ABSTRACT
This chapter sheds light on how COVID-19 has affected the work of human traffickers in Sudan, known as samasra, and the living conditions of their victims, Ethiopian women and girls trafficked through Khartoum towards Dubai. The analysis shows that as a repercussion of the pandemic the samasra adopted a system that obliges these women and girls to work in exchange for food and shelter under extremely perilous conditions. The chapter further discusses what more effective procedures Sudan and Ethiopia should follow to ward off the inhumane greediness of the traffickers. Based on qualitative interviews conducted in Sudan, the chapter concludes that it is necessary to update the means of combating human trafficking in step with the methods the samasra constantly fine-tune to keep their business booming.
