Australia vows to fight trafficking for orphanage tourism in Southeast Asia

[geovalin]

by Kieran Guilbert | KieranG77 | Reuters

 

Australia set to pass tough new anti-slavery laws this year and lawmakers are pushing for orphanage tourism to be included

 

LONDON, April 16 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Australia is cracking down on so-called orphanage tourism to prevent trafficking of children in Southeast Asia, trying to tame demand from tourists wanting to do good, top politicians said on Monday.

 

Children in countries such as Cambodia are taken from their homes and put into orphanages to attract donations and support from volunteers from Australia, say major charities such as Lumos, which works to help children in orphanages.

 

The United Nations and non-profit groups including Save the Children have warned against the practice known as orphanage tourism, which activists consider a form of modern slavery.

 

Australians are among the top donors for such orphanages, driving up a demand for these institutions, officials said.

 

"We have created the problem for the region, so now we have to work with other countries to fix it," Australian Senator Linda Reynolds said at an event in London on the sidelines of a week-long Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).

 

"We need to be part of the solution, and we are not waiting to act," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation, calling the phenomenon the "perfect 21st-century scam" where people get a "sugar rush" of doing good and sharing it on social media.

 

Australia is expected to pass tough new anti-slavery laws this year and lawmakers are pushing for orphanage tourism to be included, according to Reynolds.

 

The government last month launched a "Smart Volunteering" campaign to discourage citizens from taking part in short-term, unskilled volunteering projects in overseas orphanages.

 

"Our volunteers - many young people and students - are unwittingly taking part in human trafficking ... paying up to $2,000 to do so," said Australian foreign minister Julie Bishop.

 

"Kids are given up by their families and become tourist attractions," she said. "We don't want to add to the misery of children in the region.

 

"We need to address this scourge."

The number of orphanages in Cambodia - a regional hot spot - is growing quickly even though most children living in them have at least one parent, according to the U.N.

 

Cambodia last year launched a crackdown on bogus institutions.

At least eight million children live in orphanages and other institutions worldwide, yet four in five have at least one living parent, according to Lumos, which was founded by "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling.

 

Yet this form of trafficking may be easier to tackle than others in a trade estimated to enslave 40 million people globally and raise annual profits of $150 billion, Lumos said.

 

"It is definitely solvable as the demand has been created by people who are genuinely trying to do good," said Georgette Mulheir, head of Lumos. "We just need to redirect that energy."

 

(Reporting By Kieran Guilbert, Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights, climate change and resilience. Visit http://news.trust.org)

 

source http://news.trust.org/item/20180416220126-nfqn1/

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 17/04

 

 

[phycokiller]

well, I don't know, maybe its better the kids are sent to orphanages then to work in Malaysian fish bowls, the mamas are going to sell the daughters one way or another because those debt collectors will do nasty things to her if she doesnt

Edited April 17, 2018 by phycokiller

[KKr]

"Orphanage Tourism" what a distasteful name for supporting a good cause.

IF someone decides, and I do hope many people do, to support an orphanage, ask for their 10 year plan.
10 years it will take to get a kid through some level of secondary education so they can fend for themselves.
ASK what their plans are for highly gifted children, will their be a fund that will take care of the expenses for higher education ?
Who provides for the Medical care ?
Where are children registered as resident ?
(i.e. will they officially be missed if they disappear ? )
Are Staff trusted ? How are staff verified ? 

And if you decide to give some cash, in my humble opinion, it is better to offer a ten year / perpetual monthly modest amount then a big amount.
(Bear in mind that for someone making less than 1.000 USD per month, 1000 USD is a big amount.)
Find out if there is a  Board / Council of trusted people, and speak to them.

That may give some assurance that someone on the ground is monitoring activities because, unfortunately, there are too many examples where the Funds did not end up with the Children.
(p.e., annually an extra 1.000 $ transfer for family support; handed out less than 300 $ what is a huge sum for rural areas; who will complain that the manager pockets 700 $ and risk not receiving 300 $ next year ? ; or houses and cars that are disproportionate compared to family income, and so on.)

But by all means,
if you want to give something back to your host country, please do support legitimate facilities.

 

[rosst]

Are you for real Australia, fix our economy, do some good for our disadvantage instead of wasting time and energy on "not our problem" 

I have wonderful Christian friends who are running an orphanage in Cambodia, how hard will this make their work? 

Don't just gab fest, find the rats and destroy them don't interfere with the great work being done to give good education and opportunity to the disadvantaged.