Ho Chi Minh City (AsiaNews) - A few days ago in the Mien Tay Bus Station from the band Om Hon, "Honda motorcyclists", lured a group of young teenagers who had just arrived in town. After assaulting them and robbing them of their documents, these criminals sold the children bosses in search of illegal manpower. It is the latest episode in a growing phenomenon, as confirmed to AsiaNews by sources who want to remain anonymous. The bus stations of Ho Chi Minh City are full of young people, some mere children, who come from very poor rural areas of other provinces, with the hope of finding work. Once there, they are easily lured by adults and sold to bosses who keep their documents and make them work in exchange for little pay.

To increase profits in trafficking, the bosses have hired street gangsters to attract these ingenuous young people at bus stops. After being approached with the promise of a job, the pimps sell these teenagers for as little as 10-22 euro, gaining 3 euro per transaction. At this point the young people, deprived of their documents, become slaves and are forced to work for little money. If they want to go home, they must repay the cost for which they were sold, as well as an extra sum for the return of their documents.

The phenomenon of child trafficking for exploitation on the black market is particularly widespread in the Mien Tay, Mien Dong, Hong Lam, and Suoi Tien bus stations.

The population of Vietnam is about 84 million, of which eight million alone in Ho Chi Minh City. Across the country, the unemployment rate is very high: the number of people of working-age without a job are 1.6 million. Between 2008 and 2009 companies have laid off many of their workers and employees because of the economic crisis. This year alone, there are 87 thousand unemployed people, including 12,275 under 24 years of age and 31,365 aged 25 to 40.