They Were Hungry, Sick and Naked
Document Title: They Were Hungry, Sick and Naked
Document Ref No: R9312021
First Published: Reflections - Philippine Daily Inquirer
Publication Date: 2nd December 1993
Author's Name: Father Shay Cullen SSC
SYDNEY: It's World AIDS day as I write this and I am in Australia on my
way back from a speaking tour of New Zealand as part of the campaign of
ECPAT (End Child Prostitution In Asian Tourism).
This is an international campaign by a coalition of non-government organizations
to raise public awareness, help victims and end the scourge of child prostitution
in Asia and elsewhere.
One of the reasons given for the increasing number of children being forced,
manipulated and enslaved in prostitution is because sex tourists think that
having sex with children is 'Safe Sex' in the mistaken belief that children
are AIDS free.
But how wrong they are, throughout Thailand and the Philippines and other
parts of Asia where child prostitution is tolerated thousands of children
are HIV positive .
These children are as many as 60,000 in Taiwan, over 200,000 in Thailand
and an estimated 100,000 in the Philippines.
Their plight is largely ignored by authorities whose duty is to protect
them. Nothing could be more tragic and heart-breaking than a young child
sexually abused, even more outrageous are children dying of AIDS contacted
while enslaved as a child prostitutes.
It is a crime of neglect that this is allowed to go unchecked in the world
but in particular in the Philippines which makes claims to higher moral
ground on the bases of being the only Christian Country in Asia.
Churches of all denominations are challenged by this disgusting situation
to speak out against the sexual abuse of children, urge government to act
more diligently and to committee more church resources to fighting the evil.
Silence alone can be mistaken to apathy, neglect or ignorance. The harshest
of critics claim such silence is consent by omission ,inaction and indifference
makes them an accessory to the crime. The goal of ECPAT is to have child
prostitution outlawed as a crime against humanity .
One small redeeming factor in the Philippines is the Republic Act 7610 a
law aimed at prosecuting offenders whether they be local or foreign.
However it must be enforced to mean anything and the practice of the Bureau
of Immigration not to prosecute foreign paedophiles and allow them to apply
"self-deportation" and go free must be changed.
These offenders sexual abuse our children and then travel to another country
and continue the abuse there and some return to the Philippines under an
assumed name.
We need a new and specially educated and trained police unit to enforce
the law without falling victim to bribes and corruption . They need to be
educated in the human ,economic and social dimensions of child prostitution
and have a sound understanding of the law.
The Philippines also needs a special court with an experienced group of
intelligent judges of impeccable integrity and full knowledge of the law.
Thailand has felt the pressure from the international community to rein
in the unbridled child sex industry and to arrest and prosecute child offenders,
especially foreign tourists who abuse Thai children.
They have a special police unit to investigate and track down foreign Paedophiles.
An Australian, Bradley Pendragon 33, was arrested last month by the special
unit when the police were tipped off about pornographic photographs of Thai
children being processed at a local photo-shop.
The pictures showed a sacrilegious use of the image of the Buddha, sacred
to all Thais. Six other foreigners abusing Thai children were also arrested
in the past month .
Some Asian countries tell Western countries to curb the demand of their
nationals of child sex and in response some are enacting laws to prosecute
their own nationals if they seek out children abroad and have sex with them.
Sweden has such a law and recently Germany too enacted one. Australia will
introduce one next year and Britain is in the process of preparing one.
Extradition and other law enforcement and rules of evidence must be worked
out too.
However national dignity and self-respect and a obligation under the convention
for the rights of the child to protect our children demands that the Philippines
enforce its own laws and prosecute both local and foreign offenders of RA
7610.
To take it's rightful place with honor and dignity among the community of
nations this country has to swiftly stop child prostitution without compromise.
When we as a nation stand before the judgment seat of God we will not be
judged by whether we became a newly industrialized nation by the year 2000
or not but by the way we cared for our children.
"They were hungry and you gave them to eat...,they were naked and you
clothed them", that is the only test that counts.