OLONGAPO - 5 May 2008 - 480 words
Fr
Shay Cullen writes on the sexual enslavement of children
Josef Fritzl, 73, imprisoned his own daughter and abused her as
a sex slave for 24 years and she gave birth in the cellar dungeon
to seven children fathered by him. One died and he incinerated
it in a furnace. This is a shocking wake up call for many Europeans
and especially the people of Austria. The fact that he was a sex
tourist in Pattaya, Thailand, adds to the horrific revelations.
Was it there that he increased his addiction to sex with children,
even his own? How many more European sex tourists have developed
such addictions in the Philippines, abusing children non-stop
with impunity and then repeating it in their home countries? His
punishment may be just a few years in jail so lenient are the
Austrian laws.
Why are we gasping in horror at this latest Austrian case of incest
and child abuse? Yes it is particularly horrific, but child abuse
and incest is everywhere. Every few days a new case is brought
to the Preda children's home for treatment and protection. We
are almost beyond shock, although the latest case beats all so
far. The sexually abused child is only two years old. The suspect
is a 71 year old man and his relatives are covering it up.
In Eldorado, Texas, more than 463 children were rescued last month
from a remote ranch where they were held by a religious Mormon
cult. As many as 31 of the 53 girls aged 14 to 17 are pregnant
or have given birth. The youngest pregnant child is 13 years old.
One imprisoned teenager "married to a 50 year old man said
that she was brutally beaten by her 'husband'. The younger children,
including boys may have been sexually and physically abused too.
Hundreds of thousands of abducted and imprisoned children are
being held as sex slaves all over the world as estimates put it.
Every society must look into its dark basements and cellars of
abuse and face the horrible and unpleasant truth that trafficking
of children and child abuse is common in every place and police
ignore it most of the time or are part of it.
In the Philippines, child sex slaves are sold on the open market.
Walk into many of the sex clubs here and young underage girls
are gyrating in bikinis and offered to sex tourists. So young,
their bodies are undeveloped. The trafficking and prostitution
of 13 and 15 year old teenagers is generally tolerated. The authorities
issue the operating permits and licenses. All efforts to expose
and rescue the children are blocked with Government non-cooperation.
Few foreign sex tourists are tried and none are convicted, bribery
is common.
When we have rescued kids and file charges against bar operators
or sex tourists it takes up to three or four years to hear the
case as prosecutors delay proceeding and the accused are free
to continue raping and abusing children. Barry Edwards, a British
professor is on trial in Angeles for three years with no end in
sight. Likewise Australian bar operator Terrence Matthews. The
prosecutors just delay and the child witnesses give up, she fails
to appear, the case is dismissed. Most frequently, the parents
are paid off. Other suspects are allowed to flee, after paying
off the officials.
Child prostitution, sex slavery, all illegal, is a lucrative business
that the big politicians do not want to end. When foreign sex
tourists are done abusing and raping our children here in Asia,
like Josef Fritzl, they go home ravenous for child sex and continue
there even with their own daughters. Humans, the species with
intelligence only do it to their own kids. Even frogs don't do
that.
Government has to be held accountable. Last 2007 we discovered
a 13 and a 14 year old trafficked to Iba, Zambales, and turned
into child prostitutes in the SkyLine sex bar but the NBI anti-trafficking
group waited ten days, failed to respond in time. The sex bar
owner, a police officer, disappeared with the children before
they arrived. Now we know why the trafficking of children and
child prostitution thrives and we need international awareness
and action to stop it everywhere.
Fr Shay Cullen is a Columban priest who runs the Preda Centre,
Upper Kalaklan, Olongapo City, Philippines.
For more information see: www.preda.org
© Independent Catholic News 2008
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