So the horrible tech nazis at Apple continue to hold my MacBook hostage. Same day repair quickly became two business days, which quickly became three to five. Anything less than a week I’m fine with. But I need that white miracle back.
So again, excuse how sparingly I write here. When the computer comes back, you won’t be able to get rid of me. I promise.
The world is, as it should be, currently obsessed with the Indonesian earthquakes (plural, yes) and the nuclear talks with Iran. If you’re not following either, start following both. Yesterday I realized, for a blog that touts itself as one that reports on the lesser known international issues, I haven’t in a long, long while.
So, back to business. A couple of months ago I watched a short doc on Al-Jazeera English which, during its last few minutes, talked a bit about organ trafficking. Now organs, just like any other product, have a market. A particularly large and needy marke, in fact.
Those who need organs usually need tham as quick as possible and are willing to throw big sums of money at the vendor in return for extending the life of a family member or friend. The way in which trafficked organs are acquired varies from case to case and from vendor to vendor. Often, the means violate human rights.
In some extreme instances, the organs are forcibly removed from a human being. Some are forced to comply with surgery by penalty of death. Some are paid sums of money (small sums) to donate organs while still alive. Some are murdered and their organs harvested.
I hadn’t really thought about the story until today, when I noticed a piece in the Jordan Times about 11 locals who were charged with illegally trafficking human organs in Egypt, according to police there.
Ten others are thought to be connected to the trafficking ring, in a case that’s been under investigation for the past several months, according to the AFP.
In this particular case, the organs were obtained by paying humans to donate and by harvesting the bodies of the previously deceased.
The organs were then marked up by a significant margin. The kidneys, for example, sold at a price of $30,000 each to rich Arabs.
Organ trafficking has long been a problem in Jordan, so much so that they created a National Commission to Promote Organ Donation to encourage lawful donations and decrease unlawful trafficking.
If convicted, the eleven accused face 10 years in jail with hard labour. Tough break.
Leave a Reply