2013-01-09 16:13:54

India's poor neglected children


(Jan. 09, 2013) : IIn India, thousands of minors go missing each year in the eastern state of West Bengal. They are either forced into prostitution or working at illegal and underpaid jobs, living on the streets or sold by human traffickers. With 11,288 children missing out of a total of 32,342, West Bengal had the worst record in the country in 2011. The numbers are only partial since many missing children are not reported.
Poverty and illiteracy are the main causes, especially in villages and rural areas. In West Bengal's Jailapaiguri District for example, 1.9 million households live on less than a dollar a day. To earn a little more money, parents end up selling their children to placement agents, who promise to find them jobs in the big cities. "For these families, sending children to work is the only way to survive," the deputy superintendent of police in Darjeeling, told AsiaNews. Reynold Chhetri said traffickers usually bring the children to cities like New Delhi, Mumbai and Gurgaon, after that, parents never hear from them again. The children find employment as domestic help or construction workers. In the case of girls, many end up as prostitutes; a few might land a job as a maid in a wealthy family. On average, boys and girls working as domestic help earn 12,000 rupees (US$ 220) a month; young prostitutes can earn up to 80,000 rupees (US$ 1,500).
Fr Arul Dass, professor at Kolkata's Morning Star College condemns this sordid situation. He says the government should take serious measures to curb the problem. All children should find a safe refuge, where they can grow up as responsible citizens which is their right, the priest said .









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