Children in chains: Part III

by Meg Burd October 01, 2004

The story of Maya, as told on the Web site of Free A Child, is a sadly all too common story for the girls in economically struggling areas in places such as Nepal.

"Maya, barely 10 years of age, is a child who has been sold into sexual slavery. She is beaten, burned, tortured, and deprived of food, light and movement," states the Web site, www.freeachild.org.

Shipped to India to work in a Bombay brothel, Maya is a representation of all the Nepalese girls who are trafficked into the sex industry, today a global multi-billion dollar industry that trades in the lives of human beings.

As examined in Parts one and two of this series, situations such as Maya's are devastatingly real and troublingly numerous, with organizations such as the UNICEF estimating that more than 1 million children are forced into the sex industry, a majority of them in Asia. These numbers may likely increase if child pornography and other abuses are likewise taken into consideration.

While the UN and the U.S. State Department attempt to put pressure on governments in places that have notoriously high levels of human trafficking and child exploitation, as well as crack down on Americans who participate in such "sex tourism," there is also work that is being done on a more grass roots level to stop this global crime.

Kenlyn Kolleen, president of Free A Child, faced the question of what might be done by a concerned citizen when she first read a story detailing the magnitude of this crime. Returning from a trip to India, she was moved to help stamp out this global crime, volunteering with Free A Child.

"We present the light, the other end of it," said Kolleen, of the organization and others like it. "It's just horrible, but it's good to hear about organizations that are doing things about it."

For Free A Child and other NGOs, working at a grassroots level within a community is seen as a major way to stop the problem at its roots. Partnering with a locally run organization in Nepal, Kolleen stresses the importance of attacking the problem in the area by first working to educate communities about this problem, develop dialogue with the at-risk populations, and assist with micro-economic projects designed to alleviate the poverty that often serves as the push into slavery for many people.

In places such as Nepal where, Kolleen said, "women are a burden, and to be born a girl is to be born, as many girls said, cursed," poverty may drive families to sell their girls into slavery or else push women into the hands of traffickers as they are promised well-paying jobs in India. To educate women and families about the tragedies that await those who buy into the false promises of the traffickers, Free A Child and its partner organization GWP organizes street dramas in which local girls communicate the horrors of trafficking to communities. Such groups also serve to facilitate dialogue between the girls, who talk about protecting each other from trafficking.

"What we're hopefully doing is empowering these girls to talk to each other, to tell their stories," said Kolleen.

Similarly, investing in micro-economic projects designed by the girls helps them become economically empowered, something Kolleen sees as a central part to ending this crime.

Kolleen stresses that, while this problem is visibly rampant in places such as Nepal, there is a growing situation of child sexual slavery right here in America as well.

"We need to create a U.S. program - we don't want to give the impression that it's just a third world problem," Kolleen said.

Indeed, this problem is a devastatingly global one, and one that is reaching into our own communities. As we see the problem of child exploitation reaching into our own homes, we all hopefully will be moved to do more to end this terrible crime. Besides working with NGOs and other organizations such as Kolleen did, the State Department offers tips for getting involved in battling this crime. Such things include: increasing public awareness about modern day slavery, asking our congressional and senatorial representatives to pass anti-trafficking laws, and reporting suspected trafficking cases, and of course supporting and assisting groups that work to end human trafficking.

Putting a stop to child sexual slavery in both our country and around the world is something we all must work towards. As Colin Powell emphasized, "we have to work at it. It's the worst kind of human exploitation imaginable. How can we turn away?"

For a citizen action tip sheet on ending modern-day slavery, please visit the U.S. State Department's website at http://www.state.gov/g/tip/

For more information on Free A Child, please visit www.freeachild.org, email info@freeachild.org, or call 720-890-1457

Meg Burd is a graduate student studying anthropology. Her column runs every Friday in the Collegian.

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Children in chains: Part I
10-20-2004

Children in chains: Part II
10-21-2004
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