Child Trafficking Potential Problem in Tsunami Regions
Children in a tsunami refugee camp
in Sri Lanka
January 12, 2005
by Kevin Caruso
The United Nations has expressed deep concern about the possibility of child traffickers
emerging in the aftermath of the tsunami.
Child traffickers exploit orphaned and lost children, luring them in with false promises, only to sell them as prostitutes or forced labor workers.
One such case occurred in Sri Lanka, where a 63-year-old man was arrested on charges of trying to sell his two grandaughters, who are only are 9 and 7 years old.
The suspect, A.H. Somadasa, was taken into custody Monday, January 10th, at a tsunami relief camp.
The young girls have since been returned to their father.
"There is definitely a danger. The opportunity is there," said Udaya de Silva, a police inspector in charge of crimes against women and children in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo.
