Seventeen Vietnamese children, believed to be victims of human trafficking, have vanished from Australian immigration facilities since mid-2011.
A number of Vietnamese children came to Australia by boat in March 2011 Photo: smh.com.au
The children, most of them boys in age of 15-18, who came mostly from Northern Vietnam to Australia by boat last March, were found to be missing two or three months later, Sydney Morning Herald wrote.
The authorities did not know how the children left the immigration detention centers.
Nguyen Phong, federal president of the Vietnamese Community in Australia, said “'It is alarming that children can disappear like that. We don't know what their situation is, and if they are living underground, then adults might exploit or abuse them.''
Believing that someone had helped the children get out of the camps, Phong called on such people to provide information to the Vietnamese community about the situation of the children.
They are in a very vulnerable position. We want to know whether they are safe and not being abused, Phong said.
He also requested the Australian Immigration Department to announce that the children will not be punished if they present themselves to police.
The Vietnamese Embassy in Canberra said it has asked for information about the missing children from Australian competent agencies but not received a reply yet, VnExpress reported.
