Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Sean Ellis
Bangalore (Agenzia Fides) - A recent survey, carried out by the Indian police along with some humanitarian organizations, revealed that more than 300,000 children suffer abuse by criminals involved in human trafficking, and force them to beg on the streets of some cities every day. Many of the children who beg are maimed or burned in order for passersby to have more compassion and earn more.
According to the National Commission of Human Rights, more than 40,000 children are kidnapped in India each year, 11,000 of them disappear for good. In cities like Bangalore the number of children who roam the streets and beg increases exponentially, especially immediately after a natural disaster. The Freedom Project India, an organization specialized in human trafficking, points out that every 50 children rescued about 10 are often the victims of trafficking. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 02/06/2016)
AFRICA/DR CONGO - President of the Bishops' Conference: “Here too, families are in crisis and children are left to their fate as 'street children'”
AFRICA/MALAWI - The plight of Malawi's 15,000 children who live on the streets