Human traffickers preying on kids in Aceh: UNICEF
God! how are we going to save them!
AFP, Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2005
JAKARTA: Human traffickers are targeting the children made homeless or orphaned by the tsunami disaster in the devastated Indonesian province of Aceh, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said.
UNICEF's spokesman for Indonesia, John Budd, said that there had been a confirmed case of a child being smuggled out of Aceh to the nearby North Sumatran capital of Medan for trafficking purposes.
He said UNICEF's Malaysian office had received an SMS on Tuesday advertising 300 orphans from Aceh aged between three and 10 who were for sale.
He also said that Medan was a well-known centre for the child-trade. Authorities have, in the past, arrested people on child trafficking charges in Medan, for selling babies for adoption to people in Malaysia and Singapore.
"It's chilling," Budd said. "What this indicates is that they have got children or they have a network where they can identify a child and take them." Budd said that UNICEF, local non-government organisations and the Indonesian government had been trying to confirm the reports of child trafficking in Aceh over the past few days.
Budd also said that UNICEF had received reports from local non-government organisations that "hundreds" of children from Aceh had been taken to Jakarta since the disaster happened. "We don't know if they have been brought to Jakarta for their own protection or whether it is something more sinister," he said.
To prevent trafficking, the Indonesian government has also placed a ban on any child under the age of 16 leaving Aceh without their parents. It has also banned adoptions in Aceh for the same reasons.
"The aim of the travel ban is to ensure there is no adoption and to prevent any sale and trafficking of children from Aceh," Social Affairs Ministry spokesman Heri Krisitanto said. National police detective chief Commissioner General Suyitno Landung said that the issue was of deep concern and authorities were trying to register all homeless or orphaned children so they could be tracked.
AFP, Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2005
JAKARTA: Human traffickers are targeting the children made homeless or orphaned by the tsunami disaster in the devastated Indonesian province of Aceh, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said.
UNICEF's spokesman for Indonesia, John Budd, said that there had been a confirmed case of a child being smuggled out of Aceh to the nearby North Sumatran capital of Medan for trafficking purposes.
He said UNICEF's Malaysian office had received an SMS on Tuesday advertising 300 orphans from Aceh aged between three and 10 who were for sale.
He also said that Medan was a well-known centre for the child-trade. Authorities have, in the past, arrested people on child trafficking charges in Medan, for selling babies for adoption to people in Malaysia and Singapore.
"It's chilling," Budd said. "What this indicates is that they have got children or they have a network where they can identify a child and take them." Budd said that UNICEF, local non-government organisations and the Indonesian government had been trying to confirm the reports of child trafficking in Aceh over the past few days.
Budd also said that UNICEF had received reports from local non-government organisations that "hundreds" of children from Aceh had been taken to Jakarta since the disaster happened. "We don't know if they have been brought to Jakarta for their own protection or whether it is something more sinister," he said.
To prevent trafficking, the Indonesian government has also placed a ban on any child under the age of 16 leaving Aceh without their parents. It has also banned adoptions in Aceh for the same reasons.
"The aim of the travel ban is to ensure there is no adoption and to prevent any sale and trafficking of children from Aceh," Social Affairs Ministry spokesman Heri Krisitanto said. National police detective chief Commissioner General Suyitno Landung said that the issue was of deep concern and authorities were trying to register all homeless or orphaned children so they could be tracked.
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