Unknown to most Americans there is a problem in our society that his been growing over approximately the last 15 years. It strikes at the very root of our spiritual beliefs and ideas of social respect. It threatens the physical safety of our citizens by spreading disease. This problem is an illegal underground trade in HUMAN BONES. To fully understand the problems simply look below.
Problems:
1. International - The Bone trade thrives in many international locations, especially India. Mohamad Jinnah Vishwas lamentably gives us perspective on this corruption when he says in a November 2007 NPR interview "When I die, when I'm gone, my body will also be stolen. Before, we didn’t understand where all the bones were going. Now we know that they were taken by criminals" Additionally, in only one bust over 5,000 skeletons were found. More than from the deaths of Hurricane Katrina and 9/11 combined. For more information I encourage you to reference Scott Carney's blog on the subject.
2. United States - Believe it or not this corruption also take places in the United States, in licensed funeral homes. A London Guardian article from September 2006 reports on one of the few incidents that have been caught. A mafia gang harvested bones from over 1,000 people while in funeral homes, either replacing the bones with PVC pipe or removing them prior to cremation.
The problem is massive and take place both abroad and close to home. In future post I will outline specific problems of the trade, causes, and solutions we can take. I encourage you to work with me and bring to light this horrible trade.
