09.02.2010Members of Center Amalipe had a meeting with Britain MPs on the issue of human trafficking
Members of Center Amalipe had a meeting with Britain MPs. The aim of the visit of the Britain delegation is creating an informal group in the Bulgarian Parliament for prevention and reaction against human trafficking, cooperation with police and NGOs, etc. Mr. Anthony Steen (House of Commons and Chairman of the interparty parliamentary commission on human trafficking) expressed willingness to meet also Roma organization: Center Amalipe, Integro Association, World without Border Association, etc. The British delegation also consists of baroness Elizabeth Butler-Sloss, a retired English judge, and the first female Lord Justice of Appeal and, until 2004, the highest-ranking female judge in the UK. Also in the delegation is Clare Short, formerly a Labour MP and now independent MP for Birmingham Ladywood. They discussed with them the situation with Roma children and women victims of trafficking. Teodora Krumova pointed that speaking about Roma children victims of trafficking one should bear in mind that often they become objects of crime for the same reasons as majority children and talking only about Roma kids bagging in Western European countries is rather a myth than a real situation. She illustrated her words with an example from the Crisis center in Balvan (Veliko Turnovo district) for children victims of trafficking returned from abroad where most of the kids are majority kids. At the same time speaking specifically about Roma children we should keep in mind the diversity within the Roma community since often they define different reasons for this problem. Teodora Krumova pointed as one of the problems regarding these children the lack of adequate program for the realization of these young people in society after leaving the crisis centers where their stay is limited up to six months. In addition she stressed that children in institutions deprived of parental care are extremely vulnerable to trafficking since many of them are victims of sexual abuse yet being in the institutions.
The visit of the Britain delegation will continue with meetings in the Roma neighbourhood of Fakulteta.
