Thursday, January 25, 2007
A child's story
It’s funny what makes a connection. I was sure that most people wouldn’t give a damn about the plight of a small 6 year old girl in far off Cambodia. The news media is so saturated with misery and pain, why would this story make any impact? But I think Srey’s vulnerability and the sheer horror of what she has endured has sent a collective shiver down the spines of parents across the net. As I write this, some 900,000 of you have logged on to read about her story. Some of you have contacted me personally to ask if you can help. One of you actually wants to adopt her. It’s comforting to think people out there care. So what can you do to help? Well Somaly’s charity needs money. Here's her Web site.

The children she is caring for sleep in a large barn – cramped together without even separate bedrooms. They have plenty of land and need money to extend this shelter to enable them to take in other children. But the problems in Cambodia are huge. The UN estimates there could be 55,000 prostitutes and Unicef thinks that perhaps 35 % are underage. That’s almost 20,000 children. Think about it for a second. Cambodia needs more women like Somaly. It needs an army of them. But there are plenty of NGOs there that are doing a great job: Unicef, Save the Children, ECPAT etc. Give them your money, give them your time, lobby your politicians, take an interest and keep caring.

(Watch my report on how one woman has saved dozens of children from brothels.)
It make me sick to see how women and children are being abused in the sex industry, mainly in Cambodia, since i'm a native Cambodian. i'm angry at the parents who sell their children to brothels for money. I mean there are better way, like getting a job or doing something to earn money, instead of prostitution. I blame the government and the people who actually do these things to women and children. The government have laws but they don't enforce them enough. And what fuel the sex industry is the customers, sick and sometimes immoral customers. Most customers are from foreign countries, like the USA. Many Cambodian-American go back to their country just for sex, and most are married or have children of their own. I am glad there are people like Somaly, helping other victims change their lives. And people like Dan helping expose the horrible tragedy to the rest of the world. I am greatful that many are helping to stop this. People need to be more aware of the actions they are doing. If we don't stop this now, hundreds or maybe thousands more will suffer. 55,000 is alot, even 1 is too many...
I am 23. The first time i have heard of human trafficking was four years ago. And that was in passing, during a freshman college course. I was struck by how vast the problem is and how unpublicized. Ever since then i have been tracking news on human trafficking, researching available organizations for combating HT. If i haven't been doing this i don't think i would have come across it again, even in my four years at a Jesuit university, notoriously know for its concern with all things humanitarian. People don't know. And when they know, they don't know what they can do; so they move along. The fight against HT is disorganized and underfunded. There is no single strong international organization that could really take on this battle in the proportion that it requires. Yet, IT IS an international problem that effects us all: just like drug smuggling it is a fund raiser; fund raiser for terrorist campaigns, and further illegal sector activities. Not to mention IT IS modern slavery; this way there are more people enslaved today when ever before.
I will graduate this year. I want to dedicate my life to the fight against HT. Now, where am i to go?
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