U.S. Taxpayers Pay for Sexual Abuse of Afghani Boys

via Creative Loafing, by John Grooms
 

I know, I know, there are too many godawful things going unreported to name just one award “winner.” But one true story, which received pitifully little coverage in America despite the whole thing being funded by U.S. taxpayers, needs to — at the very least — be given some kind of Shame Award.

While the government and our happily compliant press were busy calling for the head of WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange, a shocking revelation from one of the released diplomatic cables was blithely ignored. DynCorp, a government contractor providing training for Afghan security and police forces, gets nearly all its money from you and me. The company used some of that money to throw a party for a group of Afghan police trainees.

The evening’s “entertainment” consisted of “bacha bazi boys,” whose pimps were paid so the boys would sing, then dance, then submit to anal sex with the police recruits. Read all about it here, along with more info on DynCorp doing the same kind of thing in the ’90s when we paid them to train people in Bosnia.  The leaked cable also makes clear that our government put pressure on journalists to not report on the “party.” See the leaked cable here.

Read the rest.

And check out the Frontline video below. Click here for more info on this program, and to see it in its entirety.





[If an item is not written by an IRMA member, it should not be construed that IRMA has taken a position on the article's content, whether in support or in opposition.]

Everybody knows, but nobody knows

Read "Everybody knows, but nobody knows - A review of current literature on HIV and male-male sexualities, behaviours and sexual exploitation in Afghanistan," by Shivananda Khan, released September 2008.

For more info on Naz Foundation International, please visit their website.

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What’s in a name? Working with male-male sexualities,
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with Shivananda Khan
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Sex trade thrives in Afghanistan

She does not know what a condom is.
She has not heard of AIDS.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The girl was 11 when she was molested by a man with no legs. The man paid her $5. And that was how she started selling sex.

Afghanistan is one of the world's most conservative countries, yet its sex trade appears to be thriving. Sex is sold most obviously at brothels full of women from China who serve both Afghans and foreigners. Far more controversial are Afghan prostitutes, who stay underground in a society that pretends they don't exist.

Customs meant to keep women "pure" have not stopped prostitution. Girls are expected to remain virgins until their wedding nights, so some prostitutes have only anal sex.

Read the rest.