Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Trout · 01-24-2005, 07:43 AM

http://www.alternet.org/story/21030/

What a wonderful world we live in........

Quote:

Having survived the terrible wrath of nature, the youngest survivors of the Asian tsunami are faced with a new peril: child trafficking. In recent weeks, there have been numerous reports of international trafficking and illegal adoption rings looking to exploit the thousands of traumatized children separated from family members.

While accurate numbers remain hard to come by, the United Nations estimates 1.5 million children were affected when killer waves swamped 13 Asian nations wiping out 220,000 people on Dec. 26. According to official estimates, as many as 50,000 children have lost one or both parents.

Quote:

The child-trafficking threat is not limited to Indonesia, nor is it just professional smugglers who are kidnapping and selling these children. "We are getting reports of people trying to sell children or claim children that are not their own," said Geoffrey Keele, communications officer for UNICEF in Sri Lanka. "At this point, it appears to be more opportunistic than a widespread organized criminal activity campaign but, absolutely, it is something we are watching very, very closely."

In Sri Lanka, a 63-year-old man, A.H. Somadasa, was arrested for trying to sell his own grandchildren after their mother died in last month's tsunami. The girls, aged 7 and 9, were reunited with their father last week after authorities intervened

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Amen-Moses · 01-24-2005, 07:47 AM

Where did the slavery bit come from?

Most child trafficking is to rich westerners who want children, that grandfather may very well have been doing what he thought best for the children, he may either have not known the father survived or considered the children better of being adopted.

Amen-Moses

Trout · 01-24-2005, 08:01 AM

Perhaps but then again.....

Quote:

Every year one to two million women and children are trafficked across the globe, with the largest number – 375,000 – coming from the tsunami battered shores of South and Southeast Asia. Lured by false promises of good jobs or simply kidnapped, trafficking victims soon find themselves chained to a life of forced labor, domestic servitude, illegal adoption or sexual exploitation.

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01-24-2005, 07:47 AM	#2
Amen-Moses Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Portsmouth, England Posts: 4,652	Where did the slavery bit come from? Most child trafficking is to rich westerners who want children, that grandfather may very well have been doing what he thought best for the children, he may either have not known the father survived or considered the children better of being adopted. Amen-Moses

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