Today we visited, Chab Dai, a project that instead of being just a single project, works as a coalition. A coalition of over 50 projects all working with the issue of Human Trafficking.
The issue of human trafficking is not limited to one country or continent but is a global issue, yet in each country it will have its own specific styles and issues. In Cambodia poverty is a huge driving factor in people ending up being trafficked.
The sensationalised media accounts of trafficking usually shows people being snatched and dragged away in chains. This is far from the common way people end up in the trade. Helen Sworn (the coalitions International director, who we got to meet and talk with) estimated that less then 2% of trafficked people have that sort of experience. Most trafficked individuals are trapped by much more subtle approaches.
For example, a recruitment agency may be set up in Cambodia that will send out recruiters into the countryside, to poor rural villages. When at these villages they will talk to families about all the good money their children (usually but not exclusively female) could make by working as home help in Malaysia. The recruiter will promise to get the girl trained, organise VISAs, transport and set them up with a paid position in Malaysia. Only after they have finished their long recruitment enticement will they mention that the girl must be 21. This then leaves the parents to choose if they wish to fake their daughters age on paper work or by using an aunts I.D. If they agree the girl should be recruited the parents will be given a $50 payment, which is a substantial amount of money for rural areas. The girl will be taken to a "training centre" in Phonm Penh were they will be given a few basic training sessions with hundreds of other girls. They girls are locked in the compound where hundreds of individual's are now unable to leave. There are a growing number of reports of the terrible conditions in these holding centres, wide spread accounts of physical abuse, neglect and even sexual abuse. If the parents try to get their child back, maybe if they heard that the training may be something else then they were promised, something dangerous, they can come to Phonm Penh. But they can only get their daughter back if they pay $800 to cover imaginary training costs, transport and administration, no one has this much money! The girl is now trapped.
After the victims paperwork has been sorted out transport is arranged to get them into Malaysia. The victim on arrival will have their passport taken away by the agency for "safe keeping" and sent to work in a house. She now has no I.D. in a country she doesn't know and a language she probably cant speak. The conditions for these trafficked girls vary depending on where they end up. Some will be neglected and abused. Some physically abused, some sexually abused. The exact work they will do depends on many factors but can include sexual exploitation. All are trapped, unable to come home with no rights, working hard for tiny amounts of money. If they try to escape they may be picked up by gangs who will sell them. Either selling them back to the original agency or possibly to brothels and into the commercial sex trade.
This example is just one way people may end up in the human trafficking trade. It is a good example of how people may be tricked into it. With the level of restriction increasing at each step and with options of escape being cut off. All this for the sake of profit!
The Chab Dai coalition aims to
"address human trafficking and exploitation through coalition building, advocacy and research. "
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| We walked back from the Chab Dai offices under a glorious (hot) blue sky |
The sensationalised media accounts of trafficking usually shows people being snatched and dragged away in chains. This is far from the common way people end up in the trade. Helen Sworn (the coalitions International director, who we got to meet and talk with) estimated that less then 2% of trafficked people have that sort of experience. Most trafficked individuals are trapped by much more subtle approaches.
For example, a recruitment agency may be set up in Cambodia that will send out recruiters into the countryside, to poor rural villages. When at these villages they will talk to families about all the good money their children (usually but not exclusively female) could make by working as home help in Malaysia. The recruiter will promise to get the girl trained, organise VISAs, transport and set them up with a paid position in Malaysia. Only after they have finished their long recruitment enticement will they mention that the girl must be 21. This then leaves the parents to choose if they wish to fake their daughters age on paper work or by using an aunts I.D. If they agree the girl should be recruited the parents will be given a $50 payment, which is a substantial amount of money for rural areas. The girl will be taken to a "training centre" in Phonm Penh were they will be given a few basic training sessions with hundreds of other girls. They girls are locked in the compound where hundreds of individual's are now unable to leave. There are a growing number of reports of the terrible conditions in these holding centres, wide spread accounts of physical abuse, neglect and even sexual abuse. If the parents try to get their child back, maybe if they heard that the training may be something else then they were promised, something dangerous, they can come to Phonm Penh. But they can only get their daughter back if they pay $800 to cover imaginary training costs, transport and administration, no one has this much money! The girl is now trapped.
After the victims paperwork has been sorted out transport is arranged to get them into Malaysia. The victim on arrival will have their passport taken away by the agency for "safe keeping" and sent to work in a house. She now has no I.D. in a country she doesn't know and a language she probably cant speak. The conditions for these trafficked girls vary depending on where they end up. Some will be neglected and abused. Some physically abused, some sexually abused. The exact work they will do depends on many factors but can include sexual exploitation. All are trapped, unable to come home with no rights, working hard for tiny amounts of money. If they try to escape they may be picked up by gangs who will sell them. Either selling them back to the original agency or possibly to brothels and into the commercial sex trade.
This example is just one way people may end up in the human trafficking trade. It is a good example of how people may be tricked into it. With the level of restriction increasing at each step and with options of escape being cut off. All this for the sake of profit!
The Chab Dai coalition aims to
"address human trafficking and exploitation through coalition building, advocacy and research. "
They do an enormous amount of good by helping dozens of agencies working in Cambodia. Helping with training, aid with writing policies, encouraging coalition and more. They do a vast amount of monitoring and evaluation and are currently undertaking a 10 year research study into the risk factors that lead people into trafficking and sexual abuse. It has been great to meet such a well structured and forward planning project. I think that many UK organizations both christian and secular could learn a lot from the way Chab Dai looks at long term strategic development.
For more information please take a look at their website
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