Earthquake Orphans sold into the sex trade

Psalm 10

1 Why, O LORD, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? 2 In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises. 3 He boasts of the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD. 9 He lies in wait like a lion in cover; he lies in wait to catch the helpless; he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net. 10 His victims are crushed, they collapse; they fall under his strength. 11 He says to himself, "God has forgotten; he covers his face and never sees." 12 Arise, LORD! Lift up your hand, O God. Do not forget the helpless. 13 Why does the wicked man revile God?Why does he say to himself, "He won't call me to account"? 14 But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless. 15 Break the arm of the wicked and evil man; call him to account for his wickedness that would not be found out. 16 The LORD is King for ever and ever; the nations will perish from his land. 17 You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted;you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, 18 defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-1838452,00.html

The Sunday Times October 23, 2005
Earthquake orphans sold into sex trade
by Dean Nelson, Islamabad

SIX-YEAR-OLD Aisha loves the orange blouse and jeans given to herby the kind woman who rescued her from the chaos of the Kashmirearthquake. She snuggles up to her, trying to forget thedevastation of her village home and the deaths of her parents 15days ago.What Aisha does not know is that the woman, Kausar, is aprostitute who has bought her from relatives for 50,000 rupees(£500) and plans to put her to work in the sex trade as soon asshe reaches puberty.Aisha is not alone. According to welfare agencies, many of thehundreds of girls and boys orphaned by the earthquake are beingtargeted by gangs intent on turning them into prostitutes orstreet beggars.Other children are being sold for adoption by their parents inacts of desperation prompted by the destruction of homes andlivelihoods.The Pakistani government is so alarmed by the threat to vulnerablechildren that it has placed armed guards at all hospitals andordered that no child is released to anyone until proof of kinshiphas been verified.A complete ban on adoption was announced after hospitals andemergency shelters were besieged by people offering to takeKashmiri orphans. Staff at the PIMS hospital in Islamabad say anumber of people posing as relatives were caught trying to abductchildren.But according to Manan Rana, a child protection officer workingfor Unicef, the United Nations children's fund, in Muzaffarabad,near the epicentre of the earthquake, local government in Kashmirhas collapsed and officials are unable to provide protection.No official appears to have noticed when Aisha disappeared. Afterher home in a village called Arja was wrecked, she was taken toher grandmother's house in the nearby city of Bagh. Kausar, hernew "carer", who claims the little girl is a distant relative,heard about her plight from family members."Her grandmother was too old to look after the girl. I went toBagh on October 12 and I got her very cheap. A pimp from Lahoremight have paid 100,000 rupees," she said."I will provide a good education for her. I would not like her tobe a cheap, third-class prostitute. I do care about the girl. Iwill take good care of her, and then reap the benefit. I'mproviding for her protection and I don't care what Allah thinks."Kausar said she was earning £200 a month from prostitution, butcould earn thousands more from Aisha. She will sell the girl'svirginity to the highest bidder when she reaches puberty andexpects to get up to £2,000 for that alone. "She could start workas soon as she has her first period," Kausar said.If Aisha refuses to work as a prostitute, she will be sold to apimp, Kausar said. She may sell Aisha sooner if she is offered£1,000, but she would not pass her on to whites or non-Muslims,she said, and she would not consider any intervention by thisnewspaper.By contrast the family of Summaya, 7, managed to escape thedestruction of their house in Muzaffarabad, but her parents nowplan to sell her for adoption so that they can buy a new one.Her mother, Rafia, 38, said they were hoping a good family wouldpay £2,500 for her and would allow them to visit her."My husband is a daily wage labourer and he's been selling bloodfor 400 rupees (£4) a pint," said Rafia. "If our problems areresolved, we will not sell the girl. I love her. I know anotherfamily will never be able to give the love a real mother can, butwe have to compromise."Mohammad Hassan Mangi, director of Pakistan's National Commissionfor Child Welfare and Development, said the government had setaside funds to make sure every family affected could rebuild theirhome. He asked to be put in contact with Summaya's family."The government is giving $10,000 (about £5,650) compensation foreach person killed in the quake. If this woman is affected, shewill definitely get a home," he said.For Aisha, however, there is little anyone can do. After beinginterviewed, Kausar vanished into Islamabad's vice world, takingAisha's future with her. o The first of three Chinook helicopterssent by Britain to help ferry supplies to remote areas of theearthquake zone left RAF Odiham in Hampshire yesterday. The twoother aircraft are due to to be airlifted out today aboard C-17transport planes.
The rising death tollConfirmed deaths: 51,139Injured: 70,000

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