Pakistan: God's law is a present help

BY ABIGAIL WARRICK

WHILE SEVERAL RELIEF efforts are proving effective in helping Pakistanis afflicted by the recent floods, there are thousands whose lives remain severely endangered and who face being cut off from supplies by approaching winter weather. There are also cases where more than physical hardship is at stake. The lurking danger of opportunistic schemers preying on the defenseless and bereft needs to be confronted and disarmed.

The most unpalatable issue about catastrophes striking the poor and vulnerable is that crime flourishes where there is the most confusion and the least transparency. Aid agencies frequently report that disaster zones quickly become breeding grounds for human trafficking and theft. One of the hidden calamities for many of those caught in these situation is their loss of resistance to maraud ers who come to steal children for slavery and prostitution rings many miles away.

Duped or coerced by criminals looking to exploit their desperate situation, these simple rural families face being deprived of their dignity and identity, in addition to the loss of homes, family members, and livelihoods. Even aid workers feel helpless against this larger, less publicized threat of criminals treating disasters as plump opportunities for bargain deals.

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