WOMEN AND CHILDREN

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 83, 4 October 1930, Page 10

WOMEN AND CHILDREN

SOLD HTO SLAVERY

COMMISSION'S FINDING

United Press Association—By Electric Tel*

graph—Copyright. (Received 4th October, 2'p.m.)

LONDON, 3rd October

The existence of an island iv a r««. mote part of the Bed Sea, off the coast of Abyssinia, which, is used solely a» a dumping ground for slaves, has been, revealed by the efforts of a secret commission established to investigate the horrors of slave-dealing in the East, The Commission has presented a detailed report, giving evidence of whole, sale slavery to officials at Geneva, wherq Lord Cecil is making a deter* milled fight to got slavery wiped out. The League of Nations estimates that there are betweeu six and tea millioa slaves in various parts of the world. The world's blackest spot is the coastline of Abyssinia and Arabia. Children and young girls are trapped ia thousands by raiding parties of slave dealers in the interior arid. forced -to march long distances at night time, often without food and water. They are than shipped-secretly to the island, where they are closely guarded for the market. Bands of pilgrims en route to Mecca are regularly pounced upon.

The island of slaves is a small barren expanse dotted ■'with' .volcanic craters and one of the most awe-in-spiring spots iv the East. The search party which discovered the island was on the verge of abandoning its lonely and dangerous quest when it encountered a swift-moving Arab sailing ship. The hold of the vessel was a dark prison, where men. women, and girl slaves, who had been frcshely captured in the interior, were coworiug in fear. A doctor, who was a member of the searchers, found that the slavet were in the grip of a fever. The slave dealers were not on board the ship. Apparently their part in the hideous traflic ended when the slave* were handed over to the fcrew.