Desperate Girls

The Badi Girls

Between 7,000 and 12,000 young girls, aged 9-16, are trafficked each year from Nepal; mainly to India. According to Nepal Monitor/On line journal, 2007, there are more than 200,000 Nepali girls in Indian brothels.

The Dalits(untouchables) are the lowest level in Hindu society, and the Badi community, in Western Nepal, are the lowest of the low. As a displaced hungry people group the Badi community has made sexual subservience a way of life. Young girls from this group “serve” other groups. This has become a tradition and means of livelihood. Many girls, even when they are unwilling, are forced to serve as sex slaves. Family members knowingly sell their daughters to traffickers.

Though prostitution is illegal in Nepal, the industry reportedly has links with highly ranked officials and political leaders. Large groups of girls are taken across the border with many police and government officials being in collusion with traffickers and brothel owners.

Traffickers and related criminals are often protected by political parties, and if arrested, are freed using political power. As a result, there is an underlying distrust of police that has led people not to file cases against traffickers.

Domestic action involves activities of NGO’s and other volunteer groups. These groups are playing a major role to address girl-trafficking and sex slaves issues. Some NGO’s are playing a very important role to improve the situation. From creating social awareness to rescuing and rehabilitation, they are providing services (and relief) to those that need it the most – the likely victims as well as the rescued ones. The Lighthouse foundation is one of these.

*See Chandra Kala’s story on this blog site.

Tuesday 14 April 2015

Monday 13th April, Jade pagoda


The above is the Jade Pagoda in Mandalay.  The builder collected jade for 25 years for this temple.  There is 10,000 tons of jade, no bricks, and the cost is $400,000,000 plus $15,000,000 worth of jade.  The grand opening is on 1 June, 2015.  It is only one of it's kind in the world.    Now that would build lots of orphanages and schools.

We went to a Chinese restaurant for lunch and photographed some poor things that were waiting to be on the menu.  A bit hard to see through the glass, but one lot looked like giant yabbies, and another black and white striped lobsters.  They also had rather large turtles.  So on the menu was tripe (if you are our age you will know what that is.  I cooked it for my kids once, and they still have never forgiven me) , goose livers, turtle, rabbit, pigs trotters, and the most fascinating of them all, "jellyfish head salad".

Below is a duck dish, heads and all.  Apparently the brain is very nice.  Enough of the culinary joys of Myanmar.  Tomorrow, we head for Kathmandu.  A full days travel, as we go through K.L.  and then on to Nepal.  We are hoping the weather is kinder to us there.  It has been a very full two weeks, and it has been amazing to see the hand of God is many unexpected ways.  There will be some interesting days ahead.
Robyn






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