There Are Priorities And There Are Priorities
Clearly the safety and well-being of vulnerable young children left adrift in a world of want and deprivation is not seen as an imperative as far as state-driven protection is concerned, within the European Union. These are the unseen children slipping through darkened streets, attempting to ensure that attention is not drawn to their illegal presence. These are the hordes of children preyed upon by soulless ghouls who make profit out of their vulnerability.
Child traffickers have gained a reputation for Brussels as a haven for the abuse of children. A certain segment of traditional society spurns the human rights of others among them such as the Roma community, a nuisance upon society, obviously undeserving of full protection under the law. The United Nations reveals that roughly one million children are trafficked world-wide annually, gaining profit for the perpetrators in the range of $7 to $10 billion.
The children are pressed into a life of petty crime, begging, dealing drugs and stealing. They are placed in domestic settings as indentured servants. They are introduced to a life on the streets as child-prostitutes. Some become a part of the illegal adoption and organ-provision markets. Europe's large Roma population are especially targeted because of their vulnerability, the disinterest of the larger society in their welfare.
Endemic poverty where families in eastern Europe are unable to care for their children leads to circumstances where the children are encouraged to migrate to cities to look for jobs that simply are not there for them. Children are abandoned by their poverty-stricken families, they are sold into bondage to odiously unscrupulous child traffickers who move them swiftly from one urban area to another, escaping detection.
There is no EU legislation in place to protect the rights of a child who has been displaced and exploited.
The European Union which is so manifestly absorbed in the economic advance of its member-states, and so rigidly concerned with ensuring that all its members adhere to certain rules and principles, seems unconcerned about the plight of these children. Local groups attempting to help the children, trying to stop the human trafficking have limited impact without the intervention and assistance of government agencies.
There have been EU recommendations that are still at stage one: defining child trafficking to address the occurrence of sexual exploitation, early marriage, adoption, slavery or bonded labour. There appears to be no great rush to attempt to help these children. And private social agencies, while expending considerable efforts to help the children must also lobby authorities to impose legislation and offer services.
"It's our responsibility to help them; they are children on our territory, and they're our future. They may seem tough from living on the street, but they have the same needs as any child. the moment they come to us and find they no longer have to search for food, they are just kids again", according to one social worker. Meanwhile, the trauma these children have suffered will remain with them and inform the rest of their lives.
In a complex world of political intrigues and jockeying for power, surely there is some need to be perceived to ensure our obligation to protect children.
Child traffickers have gained a reputation for Brussels as a haven for the abuse of children. A certain segment of traditional society spurns the human rights of others among them such as the Roma community, a nuisance upon society, obviously undeserving of full protection under the law. The United Nations reveals that roughly one million children are trafficked world-wide annually, gaining profit for the perpetrators in the range of $7 to $10 billion.
The children are pressed into a life of petty crime, begging, dealing drugs and stealing. They are placed in domestic settings as indentured servants. They are introduced to a life on the streets as child-prostitutes. Some become a part of the illegal adoption and organ-provision markets. Europe's large Roma population are especially targeted because of their vulnerability, the disinterest of the larger society in their welfare.
Endemic poverty where families in eastern Europe are unable to care for their children leads to circumstances where the children are encouraged to migrate to cities to look for jobs that simply are not there for them. Children are abandoned by their poverty-stricken families, they are sold into bondage to odiously unscrupulous child traffickers who move them swiftly from one urban area to another, escaping detection.
There is no EU legislation in place to protect the rights of a child who has been displaced and exploited.
The European Union which is so manifestly absorbed in the economic advance of its member-states, and so rigidly concerned with ensuring that all its members adhere to certain rules and principles, seems unconcerned about the plight of these children. Local groups attempting to help the children, trying to stop the human trafficking have limited impact without the intervention and assistance of government agencies.
There have been EU recommendations that are still at stage one: defining child trafficking to address the occurrence of sexual exploitation, early marriage, adoption, slavery or bonded labour. There appears to be no great rush to attempt to help these children. And private social agencies, while expending considerable efforts to help the children must also lobby authorities to impose legislation and offer services.
"It's our responsibility to help them; they are children on our territory, and they're our future. They may seem tough from living on the street, but they have the same needs as any child. the moment they come to us and find they no longer have to search for food, they are just kids again", according to one social worker. Meanwhile, the trauma these children have suffered will remain with them and inform the rest of their lives.
In a complex world of political intrigues and jockeying for power, surely there is some need to be perceived to ensure our obligation to protect children.
posted by Pieface | 6:12 PM
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