Crisis In Trafficking Iraqi Children Grows
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Posted by: David S. Morgan
April 6, 2009 / CBS News
Child trafficking, including the abduction and sale of children, is a growing crisis in Iraq, with officials and aid agencies claiming scores of young people, including babies, are sold both internally and outside of the country.
The Guardian, in an article written by Afif Sarhan, reports Monday that criminal gangs are taking advantage of poor families while profiting from the cheap cost of buying infants (prices of children range from $300 to $5,900). The paper also says a broken and corrupt bureaucracy, weak law enforcement and lack of border security make it easier for such trafficking to operate.
Aid agencies and police say they believe the number of stolen children has increased since 2005 by a third, to at least 150 a year.
The Guardian quotes one senior police officer saying at least 15 Iraqi children are sold every month — some for adoption, others for sexual abuse. At least a dozen gangs operating in Iraq use intermediaries pretending to work for non-governmental organizations who prepare paperwork necessary to help transport the child out of the country.
"When those children come to the airport or the border, everything looks correct and it is hard for us to keep them inside the country without significant evidence that the child is being trafficked," Iraqi police Colonel Firaz Abdallah said.
One dealer told the Guardian that trafficking children from Iraq was cheaper and easier than from other countries, in part because underpaid government employees are willing to help falsify documents.
The trafficker also described his modus operandi: "Before we try to negotiate with any family we study their living conditions, their debts, the goods they own, and when we feel that the relatives are suffering with unemployment and cannot feed their children, we make our approach that in most of the time is welcomed, as we are seen as aid workers," he said.
"During the period of investigations, we present ourselves as employees of a local NGO and offer some food and clothes. After we get their trust, we make our offer that varies according to what we have found out. If the family is really poor they can accept very low deals but sometimes with more literate ones, prices are higher."
The dealer said families sometimes request they take children from one to four years of age, but added, "We prefer babies."
You can read Afif Sarhan's complete Guardian article here.
The Guardian, in an article written by Afif Sarhan, reports Monday that criminal gangs are taking advantage of poor families while profiting from the cheap cost of buying infants (prices of children range from $300 to $5,900). The paper also says a broken and corrupt bureaucracy, weak law enforcement and lack of border security make it easier for such trafficking to operate.
Aid agencies and police say they believe the number of stolen children has increased since 2005 by a third, to at least 150 a year.
The Guardian quotes one senior police officer saying at least 15 Iraqi children are sold every month — some for adoption, others for sexual abuse. At least a dozen gangs operating in Iraq use intermediaries pretending to work for non-governmental organizations who prepare paperwork necessary to help transport the child out of the country.
"When those children come to the airport or the border, everything looks correct and it is hard for us to keep them inside the country without significant evidence that the child is being trafficked," Iraqi police Colonel Firaz Abdallah said.
One dealer told the Guardian that trafficking children from Iraq was cheaper and easier than from other countries, in part because underpaid government employees are willing to help falsify documents.
The trafficker also described his modus operandi: "Before we try to negotiate with any family we study their living conditions, their debts, the goods they own, and when we feel that the relatives are suffering with unemployment and cannot feed their children, we make our approach that in most of the time is welcomed, as we are seen as aid workers," he said.
"During the period of investigations, we present ourselves as employees of a local NGO and offer some food and clothes. After we get their trust, we make our offer that varies according to what we have found out. If the family is really poor they can accept very low deals but sometimes with more literate ones, prices are higher."
The dealer said families sometimes request they take children from one to four years of age, but added, "We prefer babies."
You can read Afif Sarhan's complete Guardian article here.
2009 Apr 6