Peter Thomas Senese Confirms Production of New Film On Child Abduction and Trafficking

I am very pleased to have announced this week on behalf of my colleagues and fellow child advocates of the I CARE Foundation the upcoming feature documentary filming of 150,000 Internationally Kidnapped Children.

 

The film will focus on the worldwide epidemic of international parental child abduction and the impact this criminal act of kidnapping has on targeted victims. 

 

There is no question we intend to create a very unique film, one that has not been created in this area because up until now, there has been no organization that has unilaterally conducted the extensive type of research on this subject the way the I CARE Foundation has, which will rudder and guide the scope and scale of the film. 

 

In addition to our unique ability to share a true picture of what the barren landscape of child abduction is, we have high expectations for the actual aesthetic production quality of the film as we will be shooting using RED Camera technology, and incorporating a host of special effects and other film making technology intended to give viscosity to the story we will tell.

 

On a personal level, I remain committed to doing all that I can to help society understand the malignant aspects of parental child abduction.  Till this day, one of the most alarming issues I see is just how wide-spread a lack of knowledge exists concerning international child kidnapping, even though each family is only three degrees of separation from knowing someone who has had a child targeted or stolen.  Tragically, by the I CARE Foundation's calculations, roughly 10% of all children internationally abducted only come home.

 

Glaringly - what we fight for - what we really fight for  . . . is to protect child murder and post-abduction suicide by adults who were once child victims.   I know: nobody wants to talk about it, especially since abduction in itself is a severe act of child abuse.  But truth is, filicide and post-abduction suicide are real. 

 

In the case of filicide, parental child murder occurs more often than anyone cares to think.  And I too shudder at such thoughts.  But we're talking about hundreds of child murders in the United States and Canada alone each year.  This is more than concerning.

 

And suicide. 

 

You see, children of abduction, during the 'taking period', which could last a lifetime, essentially have their identity brutally stripped from them.  Their lives of 'Who I Am' not only are denied, but altered into one big lie because of a sociopath abductor's need to rationalize their criminal act to the child, nearly always using parental alienation and isolation tactics into creating a demonizing myth about the targeted parent. In the end, the guilt, anger, and acknowledgement of a life of lies become overwhelming, and sadly, there is no place to go.  Suicide.

 

With hundreds of thousands of children around the world targeted for abduction each year, each nation needs new laws.  In order to have new laws created that will be impactful, correct data must be shared, thus the need for research on a host of critical topics.  The I CARE Foundation has and continues to lead in this area.  And of course, research and data alone do not protect children - but creating a swallow of public opinion that legislators hear, does.  And that is what 150,000 Internationally Kidnapped Children intends to do - increase awareness at every level, while offering solutions in the best interest of children.

 

I remain committed to helping rescue children who have been abducted, trafficked, abused, or in crisis.  This includes using my ongoing book royalties, including 100% of those generated from the critically acclaimed 'Chasing The Cyclone'  along with all of my other novels for use by the I CARE Foundation. It is my honor to be able to help others, as I take seriously my responsibility to help those in need.  With 100% of the necessary funding in place, it is my aspiration that 150,000 Internationally Kidnapped Children will become a tremendous tool that will save innocent lives.  After all, that is exactly what we're trying to do: save lives.

 

I invite you to read more information about 150,000 Internationally Kidnapped Children.

 

Kindest regards and best wishes for a healthy, happy, and fulfilling 2013 New Year.

 

Peter Thomas Senese

 

 

China Cracks Down On Police Involved in Child Trafficking: 54,000 Kids Reunited Over Past 3 Years

On December 24th, 2012, the day the West celebrates Christmas Eve, Chinese authorities finally bended to the outcry of child advocacy demands to significantly step up their policing and prevention of human trafficking of children in their country by arresting 355 individuals suspect of child trafficking.  Most importantly, 89 previously abducted children were rescued!  It is expected that many of the kidnapped children will reunite with their chasing parents since, under great pressure from the United Nations and its trading partners, China developed a DNA database for missing children suspect of being trafficked in partial reaction to the outlandish number of children abducted, traded, and trafficked in the country.

Human trafficking is a serious problem in China that can be traced back to China's one-child policy.
The policy has resulted in abortions, killings or abandonment of baby girls, and created a demand for abducted or purchased baby boys. 

It has been recently reported that the Chinese government, due to scrutiny from the West, and the rising voices of the country's citizens, has taken steps to combat the black market by tightening adoption rules and cracking down on child trafficking rings.

The 355 suspects arrested in the operation included many police officers from nine regions, including the provinces of Fujian, Yunnan, Sichuan, Anhui and Guangdong, Xinhua reported, citing the Ministry of Public Security.

I did say 'Police Officers'.


Sadly, I have personally witnessed Chinese authorities actually take down posters of missing children in SAR's such as Macau and Hong Kong, as well as cities including Shenzhen and Shanghai.  I have befriended chasing parents searching for their stolen children in cities that attempt to lure tourist, only to have these desperate parents disappear without a trace: where there was once a cell phone number, a home address, an email address - all whereabouts of their existence is gone because, in the past, China did not tolerate the public display of parents desperately searching for their kidnapped children.  Where did they go and who removed them?  The police.

However, the problem has grown so serious, and the number of children being taken has risen significantly that the internal pressure of government accountability combined with pressure from the west has apparently begun to make a difference. God I hope so.

Many of the children abducted in China come from rural areas.  They are then trafficked and sold in more affluent areas such as Fujian and Guangdongfor as much as 90,000 yuan ($14,400 U.S.) for a healthy male.  In China's seedy black market sex trade, a Caucasian male child could sell for over 1,000,000 yuan.

Is China actually taking a major step in the right direction to combat the disgusting, prevalent, and notorious trade of child kidnapping and child slavery that has been part of it's culture for so long, or is this just showmanship?

I think the answer will be found on whether China demonstrates an openness to the criminal prosecution of the monsters who have traded in child flesh, and, to learn if Chinese authorities capably expanded their investigation and arrested others responsible for the unforgivable acts of child kidnappings.

Chen Shiqu, the ministry's criminal investigation division anti- trafficking office director said this past Monday that, "Since a government crackdown began in 2009, police have broken up 11,000 child trafficking rings and rescued 54,000 children." 

Think about having 54,000 abducted in your country - a nation where the police either took part in the abductions or turned their eyes away from the criminal act.  Unthinkable.

Despite the 54,000 children who have been rescued, the number of missing children in China remains extraordinarily large: estimates are in the high hundreds of thousands.

It's a start . . . but still the problem remains a large problem . . . one that India must now address.

Child abduction of any kind is an inhumane act conducted by a person who generally has no true respect for the dignity of life.  Please support any organization dedicated to protecting children.

- Peter Thomas Senese -
  Founding Director
  The I CARE Foundation

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Peter Thomas Senese's critically acclaimed international legal thriller novel about child abduction titled 'Chasing The Cyclone' is available on e-book.  100% of all proceeds are donated to the I CARE Foundation.