Some groups (UNICEF) are now stating that thousands of children in Haiti are being trafficked out of the country. UNICEF has even reported children taken from hospitals.
During such chaotic times with many international groups, planes, supplies moving in and out of the airport and borders, there is a greater opportunity for human trafficking. Security in and around Haiti is relaxed to move goods and aid in as fast as possible but that also allows trafficking to occur more easily.
There are a lot of homeless children and separated families that are at risk. Human trafficking usually increases after disasters, just like after the Tsunami in Asia in 2004. Organizations are registering people, children and others, who are separated, homeless, in hospitals, and are trying to reunite families.
And even though many well-intentioned people around the world would like to help and adopt Haiti children at this time, organizations (Save the Children and World Vision) are calling for a halt to adoptions arranged after the earthquake. It is too difficult to discern at this time who is truly interested in adoption and who are traffickers. Also, there are many orphanages in Haiti that are barely regulated and so some are working directly with human traffickers.
Human Rights lawyer, Beth Klein, states that some legitimate US adoptions, which were cleared before the earthquake, are currently blocked. Because of all the confusion, the Joint Council of International Child Services has been deployed to Haiti to create standards and develop a plan to hopefully move proper adoptions forward.
Before the earthquake, more than 300,000 children were already in forced labor in Haiti. Human trafficking was already an issue. Now, it will only get worse.
Haiti's population currently consists of poor youth-45% of the population is under 15 years of age. With new international aid and emerging reconstruction plans, developing a long-term economic plan is also an important ingredient. Stable incomes and economic options for communities reduce the risk of people falling into human trafficking. Like the country, human rights for the people need to be rebuilt to ensure trafficking and exploitation is not the normal way of life for Haiti in the future.
Follow Eve Blossom on Twitter: www.twitter.com/eveblossom
Plan is taking the lead in the fight to protect orphans and other vulnerable children at risk of trafficking after the Haiti quake.
[Video] Read more about the Child-Friendly centers at: http://www.planusa.org/fbhaitichildfriendly
In addition to those who mentioned themselves above, I suggest supporting the hands-on advocacy to end human trafficking of AARON COHEN, author of Slave Hunter and founder of www.AbolishSlavery.org. He will be in Haiti in 3 weeks with a coalition of capable leaders addressing this head-on as he does globally in other parts of the world including Sudan, Cambodia, and Isreal. CNN International aired a 25 minute sotry on Aaron's work 1.26.10, Untold Stories: Innocence for Sale http://bit.ly/c1O6sS. Follow him on Twitter at @AaronCohen777; Learn about him at: http://www.causecast.org/leader/aaron-cohen or reach him through www.AbolishSlavery.org to donate or participate in the efforts in bringing an end to this madness. We can all talk about it but effective action is the key to results.
Dear Friends,
We have succeeded in contacting grassroots anti-slavery organizations supported by Free the Slaves: Limye Lavi, in Jacmel near the epicenter; and KOFAVIV, in Port-au-Prince. "Between what you see on the television and the reality, there is a really big difference," Guerda Constant tells us from Limye Lavi. "It's much more catastrophic."
Free the Slaves Three-Phased Response:
First, your contributions are being used to send satellite phones and fuel, vital to reach stranded people.
Second, we mobilizing emergency child protection and trafficking-prevention programs. We are partnering with two networks that fight Haiti's entrenched system of child slavery. Their expertise and local knowledge will be vital to children's safety. Two experts, working for Free the Slaves and Beyond Borders, are heading to Haiti to ensure the UN's new child registration and tracing system is effective.
Third, we are beginning to rebuild our partners' work. We are increasing assistance for Limye Lavi to reach remote regions that remain cut-off. A key school that helps prevent children from falling into slavery has been destroyed and will need to be rebuilt.
It will take sustained support to rebuild Haiti's anti-slavery movement and protect the children. Please join us - contribute by selecting "Haiti Fund" on the Free the Slaves online donation page. Thank you for your continued support.
Jolene Smith
Free the Slaves CEO
*For more news and information: www.endslaverynow.com