Not only is Kerala's beauty renowned, the honesty of the people is telling through a recent experience Pavitra had during his trip. Apparently he lost his wallet before heading out of his main stay for a few days (don’t know where that was….he doesn’t tell me details unless I ask and now I forget what he told me :-) …I’ll let him comment). Upon returning, his wallet was returned to him with all his money and credit cards intact…in fact the shop keeper had been trying to call him on his delhi number for the 3 days he was out.
Unfortunately, in this entry, Kerala has a different story to tell…
Unfortunately, in this entry, Kerala has a different story to tell…
Recently Marie Claire featured an article on “Kerala’s Sex Trade”, titled: DARK CLOUDS OVER KERALA (See the article below). The article featured a four year old girl, Sneha, whose mother, Shaari died 3 months after giving birth. “Shaari, a willowy 16-year old from Kiliroor village in central Kerala, died three months after childbirth. She had been taken to many expansive resorts and hotels on the pretext of screen tests for television serials, raped by several men and forced into the sex trade.” Shaari was a victim of human trafficking – a commerce that is rampantly spreading all over the state, according to the article.
The article goes on to state that tourism in Kerala is fast transforming into sex tourism due to the increasing flesh trade business.
UN.GIFT (UN Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking) South Asia (the project I’m working with) is about to launch an initiative working with the Pacific Asia Tourism Agency (PATA) and Save the Children India to develop a ‘Code of Conduct’ for safe and honorable tourism. With India emerging as a favored tourist destination, the Tourism Industry, in particular, could play a key role in the prevention of human trafficking. This is very necessary and timely given the recent reports coming out of Kerala.
UN.GIFT (UN Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking) South Asia (the project I’m working with) is about to launch an initiative working with the Pacific Asia Tourism Agency (PATA) and Save the Children India to develop a ‘Code of Conduct’ for safe and honorable tourism. With India emerging as a favored tourist destination, the Tourism Industry, in particular, could play a key role in the prevention of human trafficking. This is very necessary and timely given the recent reports coming out of Kerala.
In my previous entry I mentioned how work was pissing me off because there wasn’t that much to do lately…we’ll, now with various events popping up, World AIDS day (Dec. 1) and Anti-Corruption Day coming around the corner (Dec. 9th) the pace of work is picking up and I am a happy camper.
I derive extreme joy out of working on a cause that makes an impact. I hate mundane work…like digging out facts, inputting useless data, basically admin work… I love strategizing about how to make a real difference – which is one of the most exciting things about working for the United Nations. The UN has the resources to bring influential people together to make a real difference.
A Few facts regarding Human Trafficking in South Asia
Human trafficking is a booming illegal international trade, making an estimated $32 billion annually at the expense of millions of victims – many of them children – who are victims of sexual exploitation and forced labour. According to UN estimates, approximately 150,000 people are trafficked within South Asia annually making the region second only to SE Asia in prevalence of human trafficking.
Countries in South Asia are origin, transit and destination countries for trafficking in persons. Women and children are trafficked from Bangladesh and Nepal to India, and in many cases are trafficked to the Gulf countries, the Middle East and Europe. Trafficking primarily takes place for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation (CSE), as well as for other forms of exploitation such as labour, organ transplant, and forced marriage. According to one estimate, 90% of India's trafficking for CSE is internal.
I derive extreme joy out of working on a cause that makes an impact. I hate mundane work…like digging out facts, inputting useless data, basically admin work… I love strategizing about how to make a real difference – which is one of the most exciting things about working for the United Nations. The UN has the resources to bring influential people together to make a real difference.
A Few facts regarding Human Trafficking in South Asia
Human trafficking is a booming illegal international trade, making an estimated $32 billion annually at the expense of millions of victims – many of them children – who are victims of sexual exploitation and forced labour. According to UN estimates, approximately 150,000 people are trafficked within South Asia annually making the region second only to SE Asia in prevalence of human trafficking.
Countries in South Asia are origin, transit and destination countries for trafficking in persons. Women and children are trafficked from Bangladesh and Nepal to India, and in many cases are trafficked to the Gulf countries, the Middle East and Europe. Trafficking primarily takes place for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation (CSE), as well as for other forms of exploitation such as labour, organ transplant, and forced marriage. According to one estimate, 90% of India's trafficking for CSE is internal.
According to one estimate, the figures of children in prostitution in India range from 300,000 to 500,000. A survey in 1991 indicated the population of child victims of commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) to be from 70,000 – 100,000. Pedophilia related tourism (sex tourism) has also been reported from certain parts of India, including Goa and some parts of Kerala.
“Kerala’s Sex Trade”
DARK CLOUDS OVER KERALA
2 comments:
Love reading your blogs Marie!
i'm going to traffick you outta india soon enough.
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