Bulgaria’s disturbing baby market |
By Rosie Goldsmith, BBC Radio 4’s Crossing Continents.
"Selling babies is also a human rights issue. It is connected with human trafficking, and the poverty and lack of a normal life in Bulgaria," Antoaneta Georgieva, Face to Face NGO, Sofia
As Bulgaria prepares to join the EU, there are certain issues it has to tackle, not least its murky underworld where even babies are for sale.
"We do not underestimate the problems. We are dealing with them. But it is impossible to change perceptions overnight," Bulgarian Finance Minister Milen Velchev told the BBC.
Bulgaria is due to join the European Union in 2007, if it overcomes "the problems".
There are several sticking points, and high on the list is how Bulgaria deals with organised crime and corruption.
"Commodities" such as cigarettes, meat, counterfeit currency, drugs and people are being smuggled or trafficked across its five borders.
Bulgaria’s crossroads position in Europe makes it a perfect but vulnerable transit country.
Customs officials and police are often perceived as corrupt, prosecutions are rare, and mafia-style killings take place on the streets of Sofia.
Bulgaria is tackling some of these problems. Contraband rings are being busted, and a major customs reform is underway.
But there are some crimes which are so secretive and so laden with prejudice or misunderstanding that they are difficult to tackle.
The selling of babies is one of them. ... Full Article on BBC website
