ASIA/NEPAL - Two years after earthquake child trafficking thrives

Katmandu (Agenzia Fides) – April 25 marks the 2nd anniversary of the earthquake in Nepal which left 9,000 dead, more than 700,000 homes destroyed and at least three million people in dire need of assistance. “Two years have passed, the country is still on its knees but there is little or no information about the present situation” we read in a report to Fides by NGO WeWorld, for twenty years committed to defending the rights of the most vulnerable persons, women and children, in Italy and in the south of the world.
The NGO warns about a silent emergency involving children orphaned in the earthquake now living in dire poverty. “In this situation children in particular risk becoming victims of trafficking. According to official figures, each year 12 to 15 thousand children, boys and girls are trafficked from Nepal destined mainly for India to be sexually exploited. The tragedy of child trafficking especially in situations of emergency and not only in Nepal, is an evil for which we should all feel responsible. Countries most hit by this crime are those suffering because of situations of war, natural disasters, chronic poverty . The causes are equally poverty of families and criminal demand. Poor and unable to provide for or protect them, parents sell children to traffickers. Sex tourism, dangerous and badly paid child labour, and more recently organ trafficking are the main factors that feed child trafficking”.
“In the districts of Sindupalchock, Kavrepalanchok and Kathmandu where we have worked for several years providing basic education – says WeWorld -, following the earthquake disaster to provide protection, security, as well as schooling for the children, we built 63 Temporary Learning Centres TLC, in bamboo, (quickly constructed and safe during earth tremors) where the children can live a normal life, with somewhere to learn, play and overcome trauma. It is important to rebuild schools in Nepal not only to provide safety and schooling but also to tackle the causes of widespread child trafficking in the country: we are watchful, we keep them away from the dangers of the streets and traffickers. Schools provide healthy food and medical care unaffordable for most of the families living even below the subsistence level”.
(AP) (24/4/2017 Agenzia Fides)

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