To control paco addiction, the Argentine government had imposed strict import control policies to prevent ingredients that are needed to manufacture paco to cross borders to Argentina. However, drug traffickers have outwitted the Argentine government by moving their laboratories to Argentina. A dose of paco costs between one and two pesos. The kick is short but addiction to the drug is much longer. In the constant need to escape withdrawal symptom, a paco addict needs 50, 60 or even 70 doses of paco every day. In fact, it is seen that the requirement of large number of doses per day make paco addicts spend more money on the cheap drug than a cocaine consumer in an affluent circle would spend. Young addicts, in order to get money for the drug, often turn to drug peddling or even stealing from their own families and neighborhood.

via:Times Online

Ninety percent of Ethiopian population lives in far flung remote areas where Ethiopian Orthodox Church has a great influence over the community. Though the church approves 18 years as age of marriage, the local priests conduct these marriages as tradition dictates. The age old logic being that of marrying girls while they are virgins and do not have any risk of being raped. So, instead of schools, brides and grooms enter churches to take vows that they are not even aware of. Early marriages lead to early motherhood. In remote Amhara region of Ethiopia, girls as young as 10 or 12 become pregnant. There are no medical facilities to help these children. They suffer from all kinds of post pregnancy complications. Most children born to these young girls are stillborn. Many girls don’t even survive their first pregnancy. Some who do survive lack post-pregnancy care and they don’t get proper nutrition either. Thus ill-health gets carried on to next generation. The children of these young mothers in turn suffer from poor growth and mal-nutrition. Thus tales of ignorance and suffering continue.

The government is trying to stamp out child marriages and has increased penalty for those arranging such marriages. UK-based charity, Safe Hands for Young Mothers, has been working with UN Population Fund to create awareness. But it is difficult to fight a tradition that gets blessings from local church. The tradition becomes a religious belief. Only proper education, which includes sex and health education, can help fight such battles.

It is a modern reality. With much advances in modern communication, there is total lack of communication in regions such as Ethiopia. Their stark naked reality will continue to stare at us through heart rending tales and photo essays. Till they are taken along, humanity will never be able to take total pride in its achievements.

Source: timesonline

Parents in Nigeria are cajoled to sell their children to families in U.K, convincing better lives for the children in the country. Poverty and illiteracy make parents in African countries such as Nigeria to sell children for ₤2,000 to ₤5,000 each. Many pregnant teenage girls even sell their babies before they are born for less than ₤1,000. International traffickers often earn as much as ₤6,000 every week trafficking children from Africa to Europe. Once these children are brought to Britain, fraudulent means are used to obtain illicit housing and other welfare benefits. They are sold to African homes or to criminal gangs where they are made to work for up to 18 hours a day and are subjected to physical and sexual abuses. Once these children grow older and are no longer entitled to any benefit, they are thrown out on to the streets with no papers to prove their identity.

Nigeria has emerged as a flourishing market for child trafficking. In January this year, the Nigerian police rescued 105 children who were found packed on a lorry and were being trafficked to serve as beggars or servants. Globally, child trafficking is one of the fastest growing organized crime. According to the UNICEF, every year 1.2 million children become victims of child trafficking, of whom 32 percent are Africans. According to a national survey conducted by the International Labour organization in 2003, it is estimated that six million Nigerian children are at a risk of trafficking for domestic and forced labour, prostitution and pornography every year. With majority of the population in the country living on less than $1 per day, human trafficking is becoming wide spread in Nigeria.

Source:Telegraph
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It is pathetic to acknowledge that not only human beings but also animals are being ruthlessly used for experimental purposes. In this case it might be a leprosy serum, but even for testing some products like cosmetics, animals are being targeted. In some countries, stringent human and animal rights laws have been formulated to protect against experimental abuse. These laws are to be incorporated into the legal framework of even the remotest civilizations of the world. It is the responsibility of each and every citizen to raise his/her voice against any violation of these laws. Nobody has the right to play with the life of another.

via: ABC News

Once considered to be the most politically secure society, the aftermath of a blamable election in Kenya has done more harm than just a fight between two ethnic groups; it has ignited the long hidden ethnic tensions, resulting in violence that has made hundreds of children homeless, orphan or separated from their parents. Children who otherwise stood a full chance to a bright and equal childhood compared to any child in the world, making their own country a prison with least hope for peace. The number of bright young eyes in Nairobi, that quiver at the sound of workers coming hoping for some news of their parents or loved ones. Red Cross estimates over 500 children separated from their parents in the chaos, and the figure could be much higher in a nation wide count. With thought of normalcy far as peace talks are concerned, show no respite, the only good news is that more than 300 children have already been successfully reunited with their parents, thanks to tremendous efforts put in by the social workers.

With more than a million people who have no where to go in their own country, seeking refuge in camps the children are the worst effected. Some are too young to even let the details out, for others the shock of separation has had its toll. Stories of children witnessing their own family members, neighbours getting killed in front of them, their schools, neighbourhoods being destroyed, queuing up for food and looking haplessly for their parents, all of this will have a lasting effect. They have disturbed sleep and can’t remember details. In the six weeks that Kenya has been at war, it has taken their childhood away, and it will have a lasting effect. It could result in a possible humanitarian disaster.

A data on the Unicef website has left me word less. If reading about the children in Kenya didn’t catch much of your attention, then this surely will shake your soul.
In nearly 50 countries, witnessing conflicts, more than 2 million children have died as a direct result of armed conflict over the last decade. More than three times that number, at least 6 million children, have been permanently disabled or seriously injured. More than 1 million have been orphaned or separated from their families. Between 8,000 and 10,000 children are killed or maimed by landmines every year. An estimated 300,000 child soldiers - boys and girls under the age of 18 - are involved in more than 30 conflicts worldwide. Child soldiers are used as combatants, messengers, porters, cooks and to provide sexual services. Some are forcibly recruited or abducted, others are driven to join by poverty, abuse and discrimination, or to seek revenge for violence enacted against themselves and their families.

Garca Machel who worked on the UN study on children in war believes that a child is particularly susceptible to the rampages of war, she explains

The physical, sexual and emotional violence to which they [children] are exposed shatters their world. War undermines the very foundations of children’s lives, destroying their homes, splintering their communities and breaking down their trust in adults.

Quite much like Pablo Neruda, who has starkly said in his poem, I Explain A Few Things,

in the streets the blood of the children / ran simply, like the blood of children.

After all, even winning a war is as disastrous as losing one.

Via: MSNBC

Bored with the monotony of life and blessed with a philanthropic soul with the wish of doing his bit for the society, Ben Wilson decided to start an organization called the Children of Vietnam (COV). When the organization was started ten years ago, Ben Wilson, then 65 had never thought of the big response it will fetch and the kind of difference it will make to millions in Vietnam.

The country has very poor health care, residential and educational facilities and is too poor to afford any thing better. The economy of the country is so weak that it can hardly provide its citizens with aids required for survival. Even those seeking medical help often die as they cannot afford the prescribed medicines. The COV has made it their mission to not let any child die for the lack of medical help and fund medical operations of anyone who seeks their help. The organization has funded many orphanages and kindergartens in the country which also house children with deformities, thus educating and feeding them for their future lives. The money required for these funds are raised in the US by Ben Wilson, who couldn’t have a busier retired life.

The organization has various designated teams that visit the under privileged areas and inspect the living and sanitation conditions there, funding the repairs wherever required. The COV has rebuilt many mud houses into fully cemented ones providing better standard of living to the Vietnamese. Those below the poverty line are also provided with food allowances so that at least basic survival is ensured. The importance of this charitable work can be seen in the eyes of those at the receiving end, which well up with tears with the kind of help they get from the people of the same country which once destroyed all its resources. Funds are raised for the COV through www.childrenscultureconnection.org, a non-profit organization that raises money for 12 children’s charities which includes the Children of Vietnam (COV).

Via: Cannonfalls

Image credit: Picasa

Haitian underage girls are now paying for taking help from the UN. They have been sexually exploited by Sri Lankan UN peace-keepers for less than $1. Haitian feminists have now woken up to the problem and are demanding inquires by the UN. Olga Benoit of Haitian Women’s Solidarity recalls another case involving two Pakistani soldiers about two years ago. These men in uniform had raped a mentally challenged woman whom they were supposed to protect.

Poor girls in this horribly impoverished nation are just cattle for both Haitian men and their foreign protectors. Excessively patriarchal Haiti chooses to look the other way when girls are exploited. After all, a dollar is better than no money at all.

Underlying this human tragedy is not only the perversion of some depraved men but also the machinations of richer nations who would rather wink than help out. The US and UK who regularly publicize their good intentions for all the poorer nations of this wretched earth, never mention Haiti.

Haitians are poor today and forced to prostitution because their white neighbors have only used Haitians as slaves in the colonial days. Haiti has no value for anyone for it is not oil-rich or harbors fundamentalists of any sorts.

Somalian warlords force girls into sexual slavery. Burmese military leaders have taken to physically abusing children. The LTTE in Sri Lanka has a children’s wing whose runaway members have reported routine sexual abuse.

A pattern emerges. Men away from home for long and engaged in war are exhibiting perverted sexuality. Why? The answer lies in the screening process for filling up military posts. Apart from physical prowess men who are inducted into the military ranks should be screened for psychological competence. One can wish away the wickedness of a warlord as inevitable and natural. But how can we sleep in the night if our children are being exploited by vicious men whose very jobs are being paid for by the global communities’ taxes.

Though President Bush does not think of a Haitian girl worthy of American blessings, I think the time has come for the global community to wake up and confront the reality of increasing child-abuse by various militias. The UN peace keepers are only the organized militia of a desperately hypocritical world trying to pose as savior.

Interestingly The Los Angeles Times repeats the $1 price-factor twice. Would a better price excuse the horrendous nature of the abuse? Though the paper condemns the racket yet we are forced to reckon the manner in which immorality is made socially acceptable in the West by monetary considerations. Haiti is a victim of colonialism and economics.

Mahishini Colonne, a spokeswoman for the Sri Lankan mission at the United Nations in New York, has said that her government is considering reparations to the victims. She knows nothing more. Is this callousness or high diplomacy? In either case, is anyone thinking about the victims?

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Via: LA Times

Food is becoming more expensive not only in our local market but the impact is seen all over the world. Severely affected are the Jamaicans. The researchers and the education officials claim that the current condition of Jamaican children is something that really needs to be taken care of. Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) Director General Dr Wesley Hughes recently brought the matter to the world’s notice while speaking at one of the functions for Children.

Jamaican government runs a meal schemes for school going children. The children are given one meal per day, however, in recent times a lot of hurdles have been seen in continuing with the scheme.

This is attributed to the increase in the price of the food all over the world. The schools are shelling out more for meals and may not be able to absorb these costs for a long time. Thus, Yvonne Mathison, principal of the Constitution Hill Primary and Junior High School in St Andrew, suggested that the quota from the government regarding the school meal scheme needs to be increased.

Although as per the government resources, the allocation for this year is already done and any changes in that might not be possible now.

This may not be very encouraging as Jamaica is a country where 4.6 per cent of children are undernourished, 3.6 per cent of them under five years old. Having a decent school meal is one place where they can fight malnutrition to a small extent.

Via: Jamaica Gleaner

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Child trafficking, one of the modern evils includes recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring of children for the purpose of exploiting them. Child trafficking almost always is synonymous with child sexual exploitation. Child trafficking is also synonymous with developing and under-developed countries in Latin America, Asia and Africa. What is astonishing is the recent report that British-born children have been victims of trafficking and sexual exploitation. In the heartland of Europe, where people assume the safety of children, traffickers and pimps have been using young children for the purposes of prostitution, drug trafficking and crimes as well.

A recent government report talks about an ‘emerging issue’ of British children being trafficked within the U.K. Children in Britain, as many as 18,000 may have been victims of child sexploitation. Shockingly, most venues for these exploitations take place in ‘very, very, ordinary’ places such as lower middle class and middle class neighborhoods and most neighbors don’t suspect anything to be wrong either. Out of the 800 or more premises that were raided, about 600 of them were residential, 157 were massage parlors, saunas, nail bars and the like which are more likely to turn out to be brothels.

Another appalling fact seems to be the method of these traffickers. Men, usually older, lure girls with drugs and gifts of money in cash and kind, act as boyfriends and groom the girls to be prostitutes. The girls usually go ‘missing’ from home to be with their boyfriends who are actually pimps, and succumb to prostitution due to violence and threats. The girls will have to provide sexual favors to the boyfriend’s ‘friends’. Most are subjected to rape, violence, and forced to traffic and peddle drugs. Some girls, as young as 12 are forced to perform sexual acts up to 20 times a night. Majority of the victims are from China and South-east Asian countries with a smaller number of girls from Eastern Europe. Girls who are not citizens of U.K and are staying illegally have been granted up to 45 days of grace to stay on.

Another issue is that of the resistance by the girls to be rescued, that is, they believe they are better off in their present condition than being rescued and according to the police, they go to extra-ordinary lengths to escape rescuers. The police so far have made 232 arrests but that is not a reason to rejoice as the problems seems to be deep rooted. The authorities are in Britain are taking all the steps they possibly could, to track the traffickers and the girls. So far, it has been an annoyingly slow and disturbing job for those trying to rescue and rehabilitate the girls.

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Via: Guardian

Smoking cannabis was common among the Flower Power generation. In fact smoking cannabis were once associated with youthful indulgence, rebellious behavior and artistic excellence. Cannabis was considered harmless. However, smoking cannabis in the current time has been linked to poverty, parental deprivation and school dropout and above all rise in criminal activities among teenagers and youths. In a national survey in UK, two-thirds of Youth Offending Teams claimed that they have seen cannabis use soaring among youth offenders. In some areas of England, nine out of ten young offenders are cannabis users.

Cannabis houses have spread to nearly every part of UK. Out of 43 police forces in England and Wales, 41 have found large-scale cannabis cultivation. Five Scottish police forces have found cannabis cultivations in their jurisdictions. Prime Minister Gordon Brown had ordered the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs last July to review the harmful effects of cannabis, particularly the strong skunk variety. The skunk cannabis has been associated with violent behavior and criminal activity. A large number of cannabis users are being hospitalized and fewer traders of the product have been prosecuted. The new cannabis variety is not as harmless as the variety available few decades ago.

Despite of campaigns by the anti-drug lobbies, the police chiefs and opposition MPs, it has emerged that the Prime Ministers advisors would tell him not to reclassify the drug and keep it in the Class C category instead of moving it to the more serious Class B category from which it was downgraded in 2004. The verdict of the committee is based on a single piece of evidence, an unpublished study by a Keele University academic who has found no link between rising use of cannabis and rise in schizophrenia.

However, the anti-drugs campaigners have urged Gordon Brown to overrule the verdict of his drug experts and reclassify cannabis as a more dangerous drug. Declassifying cannabis was intended to allow police officers to concentrate on tackling on harder drugs. Anti-drug groups say that there are strong evidences to support that use of cannabis leads to crippling mental diseases.

Via: Daily Mail
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