Preface:
The 1992 UN Report on the Sale of Children states:
Shabmeher was apparently taken from the house where she had been working as a maidservant by a female agent who subsequently sold her for 2000 taka (approximately $60) to the Tanbazar brothel in Narayanganj. Refusal to comply with the wishes of the Sardanis ('madams') in the brothel resulted in merciless torture being inflicted on her after which she was found in an unconscious and miserable condition in a running train. Although her body was rescued, she died a tragic death at the hospital. This incident in Bangladesh exemplifies the cruelties facing many child prostitutes today; it should not be taken as an isolated incident.
Source: http://www.jubileecampaign.demon.co.uk/children/cpr1.htm
Birth
She was born in a hut in a shanty town on the edge of a big city. (Rip) Her family moved there because of the militia violence in their home province. (Rip) Her birth was not registered because she was a girl. (Rip) She was the tenth child born, but the sixth to survive to age five. (Rip)
Residence
About six months after she was born, typhoid (print out fact sheet from WHO) spread through the shanty town because of poor quality of the water. (Rip) Two of her brothers and one of her sisters died. (Rip) The authorities decided to destroy the town because of the health risks. (Rip) They were forced to live on the streets of the city, dodging the authorities and private killers. (Rip)
Family
Her father, an unskilled factory worker, moved in with a family on the other side of the city, leaving her mother and and the three children by themselves. (Rip) Her brother, at the age of 7, had to work in a factory to help with food. (Rip) Her mother was in poor health because of lack of access to health services and the poor living conditions. (Rip)
Health
Her mother died when she was eight from lack of good food and years of living on the streets. (Rip) She has not seen any of her family since then. (Rip) Depressed and lonely she gave up hope. (Rip) She was found dead with bullet wounds to the head. (Rip)
Her story was pieced together by a UNICEF worker from various encounters she had with different aid organisations.
Her story is too typical of many children around the world.
After word:
CASE EXAMPLES: Andreia da Silva Lourenco (paraphrased from VEJA 27/11/91)
On Thursday 14 November 1991, seven Street Children aged between 9 and 17 years, were glue-sniffing, drinking alcohol and sharing some bread and sausage which they had obtained from small thefts committed during the day in the Nova Jerusalem favela in Rio de Janeiro.
Suddenly the shed where they sheltered was broken into by armed men who identified themselves as police and accused the youths of stealing a pair of tennis shoes and of carrying weapons.
At gunpoint the children were tied together and dragged to a stream which cuts through the favela. Still tied up, the children were beaten, sustaining several blows to their faces before being forced to lie face on the ground. The men then fired their revolvers. Fourteen shots were heard, two bullets for each child in the back of the neck.
Source: http://www.jubileecampaign.demon.co.uk/children/bra8.htm
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