Concerns mounting for quake's orphans (Pakistan)

Boston Globe ^ | November 26, 2005 | Ashraf Khalil and John M. Glionna

[Lorianne]

Trafficking of children reported in Pakistan ___ ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- She is a girl without an identity, whisked here by helicopter from the earthquake zone, one of the devastating temblor's anonymous -- and most vulnerable -- victims.

The teenager, her hair cut short for head surgery, cries uncontrollably and cannot remember her name or that of her village. Hospital workers call her Aisha.

''She's alone in the world. She doesn't recognize anybody," said Dr. Robina Quiesha, of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences. ''I really don't know what will become of her."

A magnitude-7.6 earthquake rocked this region Oct. 8. The girl probably is one of thousands of orphans whose families died in the catastrophe or have disappeared.

In Pakistan's close-knit family structure, children who lose their parents would typically be cared for by uncles, aunts, or other relatives. But the wide damage inflicted by the earthquake, which devastated entire mountain villages, made it probable that many youngsters have been left with no family at all.

Despite surviving one disaster, such children must be protected from another ominous fate: falling into the hands of human traffickers. The government recently has reported the selling of children in hard-hit cities such as Balakot and also Muzaffarabad in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir.

Alarmed by the looming threat, hospitals here have placed armed guards outside children's wards. The government also banned all adoptions after being besieged by people offering to take in homeless children. Administrators at hospitals, refugee camps, and emergency shelters will not release any child until kinship has been verified, officials insist.

[Valin]

Photo essay: U.S. Army in Pakistan
U.S. Army ^ | U.S. Army public affairs


Posted on 11/27/2005 10:50:04 AM CST by 68skylark
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1529317/posts

[Graymatter]

I'd gladly care for her. For any of them. But while the slave traffickers have no problem getting these children, a law-abiding woman with a dead husband has almost no chance. Some time back, I gave up trying to adopt. The difference between adoption agency personnel/attorneys, and traffickers, was getting real blurry when I gave up. Could hardly tell one opportunistic parasite from another. There should be a special place in Hell for people who make money off these children...but some of them can probably fool even the Devil.