Rink
01-04-2005, 02:14 AM
Criminals around the world take advantage of dead and missing
FOREIGN STAFF
THIEVES, rapists, kidnappers and fraudsters are preying on tsunami survivors and the families of victims in Asian refugee camps.
Reports and warnings from as far apart as Sri Lanka, Thailand and Hong Kong told of criminals taking advantage of the chaos to rape survivors in Sri Lanka and plunder the homes of European tourists reported missing.
A women’s group in Sri Lanka claimed rapists were attacking homeless survivors.
"We have received reports of incidents of rape, gang rape, molestation and physical abuse of women and girls in the course of unsupervised rescue operations and while resident in temporary shelters," said the Women and Media Collective group.
Domestic abuse and sexual crimes against women are a growing problem in Sri Lanka, and the country’s highways are dotted with government billboards exhorting Sri Lankan men to show women more respect.
In Thailand, thieves disguised as police and rescue workers have looted luggage and hotel safes around Khao Lak beach, where the tsunami killed up to 3,000 people.
The United Nations warned of the danger of pirates hindering its relief efforts off the west coast of Indonesia’s Sumatra island, which took the brunt of the Boxing Day tsunami.
Sweden is the hardest hit country outside the devastated region, with more than 2,500 missing and 52 confirmed dead. It withheld some names after homes were targeted by thieves.
"It is unfortunately a reality that people who are known to be missing have had their homes gone through and partly emptied," Lars Danielsson, the state secretary, told local radio.
More on this Story (http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=7622005)
FOREIGN STAFF
THIEVES, rapists, kidnappers and fraudsters are preying on tsunami survivors and the families of victims in Asian refugee camps.
Reports and warnings from as far apart as Sri Lanka, Thailand and Hong Kong told of criminals taking advantage of the chaos to rape survivors in Sri Lanka and plunder the homes of European tourists reported missing.
A women’s group in Sri Lanka claimed rapists were attacking homeless survivors.
"We have received reports of incidents of rape, gang rape, molestation and physical abuse of women and girls in the course of unsupervised rescue operations and while resident in temporary shelters," said the Women and Media Collective group.
Domestic abuse and sexual crimes against women are a growing problem in Sri Lanka, and the country’s highways are dotted with government billboards exhorting Sri Lankan men to show women more respect.
In Thailand, thieves disguised as police and rescue workers have looted luggage and hotel safes around Khao Lak beach, where the tsunami killed up to 3,000 people.
The United Nations warned of the danger of pirates hindering its relief efforts off the west coast of Indonesia’s Sumatra island, which took the brunt of the Boxing Day tsunami.
Sweden is the hardest hit country outside the devastated region, with more than 2,500 missing and 52 confirmed dead. It withheld some names after homes were targeted by thieves.
"It is unfortunately a reality that people who are known to be missing have had their homes gone through and partly emptied," Lars Danielsson, the state secretary, told local radio.
More on this Story (http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=7622005)