BHUBANESWAR: Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi here on Tuesday voiced his concerns over the future of the children of immigrants in the US, who are facing deportation under the Trump administration.
“A grave situation is prevailing in the US. Since children of the so-called illegal immigrants are born in America, they are citizens of that country. But I am concerned about their future as their immigrant parents are asked to leave the country in view of the emerging socio-political situation,” he said.
Addressing media persons, Satyarthi said the population of such children is huge and the US government must acknowledge the huge contribution of immigrants to the development of the country.
“I have seen how young scientists from different countries, especially from India, have built that country. Their contribution is immense in building institutions in America. Immigrants must be respected,” he said.
The eminent child rights activist also appealed to lawmakers of India to pass the legislation on human trafficking in the forthcoming session of Parliament.
“The law should be stringent and have a timeframe to give justice to victims of trafficking and punishment to traffickers. Since cases of human trafficking are stretched for years in courts, survivors lose faith in the system and traffickers get emboldened,” he said.
Satyarthi, founder of Bachpan Bachao Andolan, said human trafficking is a curse on society. “I have rescued many girls, who were trafficked from Odisha to work in cities like Delhi and Kolkata,” he said.
On his campaign “100 million for 100 million,” Satyarthi said, “We are trying to make students aware about their rights so that they can protect themselves and become changemakers in lives of underprivileged children who are victims of violence, exploitation and lack of education.”
“What is needed is $22 billion additional expenditure to bring all children to schools but we spend $1.6 trillion in defence. In most countries, the number of teachers is less than the number of soldiers. The number of books and pencils is less than number of guns and bullets. We have to challenge it and change it,” Satyarthi said.