WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- Beatrice Fernando, a Sri Lankan survivor of slavery, is calling for increased vigilance against child trafficking in tsunami-hit Southeast Asia.
In a joint appeal with the American Anti-Slavery Group, Fernando urged the governments of Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, and India to act now to prevent traffickers from exploiting the crisis.
"So many children are at risk," she warned.
According to recent media reports, one of the devastating consequences of the recent tsunami in Southeast Asia is an increased risk of children being abducted into slavery.
"Even before the tsunami hit, human trafficking was rampant in the region," noted Anti-Slavery Group Associate Director Jesse Sage. "But now thousands of children are homeless, displaced, and orphaned -- easy targets for crime rings that profit from trafficking in human beings."
Fernando, who as a young woman was trafficked from Sri Lanka to Lebanon, ended up enslaved, forced to endure severe beatings and work without pay. She recently published an autobiography, "In Contempt of Fate," which addresses the problem of human trafficking.
