Human Trafficking Ring in Uganda Attacks US-Based Charity
Humanity Healing International was Targeted in Retaliation for Successful Rescue of Albino Children
PITTSBURGH, Dec. 15, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Humanity Healing International, HHI, was cyber-attacked by professional hackers on Thursday, December 3, resulting in first, the theft of the Facebook profile of HHI CEO, Christopher Buck, followed rapidly by the hijacking of the 501(c)(3) public charity's company pages. While the loss of a Facebook page might not sound like a crisis, Humanity Healing's page, and their second page, OMTimes Magazine, are followed by 2.3 million. They are the principal outreach to raise awareness about trafficking of albino children in Africa and to raise donations to sponsor the charity's work.
Albino children are hunted by human traffickers, who sell them to "witch doctors" for human sacrifice or their body parts for use in "magic" rituals. When word of a child on the run or hiding in the brush reaches the HHI operation in Uganda, a team is sent to find the child and bring them into the program, where the child is placed in a safe home and school, where they can live free from fear.
Trafficking of albino children has been on the rise in Uganda since Tanzania banned witch-doctors from practicing there, and many have relocated to Uganda.
In the last rescue, the HHI team went in search of an albino girl and boy who were in hiding in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest on the border of Uganda and DR Congo. Unfortunately, the traffickers got there first and convinced the girl to go with them by impersonating the HHI team. The boy fled. HHI Country Director Michael Sabiiti went on the local radio with details of the kidnapping and descriptions of the traffickers. They heard the news, dumped the girl and fled. The HHI team was able to bring both safely into the program.
The day after the Facebook hijacking, HHI received a telephone call from Uganda from a man claiming credit for the cyber crime and stating he did it on behalf of an "organization" in Uganda. Michael Sabiiti has also received personal threats: to "back off" and that "he has already done enough."
HHI is in touch with both the FBI Cyber Crime Division and with Homeland Security, who works with human trafficking.
HHI has also made numerous attempts through different channels to contact Facebook to reclaim their social media outreaches. "I do not believe it is a question of indifference to our situation or the human trafficking of albino children," states Christopher Buck, "I have great respect for Mark Zuckerberg, who has shown remarkable generosity to NGO's."
Help re-write this story. Raise awareness about ritual murder of albino children in Uganda through social media by posting/tweeting support with one or all of the hashtags #StopRitualMurder, #RescueAlbinoChildren, and #RestoreTheirVoice.
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SOURCE Humanity Healing International
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