Abducted from her Cambodian village and nearly forced into slavery at 15, Chivv
Ya now teaches other young girls practical skills to protect themselves against
human trafficking. • High poverty and unemployment rates in Cambodia make
children, especially girls, vulnerable to trafficking rings that kidnap and
employ them in the commercial sex industry. • The OPTIONS Program -- run by an
international education and development group -- teaches girls basic reading
and writing, problem solving, and practical life-skills to help them avoid the
traps of child-traffickers. • Girls also learn leadership skills by speaking
out in their communities and fostering an open atmosphere in which parents,
youth, and community leaders feel comfortable talking about
trafficking.Cambodia: Using Education to Combat Child Trafficking in Cambodia
Life changed for Chhiv Ya when she was separated from her family during a
community celebration. "There were hundreds of people from outside our village
at the celebration and I got separated from my family," relates Chhiv Ya, a
15-year old girl. "At lunch time, a strange man sat next to me and asked me
questions about my family. I told him that life was very difficult, that we
were very poor. He said that if I went with him, he would help me find some
money, but I told him I did not want to go. A little later, he brought me food
and it was only after I finished eating it that I started to feel really tired…
he had drugged me and I found myself following him. He took me to the ferry
about 25 miles away and when we reached the other side, he took me to a little
house. I stayed outside and he went in. When the drugs began to wear off I was
very, very scared."
Cambodia is a country of origin, transit, and destination for both domestic and
international trafficking networks. It is not known exactly how many children
fall victim to trafficking each year but what is known is that many victims of
trafficking end up in the commercial sex industry, where approximately 30% of
sex workers are under 18 years of age. Conditions of poverty and high
unemployment make teen girls—and their families—extremely vulnerable to the
promises of work in the city, not realizing the realities of what awaits them.
Chhiv Ya was fortunate. Two older women found her sitting outside the
trafficker's house and realized she did not live in the community. Once she
explained her situation, the women recognized that she had been kidnapped and
that her captor intended to exploit her. The women told Chhiv Ya that she had
to escape. She summoned her courage, and began the long trek back to her family.
When Chhiv Ya finally returned to her village, she was initially met with
scorn. Her parents and other community members did not realize she had been
kidnapped but assumed she had left of her own will. After a brief time, her
parents and neighbors came to understand what happened to her and embraced her
return.
Today, Chhiv Ya goes to school with the support of World Education's OPTIONS
Program. The OPTIONS Program uses education as a strategy to combat child
trafficking and exploitation through scholarship support, literacy training for
out-of-school girls, practical life-skills education, livelihood development
support, and community awareness and mobilization. OPTIONS helps girls, in
particular, learn relevant, practical skills including basic and reproductive
health, nutrition, hygiene, and HIV prevention, as well as reading, writing,
critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Girls are directly involved in
awareness-raising activities in communities where they live and speak out about
trafficking issues during public events.
Chhiv Ya is one of nearly 11,000 girls who will learn about the dangers of
trafficking through World Education's OPTIONS Program. She talks to families
about the dangers that exist in their village or beyond, and tells them how
they can help protect their children. Because of the open atmosphere that has
been created by the OPTIONS Program, parents and community leaders have become
less fearful of discussing child trafficking issues in public and have embraced
the leadership demonstrated by the girls.
Chhiv Ya is also learning skills to help her family and others better
understand how to change conditions of poverty. The students interview business
owners, community leaders, and families to learn about the realities facing
their communities, and then meet as a group to brainstorm how families might be
able to improve their conditions. She also talks about the dangers of
trafficking and the tricks traffickers can use to get young girls to leave
their villages under the promises of good employment. She explains, "I feel
very safe now, but I want people to know that trafficking is here, even in our
little villages. I want to tell everyone about the dangers and how we can avoid
being trafficked just by understanding how we get tricked. I am not scared
anymore and I am learning so much in the OPTIONS Program. When I grow up I want
to be a teacher and help people in my village learn how to read and write and
make their lives better."
=======================================================----- Original Message
----
From: khmerization junior <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: Nokoreach <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Thursday, August 28, 2008 10:29:50 AM
Subject: [angkoriansociety] Thailand Wants A Piece Of The Preah Vihear Cake
Dear All,Cambodia's Minister of Defence Tea Banh has agreed with Thai PM to
jointly develop the Preah Vihear areas with Thailand. I believe that this is
tantamount to conceding Cambodian territorial integrity to Thailand. The areas
are belonged to Cambodia and should be transferred to Cambodian control first
before any ageement to develop to the areas. Here is the excerp from my
article:
"When Mr. Samak was talking about "promoting tourism at Preah Vihear temple",
he was talking about sharing the Preah Vihear tourist dollars between Cambodia
and Thailand. This is an insult to injury and a double robbery because while
the issue of "Thai occupation" of the Preah Vihear areas had not been resolved,
Thailand now turned its attention to acquiring benefits from the Preah Vihear
temple."
To read the full report click below:
Thailand Wants A Piece Of The Preah Vihear Cake
If you don't want to receive any message from Khmerization, please send an
email with the message "please remove my address from your mailing list".
Khmerization
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