Hey everyone, this is just a quick update to tell you what is going on here. I am super busy with school. My exam to pass into the next grade will be on Monday. I am confident that I will pass, but I really want to get a good score so that I know that I really have learned all of these new things. I am thinking about going 5 hours instead of 4 hours every other week. That will probably all depend on cost and whether or not that will really help me more.
Tonight friends from school are taking me out to one of my favorite restuarants for my birthday. A lot of people are coming so I am really excited and I feel really honored that they have set this all up for me. This weekend brings 80s night and Pablo and Carlos are also taking me out for my birthday.
My other big news is that I have been offered a temporary position at a non-profit organization down here. They are working to help prevent human trafficing here in Guatemala. They are based out of Antigua so I would be able to work after school. The organization cracks down on child trafficing in stone quarries and the trafficing of women mostly in the sex and slave trades. When they find them they pull the women and children out and get them into homes where they are taken care of and can learn trades. The organization is basically a stepping stone into their new lives. My job would be to help set up the database that keeps track of the women and children and links them to their parents, their former locations, their new locations, etc. My friends Brandon and Doug from school work there and they mentioned that they need another hand with this. I have been looking for a place to volunteer and I think this could be a really good fit for me. I would work with Brandon to create the system and then I would be able to make lists and input data, which I love doing! and also work with the children. It just feels like I am being directed towards this opportunity. I do not think it is just chance.
Other than that, life goes on down here.
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• 12-year old Laxmi* was lured by her classmates to travel to Kolkata (capital of West Bengal, a state in India) for a picnic and later sold in the train.
• 10-year old Sneha* accompanied her 16 year-old sister Surya* to the dream city Mumbai in search of a job. Surya works as a domestic help while Sneha is hired for zari / embroidery work.
• Ramesh*, a 15-year old rag-picker is missing. His neighbours say they saw him being chatting with a drug-addict.
* names changed to protect identity
Young children go missing from the small towns and villages in India. Some run-away on being lured by the dreams of the big city, while others are carried away to be sold for meager gains…
The birth of a child (read male) in India meant celebration. Sweets are distributed and the atmosphere is one of merriment.Neighbours and relatives greet the parents and the new born baby is showered with blessings and gifts. Children are considered as God’s gift to the family. While this is true and relevant in many parts of India and the world at large, a stark reality hits us when we read the newspapers and are informed about the alarming rate at which children go missing from their homes and the increasing number of child labourers found in every sector of employment.
A child is one of the worst marginalized sections in the societal spectrum. Children are found in most realms of institutions, and more so in places they are not supposed to be. Child soldiers, child sex workers, child labourers, bonded labourers, child brides, rag pickers, beggars, manual scavengers, domestic workers, camel jockeys in dangerous races etc.
The above is an extract from Aileen S. Marques essay "Innocence Interred!!!". This essay was ranked among the top three essays in Human Rights Defence's Essay competition 2008. If you would like to read more, visit: www.humanrightsdefence.org
Yours sincerely,
Dr Tomas Eric Nordlander
HumanRightsDefence
www.humanrightsdefence.org
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