Millions of children sold as slaves around the world
EUROPE/SPAIN -
Madrid (Agenzia Fides) - On June 12
we celebrate the Day Against Child Labour, and for this occasion the
Salesian Missions, in their campaign "No estoy en venta", have denounced
over a million children worldwide who are victims of trafficking and
more than nine million slaves. The missionaries claim that more than
300,000 children in West Africa and young girls are sold and end up in
the ranks of the mafia, who in turn sell them to make them work as
domestic servants, in the fields, in the mines, in the markets or to
make them work as prostitutes. Despite countries like Benin, Burkina
Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and
Togo, have signed international conventions for the protection of
minors, the States do not invest the necessary funds, and it is easier
for criminal gangs to pay a child less than 50,00 EUR promising the
family a better life, education and money. Among the main causes that
aggravate the phenomenon, the Salesian missionaries claim poverty, the
demand for cheap labor, conflicts, tradition or gender disparities. (AP)
(Agenzia Fides 04/06/2013)
EUROPE/GREAT BRITAIN -
Malnutrition causes learning difficulties to a quarter of children around the world
London
(Agenzia Fides) - In the developing countries, and the poorest in the
world, malnutrition has serious consequences in the field of literacy as
well as being a major obstacle for progress against infant mortality.
This is what is said in a recent study carried out by the International
Programs of the NGO Save the Children. Because of chronic malnutrition a
quarter of the children around the world have problems with school
learning. According to the NGO that protects the rights of children,
children who are victims of this phenomenon have a 20% less chance to
learn to read and write than those who follow a proper diet. The
malnourished children suffer irreversible damage, grow less, are weaker
and their brain development is not complete. According to research, a
poor diet heavily affects the ability of children to read a sentence or
correctly answer simple mathematics questions, regardless of the level
of education received. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 04/06/2013)
