Even if you are born in the 21st century, the country you are born in determines your destiny. Children born in Singapore are treasured like gold by both their nation and their families. Consequently, traveling abroad from a young age alongside their parents is a part of daily life. They often take weekend trips to neighboring Malaysia and frequently travel to South Korea, including Busan. Seeing Singaporean children brought to mind the children of Afghanistan and Palestine.

Afghanistan, which has been spiraling into its worst crisis since the Taliban takeover, is now reportedly facing a severe drought, making conditions catastrophic. Impoverished families are said to be putting their children up for human trafficking. Children aged 5, 7, and 9 are being sold off. Parents with daughters are marrying them off to men old enough to be their grandfathers simply because they can no longer afford to feed them. The fact that human beings are actually being sold under trees on market days for just 100 dollars somewhere on this earth is heartbreaking. It is deplorable that such things still openly take place in the 21st century.

[ⓒ Global Economic Times. 무단전재-재배포 금지]