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Afghan Government Resists Saudi Abduction and Enslavement of Children
Afghanistanâs Interior Ministry is calling attention to the growing problem of child abduction. Children from all over the country are being kidnapped and taken abroad for sexual servitude, slave labor, and illicit organ donation. The Interior Ministry last year made 100 arrests in connection with child trafficking. But officials say the problem is only getting worse. .... The number of arrests made in connection to child abductions is increasing. And since 2003, Afghan police have rescued nearly 200 abducted children -- both boys and girls -- in different parts of the country. "In the last two weeks, police in Kabul and other provinces, but especially in Kabul, rescued more than 16 or 17 children from the grip of their abductors."Last week on 29 April, Afghanistanâs interior minister, Ali Ahmed Jalali, said that in the past two weeks alone, some 25 people have been arrested in connection with the kidnapping and trafficking of children. That compared with 2003, when a total of 100 such arrests were made. Jalali also said dozens of children were freed from their abductors in the wave of arrests. .... Afghan children are being kidnapped on their way to school or while playing in parks. The Afghan interior minister says boys and girls are abducted for both domestic and international markets, to be used for sex or labor, or to provide human organs. Jalali said last year some 750 children were abducted and taken to Saudi Arabia. Only 250 of them have been brought back home. .... Hengameh Anwari is an expert in childrenâs rights at the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission. Anwari says poverty and even tradition prompts some families to willingly send their children abroad through illegal channels. .... From a cultural and traditional point of view, many believe that by sending their children to places such as Pakistan, they can gain a better religious education. Consequently many families send their children to Pakistan and Saudi Arabia so that they study the Islamic teachings," Anwari said. Few parents realize, however, what awaits their children once abroad. Afghan children are sold by traffickers for use as manual labor, street beggars, or sexual slaves. In some cases, their kidneys are removed and sold on the illicit organ market. .... Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-05-03 |
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