Fort McCoy - Child Brides

“Older men were admitted together with young girls they claimed as ‘brides’ or otherwise sexually abused.”

Afghan evacuation raises concerns about child trafficking https://t.co/QIpQM8AI4k

— Arthur Schwartz (@ArthurSchwartz) September 3, 2021

From AP:

U.S. officials at intake centers in the United Arab Emirates and in Wisconsin have identified numerous incidents in which Afghan girls have been presented to authorities as the “wives” of much older men. While child marriage is not uncommon in Afghanistan, the U.S. has strict policies against human trafficking that include prosecutions for offenders and sanctions for countries that don’t crack down on it.

One internal document seen by The Associated Press says the State Department has sought “urgent guidance” from other agencies after purported child brides were brought to Fort McCoy in Wisconsin. Another document, described to the AP by officials familiar with it, says Afghan girls at a transit site in Abu Dhabi have alleged they have been raped by older men they were forced to marry in order to escape Afghanistan.

...An Aug. 27 situation report sent to all U.S. embassies and consulates abroad as well as military command centers in Florida points to potential issues involving young girls and older men, some of whom claim to have more than one wife at Fort McCoy, a sprawling 60,000-acre (243-square-kilometer) Army base in Wisconsin. Relevant portions of the document, titled “Afghanistan Task Force SitRep No. 63,” were obtained by the AP.

“Intake staff at Fort McCoy reported multiple cases of minor females who presented as ‘married’ to adult Afghan men, as well as polygamous families,” the document says. “Department of State has requested urgent guidance.”

There was no immediate indication from the military or from the departments of homeland security and health and human services, which run the facility, that such guidance had been received.

What a great, successful, historic child trafficking evacuation!

Thanks so much, Biden, Austin, Blinken, and Milley! Great job!

Welcome to Wisconsin, child traffickers and rapists!