Samdech Dejo Hun SenCAMBODIA OCCUPIED BY VIETNAM 1979-2011 IN VIOLATION OF 10
UN RESOLUTIONS .A Brief Tour of the Cambodian Sex Industry.
Sok KongQ: The verb "invested" here always applies whether the money was a loan
or a donation or a partial-loan-partial-donation. When Cambodia gets
out of poverty and becomes rich enough, she will hopefully contribute
back to the world Bank, or help to establish or maintain the stability
of the region of South-East Asia, or both. Therefore the World Bank's
money was an investment.
A Brief Tour of the Cambodian Sex Industry
Is buying sex a better way to help Cambodian women than buying
a T-shirt?By Ken SilversteinPosted Thursday, May 19, 2011, at 7:34 AM ET
A brothel in Phnom Penh,
Cambodia"Is this a good job?"
That had to rank as one of dumbest questions in the
history of modern journalism. I'd put it to a young woman who'd just served me
a
drink at Zanzibar, a hostess bar in Phnom Penh
whose "staff of beautiful ladies … are always on hand to serve and satisfy your
every desire." Hostesses are paid to be flirty and solicitous, but I had
clearly
tried this one's patience.
"You know that this is not a good job," she said, with a smirk that revealed
her irritation.
But in Cambodia, where the regime of former
Communist Hun Sen oversees a particularly vicious form of crony capitalism,
economic options are severely limited and 40 percent of the population lives on
less than $1.25 a day. For young women, work in the
sex industry—which includes hostess bars, karaoke bars, massage parlors, and
freelance prostitution—is one of the few alternatives to work in the apparel
industry, which produces 90 percent of the country's export earnings. Many
women
find it a preferable, if distasteful, alternative.
The sex and apparel sectors draw from the same labor
pool: young, poorly educated women from the impoverished countryside who send
part of their earnings home to support their families. Almost all of the
country's 350,000 apparel workers are women. Estimates of sex-industry workers
range from about 20,000 to 100,000; the
lower number is probably far closer to the truth as the latter comes from the
hyperbolic, fundraising-driven claims of anti-trafficking organizations, which
seem to assume that almost every sex worker is a "slave." A more likely
estimate
of the percentage of trafficked prostitutes is 10 percent.
There's a steady flow of workers between the two
sectors: A 2009 U.N. Inter-Agency Project on Human
Trafficking report found that in the aftermath of the steep global economic
downturn, up to 20 percent of laid-off apparel workers found work in the
"entertainment sector."
Apparel factories began sprouting up in Phnom Penh
in the mid-1990s after Cambodia signed a bilateral trade deal with the United
States that gave it privileged access to American markets if local factories
upheld enhanced labor standards. Walmart, Nike, Target, and other major
retailers soon began sourcing from Cambodia, and the country gained a
reputation, in the words of USA Today, as "the
sweatshop-free producer in a fiercely competitive global clothing market."
Advertisement
New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof
buffed this image, writing in a 2008 piece from Phnom Penh that, "a job in a
sweatshop is a cherished dream, an escalator out of poverty." Earlier, Kristof
bought the "freedom" of two prostitutes/"slaves" and
sent them home to their villages. One soon returned to her old line of work. In
a 2009 column, Kristof called on the Cambodian
government to "organize sting operations" against brothels, though in practice
such raids have resulted in women being beaten or raped by police and sent to
"rehabilitation centers" that Human Rights Watch describes as "squalid jails,"
including Koh Kor, a former Khmer
Rouge detention facility.
The sex industry arrived in Cambodia in the early
1990s, in lockstep with the U.N. peacekeeping mission that oversaw elections
after the fall of the Khmer Rouge and decades of civil war. (When asked in 1998
what the U.N. mission's legacy would be, Hun Sen replied, "AIDS.") It further
flourished with the flood of Western NGO workers, expats, and tourists that
poured in after that. In his 1998 book Off the Rails in Phnom Penh, Amit
Gilboa described Cambodia as "an anarchic festival of cheap prostitutes" where
"you are never more than a few minutes away from a place to purchase sex."
Prostitution isn't quite as flagrant these days, but the temporal distance
from paid sex is roughly the same. Streetwalkers can be found day and night
along the perimeter of Wat Phnom, the Buddhist temple that is one of Phnom
Penh's top tourist sites. There are numerous karaoke bars and massage parlors,
and freelance prostitutes abound at bars and nightclubs catering to Westerners.
One night, I asked a tuk-tuk driver who spoke little
English to leave me at the corner of 104 Street and Sisowath Quay, which runs
along the Tonle Sap River. Instead, he dropped me in front of 104, a well-known
hostess bar where he
assumed I was headed.
Another night, I went to a nightclub on the Quay that was packed with a
Cambodian crowd dancing to a band playing Asian pop. As soon as I ordered a
beer, the manager, a woman, came over and began shouting to me over the music.
I
couldn't make out what she was saying, but a moment later, a young woman of
about 20, dressed in a short black skirt, took the seat beside me. Now what the
manager had been yelling became clear: "Do you want a girl?"
The young woman was quite beautiful, but she offered me a hand so limp and
devoid of enthusiasm that it dampened any longing I could possibly have felt.
One night, I paid the bar fine so a hostess I'd been talking to could go home
early, and I gave her a large tip that she interpreted as a payment for sex.
"Do
you want to come with me?" she asked halfheartedly. She was clearly relieved
when I declined.
Hostess bars, which are heavily clustered just off the riverfront and in a
few other spots around the city, are the most visible component of the sex
industry. Neon lights flash from the windows, and young women sit at tables out
front waving at men walking by, urging them to come in. The soundtrack trends
heavily toward 1960s and '70s rock; songs like "Brown Sugar" and "Whiskey Bar"
("Show me the way to the next little girl") are standards. Middle-aged Western
men sit at tables talking to each other as hostesses drape themselves over
their
shoulders or in their laps or massage their shoulders.
There's no hard sell on sex, and not all of the women are available, though
drinks are pushed heavily, because the hostesses get a commission (usually $1)
on each one sold. Salaries are usually $60 to $70 per month, and with
commissions and tips hostesses can make three times that. Those who have sex
with customers make quite a bit more. I was offered rates of $10 an hour and
$40
for the night. Cambodian clients pay far less, as do long-time expats familiar
with local market prices.
One night, I went to 104 with two Cambodian women friends who do advocacy
work with sex workers and textile unions. On my behalf, they questioned several
hostesses, who were dressed in tight jeans and red tank tops. One 25 year old
took the job after her mother died. (Her father had long ago abandoned the
family.) She complained about aspects of the work, especially customers who
felt
entitled to paw her, but she said she was proud that she wasn't unemployed.
"These jobs are hard to get," she said. "I'm not beautiful, and I don't speak
English well, but the owner liked me and took pity on me."
Freelancers work at low-end joints like Martini, which the Wikitravel guide to
Phnom Penh describes as "a place
for lonely men and loose ladies," and Walkabout, which is also a guesthouse
where rooms are available by the hour. Somewhat more upscale are places like
Sharky's, which has pool tables and live music and
attracts a more mixed crowd that includes women and couples, along with the
usual Disco Stu types.
I went to Sharky's around 9 o'clock on a quiet weekday evening and sat on a
balcony overlooking the street with a 24-year-old woman who had streaked blond
hair and wore blue jeans and a silk shirt printed with red and pink hearts. She
spoke little English, and we didn't get far beyond "What's your name?" and
"Where are you from?"
"How long have you lived in Phnom Penh?" and "Who do you live with?" elicited
blank stares. (She replied "yes" to the latter.) But one question was instantly
recognized: "How much?" The answer: For a massage and "boom boom," $5 for an
hour and $20 for the night.
My two Cambodian friends also took me to a karaoke bar whose customers were
mostly Chinese and other Asian tourists. More than 100 women, some in short
skirts and some in prom dresses with flowers in their hair, sat on couches
lined
up on both sides of the entryway. We took a room in back and asked for four
women to join us. They soon arrived with trays bearing bowls of nuts and
snacks;
plates of grapefruit, grapes, and mangos; and bottles of warm beer served in
glasses with ice. They sang along to videos, mostly Chinese and Cambodian
pop.
One of the women, a 19-year-old whose education stopped at the fourth grade,
wore a pink prom dress and barrettes in her long hair. She was paid $60 a month
and made about the same amount per week in tips. She didn't sleep with
customers, but colleagues who did could make $100 a night or even more if the
client was "rich." She had an older brother who made $45 per month as a
security
guard, and an older sister who worked at a textile plant. "My mother doesn't
like me working here, so I might have to leave, but I wouldn't work with my
sister," she said. "The chemicals smell, her boss is always yelling, and she
doesn't make much money."
So how does pay for factory work compare with pay
for sex work? Apparel jobs in Cambodia are not an escalator out of poverty, as
Kristof would have it; they're a treadmill at best. Textile workers earn about
33 cents per hour, lower than anywhere except Bangladesh. Even with significant
overtime, monthly pay rarely tops $80. They commute in, sometimes from villages
hours away, or live four and five to a room in shanties outside the factory
gates. A study by two International Labor
Organization specialists said that apparel workers were rarely able to save any
money, and few had "the opportunity to advance their career, either in the
garment industry or outside."
Apparel workers are on their feet all day, other
than for a short lunch break, and they work such long hours that they see
little
sunlight. The plants are hot and noisy, with the steady drone of the machines
making conversation impossible. They are subject to strict workplace rules
(i.e., asking permission to go to the bathroom), are pressured to meet high
quotas, and, despite Cambodia's "sweatshop-free" reputation, growing numbers
work on short-term contracts that deprive them of basic labor rights.
Hostesses also work long hours—typically late afternoon until 2 a.m.—but they
usually eat at least one meal at work, hang out with friends, and watch
television when business is slow. Some but by no means all of the hostesses
whom
I spoke with had sex with customers, and they were free to decline offers
(though accepting clearly increases pay).
I'm not touting sex work as an attractive profession. HIV is an obvious risk,
and prostitutes are subject to violence by customers, police, and at
"rehabilitation centers." Most of the women I met ordered juice when they were
with me, but some drink either at their own initiative or the insistence of
customers. Sex work is just as much of a dead-end job as apparel work; when
women get older, they either find something else to do or move from clubs and
bars to the street. Still, 20 percent of Cambodian sex workers interviewed for
the 2009 U.N. report said they took their jobs because of good working
conditions or relatively high pay. (Fifty-five percent did so due to "difficult
family circumstances." About 3.5 percent were lured, cheated, or sold into sex
work.)
Are sex workers exploited? Absolutely. But so are
textile workers. When I was in Cambodia in 2009 to report on the apparel
industry, I obtained the
"company profile" of a firm that produced T-shirts, trousers, and skirts for
companies like Aeropostale and JCPenney. It said the plant's 1,000 workers
produced 7.8 million pieces annually. Taking a rough estimate of $25 per piece
retail, each employee generated approximately $195,000 in retail sales
annually,
for which she received about $750 in pay, factoring in typical overtime
rates.
"A lot of women no longer want apparel jobs," Tola Moeun, a labor-rights
activist with a group called the Community Legal Education Center, told me.
"When prostitution offers a better life, our factory owners need to think about
more than their profit margins."
Become a fan of Slate on Facebook. Follow Slate and the Slate Foreign Desk on
Twitter.
There's no hard sell on sex, and not all of the women are available, though
drinks are pushed heavily, because the hostesses get a commission (usually $1)
on each one sold. Salaries are usually $60 to $70 per month, and with
commissions and tips hostesses can make three times that. Those who have sex
with customers make quite a bit more. I was offered rates of $10 an hour and
$40
for the night. Cambodian clients pay far less, as do long-time expats familiar
with local market prices.
One night, I went to 104 with two Cambodian women friends who do advocacy
work with sex workers and textile unions. On my behalf, they questioned several
hostesses, who were dressed in tight jeans and red tank tops. One 25 year old
took the job after her mother died. (Her father had long ago abandoned the
family.) She complained about aspects of the work, especially customers who
felt
entitled to paw her, but she said she was proud that she wasn't unemployed.
"These jobs are hard to get," she said. "I'm not beautiful, and I don't speak
English well, but the owner liked me and took pity on me."
Freelancers work at low-end joints like Martini, which the Wikitravel guide to
Phnom Penh describes as "a place
for lonely men and loose ladies," and Walkabout, which is also a guesthouse
where rooms are available by the hour. Somewhat more upscale are places like
Sharky's, which has pool tables and live music and
attracts a more mixed crowd that includes women and couples, along with the
usual Disco Stu types.
I went to Sharky's around 9 o'clock on a quiet weekday evening and sat on a
balcony overlooking the street with a 24-year-old woman who had streaked blond
hair and wore blue jeans and a silk shirt printed with red and pink hearts. She
spoke little English, and we didn't get far beyond "What's your name?" and
"Where are you from?"
"How long have you lived in Phnom Penh?" and "Who do you live with?" elicited
blank stares. (She replied "yes" to the latter.) But one question was instantly
recognized: "How much?" The answer: For a massage and "boom boom," $5 for an
hour and $20 for the night.
My two Cambodian friends also took me to a karaoke bar whose customers were
mostly Chinese and other Asian tourists. More than 100 women, some in short
skirts and some in prom dresses with flowers in their hair, sat on couches
lined
up on both sides of the entryway. We took a room in back and asked for four
women to join us. They soon arrived with trays bearing bowls of nuts and
snacks;
plates of grapefruit, grapes, and mangos; and bottles of warm beer served in
glasses with ice. They sang along to videos, mostly Chinese and Cambodian
pop.
One of the women, a 19-year-old whose education stopped at the fourth grade,
wore a pink prom dress and barrettes in her long hair. She was paid $60 a month
and made about the same amount per week in tips. She didn't sleep with
customers, but colleagues who did could make $100 a night or even more if the
client was "rich." She had an older brother who made $45 per month as a
security
guard, and an older sister who worked at a textile plant. "My mother doesn't
like me working here, so I might have to leave, but I wouldn't work with my
sister," she said. "The chemicals smell, her boss is always yelling, and she
doesn't make much money."
Advertisement
So how does pay for factory work compare with pay
for sex work? Apparel jobs in Cambodia are not an escalator out of poverty, as
Kristof would have it; they're a treadmill at best. Textile workers earn about
33 cents per hour, lower than anywhere except Bangladesh. Even with significant
overtime, monthly pay rarely tops $80. They commute in, sometimes from villages
hours away, or live four and five to a room in shanties outside the factory
gates. A study by two International Labor
Organization specialists said that apparel workers were rarely able to save any
money, and few had "the opportunity to advance their career, either in the
garment industry or outside."
Apparel workers are on their feet all day, other
than for a short lunch break, and they work such long hours that they see
little
sunlight. The plants are hot and noisy, with the steady drone of the machines
making conversation impossible. They are subject to strict workplace rules
(i.e., asking permission to go to the bathroom), are pressured to meet high
quotas, and, despite Cambodia's "sweatshop-free" reputation, growing numbers
work on short-term contracts that deprive them of basic labor rights.
Hostesses also work long hours—typically late afternoon until 2 a.m.—but they
usually eat at least one meal at work, hang out with friends, and watch
television when business is slow. Some but by no means all of the hostesses
whom
I spoke with had sex with customers, and they were free to decline offers
(though accepting clearly increases pay).
I'm not touting sex work as an attractive profession. HIV is an obvious risk,
and prostitutes are subject to violence by customers, police, and at
"rehabilitation centers." Most of the women I met ordered juice when they were
with me, but some drink either at their own initiative or the insistence of
customers. Sex work is just as much of a dead-end job as apparel work; when
women get older, they either find something else to do or move from clubs and
bars to the street. Still, 20 percent of Cambodian sex workers interviewed for
the 2009 U.N. report said they took their jobs because of good working
conditions or relatively high pay. (Fifty-five percent did so due to "difficult
family circumstances." About 3.5 percent were lured, cheated, or sold into sex
work.)
Are sex workers exploited? Absolutely. But so are
textile workers. When I was in Cambodia in 2009 to report on the apparel
industry, I obtained the
"company profile" of a firm that produced T-shirts, trousers, and skirts for
companies like Aeropostale and JCPenney. It said the plant's 1,000 workers
produced 7.8 million pieces annually. Taking a rough estimate of $25 per piece
retail, each employee generated approximately $195,000 in retail sales
annually,
for which she received about $750 in pay, factoring in typical overtime
rates.
"A lot of women no longer want apparel jobs," Tola Moeun, a labor-rights
activist with a group called the Community Legal Education Center, told me.
"When prostitution offers a better life, our factory owners need to think about
more than their profit margins."
> Date: Mon, 16 May 2011 10:48:34 -0700
> Subject: Re: CAMBODIAN PEOPLE : World Bank knows more
> From: [email protected]
> To: [email protected]
>
> Ong Ya Bury Chau,
>
> Yeah Yeah I believe the World Bank knows Cambodia and the Cambodian
> culture more than the "small" people here in CamDisc. Of course it
> must have investigated the country thoroughly before it invested as
> much money as 600 million bucks in the country.
>
> The verb "invested" here always applies whether the money was a loan
> or a donation or a partial-loan-partial-donation. When Cambodia gets
> out of poverty and becomes rich enough, she will hopefully contribute
> back to the world Bank, or help to establish or maintain the stability
> of the region of South-East Asia, or both. Therefore the World Bank's
> money was an investment.
>
> On May 14, 11:07 am, Bury Chau <[email protected]> wrote:
> > World Bank has 600 million dollars to help the country.Mr
> > [email protected],If the Cambodian at camdisc does not know their
> > country , do you believe the World Bank know more than the camdisc people
> > here ?
> >
> > Cambodian Documentary Video: World Bank Report on Cambodia
> >
> > Thursday, September 20, 2007
> >
> > World
> > Bank Report on Cambodia
> >
> > Provided By: WorldBank
> >
> > Cambodia
> > is emerging from decades of civil war and isolation. Helped by international
> > programs aimed at reducing poverty, international donors this year alone
> > have
> > more than 600 million dollars to help the country.
> >
> > The World Bank
> > coordinates much of Cambodia's aid plan. By focusing on empowering the
> > poorest
> > people and working with the government, private sector and civil society,
> > assistance efforts are beginning to yield results
> >
> > Labels: World
> > Bank
> > would you like to share the view with us here ?
> >
> > Bury
> >
> > From: [email protected]
> > To: [email protected]
> > Subject: RE: CAMBODIAN PEOPLE
> > Date: Sat, 14 May 2011 07:50:06 -0700
> >
> > Q : Thus the word "Cambodia" should have been "CamDisc".
> > These "small" peolpe don't live in Cambodia. They live overseas and know
> > nothing about Cambodia or the Cambodian culture.
> >
> > A : I agree. These four know more Cambodia and Cambodian culture than
> > "CamDisc".Cambodia Tycoons -
> > Kith Meng
> > Sok Kong
> > Yeay Phu
> > Mong Reththy
> > do you agree Mr [email protected] ?
> >
> > > Date: Sat, 14 May 2011 02:33:17 -0700
> > > Subject: Re: CAMBODIAN PEOPLE
> > > From: [email protected]
> > > To: [email protected]
> >
> > > Good observation. Now I believe this observation is made here in
> > > CamDisc. Thus the word "Cambodia" should have been "CamDisc". These
> > > "small" peolpe don't live in Cambodia. They live overseas and know
> > > nothing about Cambodia or the Cambodian culture.
> >
> > > On May 13, 6:20 pm, Chetrasena <[email protected]> wrote:
> > > > Great people talk about idea
> > > > Average people talk about issue
> > > > Small people talk about other people.
> >
> > --
> >
>
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