Are we a commodity? ( Questions that demand answers)

When asked to people about the root-cause of child trafficking, most of them held the view of widespread illiteracy and because of illiteracy, the people involved in the racket lack moral values and ethics.

Many did hold the view of unemployment as the root cause because out of unemployment or minimum wage, there's an increase in psychological stress. There will be elevating poverty and family tend to send their children as a source of income.

Leaving out the root cause of child trafficking, when we asked why these rackets are formed, some answered the need for pleasure and some that because of unemployment, an empty mind is a devil's workshop was a round about answer to the question.

Another important question was the panacea to the problem, then most of them were not sure whether it had an appropriate solution or not as it was a big issue spread all over.

The question is, How do we track these rackets?
Is that the better investigation or something more that is required. Where is that we are lacking? Is that the sadistic pleasure that everyone wants from an innocent child-ren?

Why can't proper investigation procedures be made? Out of all the debates that myriad argue in The Parliament, why can't this be held as a big issue and directives laid down?

Our children are losing their childhood, if not childhood, they are losing their own-self.
Why don't people have any idea about ill-effects on a child's mind?
Why is that we just  write and publish, write and publish but has no implementation?
Why do we sell humans? They aren't a commodity.

Child Trafficking (curated article)

 Child trafficking unlike many other issues is found in both developed and developing nations. Trafficked children are used for prostitution, forced into marriage, illegally adopted, used as cheap or unpaid labour. Some children are recruited into armed groups. Trafficking exposes children to violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation. According to UNICEF, a child victim of trafficking is "any person under 18 who is recruited, transported, transferred, harboured or received for the purpose of exploitation, either within or outside a country". Trafficking is one of the hardest crimes to track and investigate hence data is hard to obtain. The latest figures estimate that 1.2 million children are trafficked worldwide every year. Child prostitution has the highest supply of trafficked children.

India is a source, destination, and transit country for trafficking for many purposes such as commercial sexual exploitation. Majority of the trafficking is within the country but there are also a large number trafficked from Nepal and Bangladesh. Children are trafficked to Middle Eastern countries for sport such as camel racing. There are no national or regional estimates for the number of children trafficked every year. But 40% of prostitutes are children, and there is a growing demand for young girls in the industry.

There is a rising demand for live-in maids in urban areas. This has resulted in trafficking of girls from villages in West Bengal, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh to live under extremely poor conditions first in "placement agencies" and later in the employers homes. Placement agents keep the girls in small unhygienic rooms packed together. They are often made to do the placement agent's household work and subjected to sexual abuse. Smita, a sixteen year old girl was taken from her village in Jharkhand and subjected to various forms of sexual abuse and exploitation at the hand of her employers including rape. When rescued her parents refused to take her back since she had been tainted by rape. Falling sex ratios in Haryana and Punjab has led to a need for trafficking of brides from villages in Orissa, Jharkhand, Bihar, Assam and West Bengal, who have been sold off by the parents. Jyoti, age fourteen, was sold and married to a 40-year old man for Rs 15,000 in order to produce a male heir. 

India has legal provisions to counter trafficking as per the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act 1986. The MWCD ( Ministry of Women and child development) has taken a number of initiatives to combat trafficking of Women and Children. But, are those initiatives proving to be fruitful? There is no decrease in percentage of child trafficking rather it's increasing on a daily basis. Can we not bring a gleam of light in children's life? Who is to be blamed? Our ministry or investigation procedures? Why can't such a big issue cannot eradicate. It does require time but why isn't anything effective? Sometimes, it's better that we think with all our heart and soul to think of measures to sought out problems. 

Tattered wings.

Innocent glistening eyes ready with crisp uniforms, shoulder bags loaded with books, identity cards on, paving their way to blaring yellow yet rusted school-buses draws every girl or boy heading to school. But, what if they are firmly holding wages instead of pencils, if they are sobbing day in and day out instead of shrieking out laughter.

Child trafficking- a wide tangled issue that has no proper panacea. About, 1.2 million or more children go missing everyday. The question is where do they go? A place that they dreamt or a place that they never dreamt in their worst nightmare. Well, the latter takes precedence over the former.

In rural parts of India where children struggle to live, there are myriad people who operate from different gangs and entice children by promising them enough money that would smoothen their hurdles, but, as they manage to take them away from their native place, reality dawns upon them and their mask falls off.  Some children are sexually exploited, some forced to beg, some used to sell drugs, some for sport and organ harvesting. These 'some' are millions who go through immense physical and mental agony.

India is a hub of child abuse and exploitation. With the increasing unemployment, people fail to arrange money for their bread and milk and selling of children becomes an ultimate source of income.  Such missing reports do not even get reported and they lose their identity. They are difficult to track and even if they are found, they have lost their identity and become stubborn to return back to their abode.  The different 'gangs' engage them to heinous crimes. They rip off their backs to such an extent that they are unable to retrieve to their previous image. They are labelled as socially unwanted.

Can we blame the laws or will we call for better implementation of laws enacted?

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reports the percentage of child victims had risen in a three year span from 20 percent to 27 percent. Of every three child victims, two are girls and one is a boy. Gender and age profile of victims detected globally: 59% women, 14% men, 17% girls and 10% boys. 

We all demand better implementation of laws, stringent punishments to those found guilty in any way contributing to child trafficking, investigating into these cases, foraging the rackets and finding every intricate detail so that the future of other millions are saved. 

Headlines on Child Trafficking.

All I had become was numb and dumb. 

American Samoa church group accused of child trafficking.

The local media reported that the members of the church in Tafuna, a village on the east coast of Tutila Island, American Samoa are bringing in children from Samoa, an island in the South Pacific ocean to sell food items in the name of the church. 

Source: http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/279531/american-samoa-church-group-accused-of-child-trafficking

U.S Attorney David Heckton calls crime enterprise as, "Modern-day slavery". 

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA —Young girls are being bought and sold for sex in Pittsburgh and investigators are cracking down, making several arrests and tracking several others. Mario Grasim, 34, of Homestead, faces federal charges of running a child sex trafficking ring.Hickton says several anti-sex-trafficking organisations have created a network in western Pennsylvania in the past three years.

Source: http://www.wtae.com/news/federal-authorities-bust-two-local-men-connected-with-child-sex-trafficking/34300130

Can Fifa end child trafficking from Africa to Asia?

Football's world governing body decided to lower the age limit for international transfers to include players aged 10 and above. The normal story is that teenagers duped into leaving Africa end up on the streets of whatever country they have been sent to, since the 'agent' has disappeared and no club is aware of their presence. 

Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-33602171

Full birth certificate to 'protect children'

South Africa's Department of Home Affairs started enforcing new travel regulations in June 2015. Children under the age of 18 must now carry their full, or "unabridged", birth certificate when crossing South Africa's borders. This shows the names of parent or guardian. Director-general of the department, Mkuseli Apleni, briefed parliament on the new travel requirements. In his presentation he was reported to have claimed that an estimated 30,000 children were trafficked through South Africa every year. One of the benefits of requiring minors to travel with an unabridged birth certificates was "protecting [them] from child trafficking".

Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201507231656.html

Kerala HC directs CBI probe into child trafficking cases

Describing child trafficking as a menace which has to be combated by all concerned, the Kerala High Court directed a CBI investigation into such cases reported in the state.The high court said Child Welfare Committees to take appropriate measures in accordance with 'Juvenile Justice Act' with regard to children who are still housed in orphans and child homes. All orphanages should register under Juvenile Justice Act 2000, the Bench said.

Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-kerala-hc-directs-cbi-probe-into-child-trafficking-cases-2102275

Trafficking the greatest threat to children after Nepal quake: UNICEF

UNICEF says an estimated 12,000 Nepalese children are trafficked to other countries every year, but since the two catastrophic earthquakes earlier this year the threat is even higher. Girls not recruited into prostitution face being sold as domestic slaves, and boys are taken into forced labour. Chief of Child protection for UNICEF in Nepal, Virginia Perez said many parents, faced with poverty, are tricked into parting with their children.

Source: http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2015/07/23/trafficking-greatest-threat-children-after-nepal-quake-unicef

SC asks NALSA to file report on child trafficking

New Delhi, India: The Supreme Court asked the National Legal Services Authority(NALSA) to file its report on measures which can be adopted to curb child trafficking and prostitution and ensure the rehabilitation of victims.

Source: http://zeenews.india.com/news/india/sc-asks-nalsa-to-file-report-on-child-trafficking_1634581.html

Inactive states pulled up by Supreme Court for inaction

The Supreme Court pulled up states for their inaction and lethargy in not filing a response on measures to prevent trafficking of children and for creation of a victim protection protocol for the rescued survivors of commercial sexual exploitation. He made this remark after noticing that the states had done little to enforce the 1956 Act for prevention of women from trafficking and a 1990 Supreme Court verdict issuing guidelines for enforcing the act.

Source: http://www.asianage.com/india/lethargic-states-pulled-supreme-court-inaction-064

Child trafficking linked to drugs, say researchers

The UK Missing Persons Bureau estimates that as many as 160,000 children and young people are reported missing every year. Runaway and missing children are being housed by gangs and used to sell drugs in the UK in a form of “child trafficking”, a report has claimed.

Source: http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/main-topics/general-news/child-trafficking-linked-to-drugs-say-researchers-1-7372897

Jada Pinkett Smith tackles child sex trafficking in Atlanta for CNN special July

Michael Bass, vice president of programming for CNN, said Pinkett Smith is deeply passionate about battling this problem.“As a mother, as a human being,” Pinkett Smith intones into the camera as the hour opens, “this is something that is simply unacceptable. I want to show you traffickers, girls affected and the people fighting back against modern day slavery.”

Source: http://radiotvtalk.blog.ajc.com/2015/07/18/jada-pinkett-smith-tackles-child-sex-trafficking-in-atlanta-for-cnn-special-july/