Activist examines role of tsunami in increasing human trafficking

Published: 2005-06-23

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The tsunami that ravaged southeastern Asia and killed over 200,000 people also left open the door to human trafficking for sexual exploitation, according to Sunitha Krishnan, an anti-trafficking activist from India. Krishnan is the founder and head of Prajwala, one of the largest anti-trafficking organizations in India. In a June 21 interview with Catholic News Service, Krishnan said Prajwala -- which she runs with co-founder Brother Jose Vetticattil, a member of the Brothers of St. Gabriel -- is founded on a four-tiered understanding of what will be necessary to end trafficking. "We work through prevention, rescues, restoration and social reintegration," she said. According to Krishnan, the problem of trafficking is extensive. "Two million people are trafficked yearly," she said. "And the average age of those being trafficked has dropped so drastically that 3- and 4-year-olds are being taken for sexual exploitation. "Parents are usually lied to and promised their children will be given a job or a better life," she said. "It is deception in the name of a better life." Since the tsunami hit the Indian coast in December, conditions have been ripe for trafficking. "The traffickers take advantage of the vulnerable position in which people find themselves. When a parent has nothing, they want to believe it when someone offers a better life for their children," Krishnan said. "So when someone offers to put a child up for adoption, parents often say yes."

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