still doesn’t earn enough to buy a bicycle.
Documented on the original SlaveryMap (2008–2016). We don't have a verifiable source on file yet — use “Report a problem” below to add one.