20 children disappear from orphanage in Nepal

20 children disappear from orphanage in Nepal
Published: Thursday, 23 June, 2005, 10:43 AM Doha Time

KATHMANDU: The mysterious disappearance of 20 inmates from an orphanage
has exposed a thriving racket in Nepal where gangs connive with NGOs to
steal children to sell them off, say activists.
Though the children disappeared on Saturday, the matter came to light
only on Tuesday when the Rising Nepal daily carried a report saying
police had taken a man into custody over the incident.
According to initial police reports, the children aged between five and
14, including at least four girls, were staying in an orphans' home in
Balaju, Kathmandu, run by an NGO, Pavitra Sewa, on foreign donation.
Many of them had been brought there by a woman called Hiramaya Rai, who
did various chores at the home like cooking and washing.
Police at Balaju said the children had been brought for adoption by
foreigners willing to pay a generous commission to the brokers who
arranged the deals. However Rai apparently fell out with the woman
running the home, whose name was given as Sita Gautam.
Police said she met a man, Raju Shrestha, who lured her, saying the two
of them could open a similar NGO with the children she had brought and
where she would get a better deal.
Accordingly, Rai allegedly bundled off the children into five vans on
Saturday night and disappeared. Till Tuesday, police had been unable to
trace either Rai or the children.  "This is not an isolated incident,"
said Sharad Sharma, president of Child Development Society, an NGO
working for the rights, health and development of children.
"Every day, one or two children go missing in Nepal. This case came to
light because of the large number of children involved."
The hapless children are put up for adoption to foreigners if they are
lucky or are sold as domestic labour, or in the worst scenario used to
supply body parts like kidneys.
According to Sharma, there is an organised racket in stealing or
obtaining infants and then handing them over for adoption.
"They keep the baby hidden for some time, then publish an advertisement
saying they have found a lost baby. If the parents do not contact them
within the stipulated period, the baby would be put up for adoption."
If the parents are from poor families living outside the capital,
chances are they don't see the ad. Even if they do, since babies' faces
change rapidly, they might not be able to recognise the photograph
published in the advertisement.
Sharma says while the babies are put up for adoption, the older children
are made to work as domestic help in Nepal or India.
According to unofficial figures, there are currently around 10,000 teens
working as domestic help in New Delhi alone, Sharma said.
"Some of them are also exploited for body parts like kidneys," he said.
The Balaju incident comes close on the heels of another incident in
Manohara, between Kathmandu and Bhaktapur districts, involving 37
children. They were brought by an NGO from different villages to be put
up for adoption.
However, no one has shown interest so far and the children are virtually
starving. There have also been earlier incidents of sexual abuse.
Social service organisations accuse the government of turning a blind
eye to the irregularities.
"We are investigating both the incidents," said Dipak Sapkota, executive
director of the state-run Central Children Welfare Board.
Sapkota said Durga Shrestha, the minister for women, children and social
development, and senior officials had started visiting such homes for on
the spot inspection. The government was also drawing up guidelines for
such homes, he said.
"The Balaju children might not be missing," Sapkota said. "Rai could
have taken them to another home. But if she or the home is found to be
involved in any irregularity, they will certainly be punished." – IANS