We are well aware that child trafficking is common in Asia. It is so blatant that a child playing in the front yard of the family home can be abducted and spirited away in seconds - never to be seen again. India and Thailand are at the forefront of this child trade and there are reports that it is a growing industry in China.
The impetus seems to be demand from childless couples in the west. This has attracted the interest of organized crime because the people seeking a child of their own are willing to pay big money - and hence " baby farming " can be a very profitable trade. It is well organized and the crime bosses have well oiled machinery to take care of the officials who rubber stamp adoptions and turn a blind eye to paper discrepancies.
Sadly, western law enforcement is lax in investigating these matters. The fact that wealthy western families are gaining an Asian child or a coloured child from Africa seems to be excused on the grounds that the child is being offered a " better life " . There seems to be more resistance from the country of origin - than from the country in which this child will live.
We are seeing a very different reaction to the news that a white child with blonde hair has been found living in a Roma encampment in Greece. This discovery was purely accidental when police raided the Roma camp. This child's appearance was out of character with the skin colour of the people who claimed to be her mother and father, and DNA tests quickly established that there was no such link. A plethora of lies followed, and these were quickly discounted. There is a strong suspicion that the Greek police have stumbled on a child stealing ring.
Most people will immediately make a connection with the Madelaine McCann case - in which the daughter of a British couple was snatched from a villa in Portugal in 2007. If prospective foster parents are prepared to pay big money for an Asian child, what would they be prepared to pay for a white child that they could pass off as their own son or daughter ?
The mystery of " Maria " is attracting world headlines and an international investigation is getting under way. Hopefully, her features may lead to her being identified - and reunited with her parents, but it opens the wider aspect of white children being trafficked across the borderless boundaries of the EU.
Unfortunately, it serves to illustrate the sharp division in value that the colour of a persons skin delivers to public attitudes. Massive resources will be thrown at breaking the white child trafficking trade, while trade from other parts of the world will be virtually unaffected.
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