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January 4, 2005
Child trafficking concerns add to tsunami woes
Topics: Southeast Asia Earthquake and TsunamiAs if the children of tsunami-stricken areas didn't have enough to contend with, now there is this:
ABCNEWSonline(Australia) Jan 4.
Indonesian Vice-President Jusuf Kalla has warned people intending to adopt orphaned children from Aceh to follow proper protocols amid concerns about child trafficking.
Mr Kalla has warned that orphaned Acehnese children must stay in the province until their status is confirmed.
[Click on image to enlarge - At risk: There are fears child traffickers are capitalising on the confusion. (Reuters)]
He says people intending to adopt should do so only after it was confirmed that the children concerned were orphaned.
It comes as a foundation in the ravaged Aceh province warns that at least 20 children have fallen victim to child traffickers.
There are fears trafficking may increase as more than 35,000 children are thought to have been orphaned or cut off from their families.
The Indonesian Government has banned all Acehnese children younger than 16 from leaving the country. Police around the nation have also been instructed to be alert for child traffickers.
Protection
There are also similar concerns in Thailand.
Swedish police haved confirmed they have sent two officers to investigate the disappearance of a 12-year-old Swedish boy, who has reportedly been kidnapped from a Thai hospital.
One of Australia's leading non-government child protection agencies is calling on countries involved in the relief effort to make child protection their top priority.
Child Wise acting director Karen Flanagan says paedophiles are known to prey on children during difficult times.
"Someone needs to be really focused on child protection measures not just... the physical needs, the hygiene needs, the water needs, all of that needs to happen, of course, for survival," she said.
"These children are wandering around aimlessly without parents or guardians so of course they're going to vulnerable to exploitation." Source...
Posted by Hyscience at January 4, 2005 4:15 AM
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- Child trafficking concerns add to tsunami woes - Jan 04, 2005
