EDITORIAL
Disaster orphans need immediate protection
It's natural that compassionate Americans watching news footage of children thought to be orphaned or waiting to learn the fate of their families in the chaotic aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami are making inquiries about adopting these young survivors.
Associated Press
The United Nations children's agency, UNICEF, puts the number of affected children, including those who have been orphaned, injured or traumatized by the disaster, at close to 1.5 million across the region.
Tsunami survivors should not be victimized again.
News media and humanitarian organizations have reported widespread concerns about child-trafficking or other opportunists preying on these vulnerable youngsters for forced labor and even sexual slavery. It's unconscionable that anyone would be so cruel as to deepen the suffering of these children — to turn misery into profit.
Of course they must be protected, and we must do all that we can to ease their pain. Yet as much as we want to shield them from predators, we cannot arbitrarily whisk them away from the only homes and families they know. There is still hope that in the months to come, many will be reunited with surviving family members who were injured or were missing in the chaos. And if they are indeed orphaned, they're more than likely to be placed in homes in their native countries, as is common adoption policy.
Until then, one of our top priorities in this relief effort must be protecting these children, keeping them safe from traffickers, pedophiles and others who choose to prey on their misfortune. There must be an immediate and more organized registration of all children separated from their families, with databases containing detailed information on when and where children were found.
Because, if left to fend for themselves, they might turn to the wrong strangers for protection and psychological support, and become victimized again. We couldn't stop the tsunami, but we can stop the exploitation of its most vulnerable victims.
