2005-1-9
I'm Gwen Outen with the VOA Special English Development Report.
Aid officials are working to help the youngest victims of the
December twenty-sixth earthquake and tsunami waves in the Indian
Ocean.
The United Nations Children's Fund estimates that one and
one-half million children were affected in South Asia. UNICEF says
many have lost their parents or been separated from their families.
The agency has estimated that more than one-third of the dead were
children.
Last week UNICEF appealed for more than one hundred forty million
dollars to assist what it calls the "tsunami generation." The
request was part of a larger United Nations appeal made Thursday in
Jakarta.
UNICEF says money is needed for immunization campaigns to prevent
disease. Clean drinking water and special feedings for children and
pregnant women are also needed. Another aim is to repair schools, so
children can return to classes as soon as possible.
The head of UNICEF says children must also be protected from
criminal groups. Carol Bellamy warned that children are at risk of
being kidnapped for slavery in the sex trade or forced labor. She
praised actions taken by the government of Indonesia in heavily
damaged Aceh.
Adoptions of children are now banned in that province. The
government also has barred children under the age of sixteen from
leaving Aceh except with their parents.
UNICEF is setting up camps in
Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the other countries affected by the
tsunami. Workers will try to reunite children with their parents,
extended families and communities. The first step is to identify
children who are alone.
Some Western families have offered to adopt children whose
parents died in the tsunami. But policies in the affected countries,
as well as their own nations, may prevent that at least for now.
The American State Department says any adoptions are probably
many months away. It says adoption professionals believe children in
a crisis should be kept as close to their family members and
community as possible.
The State Department deplored reports of sex crimes, kidnapping
and trafficking in persons in the affected countries. A spokesman
said there have been enough reports to see a real danger and the
need for quick action. He said officials were "horrified that
thousands of children orphaned by this disaster" are at risk from
criminals "who seek to profit from their misery."
This VOA Special English Development Report was written by Jill
Moss. I'm Gwen Outen.