Child victims of Nepal earthquake sold to factories and brothels by human traffickers
'We have rescued 26 children from the clutches of human traffickers in the past 20 days'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Child victims of the Nepal earthquake as young as eight are being rescued from people traffickers amid fears they will be sold into the sex trade.
Young survivors of the devastation are being targeted for work in sweatshops and brothels, according to campaigners.
Authorities in India now claim to have rescued 26 children pushed into slave labour work.
The 7.8-magnitude quake, which killed more than 8,600 people, destroyed rural areas and left hundreds of thousands homeless.
It is reported that parents from poor villages in northern India, who had been working as migrant labourers in Nepal, are being convinced by traffickers posing as aid workers that their children will be given well-paid, comfortable jobs.
The children are in fact being taken to a bag factory in Mumbai.
Last week 28 child labourers were rescued from a garment factory in the north-western city of Ludhiana where they were being paid around 150 ruprees (£1.50) a week to stich T-shirts.
“We have rescued 26 children from the clutches of human traffickers in the past 20 days and sent them to rehabilitation centres,” said Sanjeev Kumar, a senior labour official in Bihar’s East Champaran district.
“Following the Nepal disaster, the fear of children and women falling prey to the human trafficker gangs has increased manifold and so we are keeping a strict vigil along the Indo-Nepal border to prevent such happenings.”
The news comes just weeks after campaigners said they had noticed an increase in suspected trafficking at the Nepalese border with India.
“Girls are at high risk of trafficking and sexual abuse, they have to be protected,” Anuradha Koirala, the founder of Maiti Nepal, an anti-trafficking organisation, said.
She said her organisation had increased its monitoring operations on the border with India.
Women and girls have long been targeted in the Himalayan nation, with the UN estimating that up to 15,000 a year are trafficked to brothels abroad, mainly to India, but also as far as South Korea.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments