PHNOM PENH // Human trafficking in Cambodia is expected to rise in the coming months because of increasing poverty, according to humanitarian agencies. They say that the full effects of the global economic downturn and international credit crunch have yet to hit the country. When they do, food and fuel prices will probably soar, putting many more people - especially women and children - at risk of falling victim to traffickers.
"The lure of a better life and a secure income is bound to trap more unsuspecting youngsters into the grip of these trafficking rings," said Lim Tith, the project co-ordinator for the UN Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking (UNIAP) in Cambodia. Last year the Cambodian government introduced a new anti-trafficking law. Although it did raise awareness of the issue, it also led to a draconian crackdown on sex workers, instead of trying to tackle all forms of trafficking and its root causes, said Vicheth Tuon, chief executive of the Coalition to Address Trafficking and (Sexual) Exploitation of Children in Cambodia.
"Trafficking is a mega-problem in Cambodia, and it's becoming a critical issue that needs to be tackled head-on," Mr Tuon said. "It has grown immensely in the last 10 years since the end of the conflict, and will continue to grow unless effective measures are taken to stop it." In Cambodia, men and women, boys and girls are all susceptible to being trafficked, UN officials say. Some are trafficked inside the country, while others are sent abroad. "It's a major social problem that affects both the victims and their families," Mr Lim said. Most trafficking in Cambodia appears to be for "labour exploitation", UN officials say.
Most victims end up in domestic service, factories and trawling ships, or as beggars and scavengers abroad. There are more than 200,000 Cambodians working in factories and boats in Malaysia and Thailand, at least half of whom have been trafficked, UN surveys show. Many women and children are lured away from the countryside by gangs to work as commercial sex workers in Cambodia's major urban centres - Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Sihanoukville.
"I came to Phnom Penh to work in a restaurant," said Pong Ly Kaeng, a 22-year-old bar girl. "The owner came to our village in Svay Rieng [in western Cambodia] and promised my sister he would look after me and pay me a good salary. So I went with him. But I left when the owner tried to make me have sex with a customer. Then my cousin found me a job in the bar. But I don't sleep with all my customers."
"At least 20 per cent of sex workers in Phnom Penh have been trafficked," Mr Lim said. "It is difficult to estimate the number of people being trafficked into Phnom Penh to become commercial sex workers, but there is a constant stream. Maybe as many as 500 a month are coming." Women have also been trafficked abroad for sexual exploitation in the past, according to UN officials. "A few years ago there was a major case of Cambodian women being smuggled into Somalia," Mr Lim said. There have also been a few cases of women being taken to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
But trafficking in Cambodia is a two-way street. There are many Vietnamese women who have been trafficked from southern Vietnam to work in Phnom Penh's sex industry. Many of them are underage, according to a Cambodian aid worker who monitors the situation. She declined to be identified out of concern that it might endanger her security. In an effort to prevent human trafficking, in response to pressure from the United States, the Cambodian government introduced new anti-trafficking legislation nearly a year ago. However, most NGOs say the legislation made the situation worse because authorities went after sex workers rather than traffickers.
"A lot of sex workers have been arrested without clear evidence and are being kept in detention centres where the conditions are atrocious," Mr Tuon said. "The victims of trafficking are being persecuted - they are worse off than before," he said. "The answer is not to close down brothels and the street sex trade; the girls' need the income and their families depend on them. What they need is alternative employment."
International aid groups working in Cambodia say the country's campaign against HIV/Aids is also at risk. "Legislation is a necessary component to stop the spread of HIV and Aids," said Tony Lisle, the UN Aids co-ordinator in Cambodia. "Now we need to make sure the police understand the intent of the law - and that the laws criminalise traffickers, not consenting sex workers." But the traffickers continue to ply their trade with impunity. A few members of minor gangs have been arrested, but aid workers say they are scapegoats and believe the top men orchestrating the trafficking rings are left alone.
"No one can touch the ringleaders," Mr Tuon said. "Everyone knows who they are, but because of their power and influence, they are left untouched by the police." A recent development is that of young children being trafficked into Thailand and Vietnam to work as street-sellers or beggars. Most of the young girls selling flowers in Bangkok's red light districts are Cambodians - such as seven-year-old Kimmi from Phnom Penh who has been selling roses in Nana for more than two years; her father sold her to a trafficker for US$50 (Dh184).
Cambodian children, especially from the western provinces, are being trafficked to Vietnam to beg or work as scavengers in the southern capital, Ho Chi Minh City. "Handicapped children are particularly vulnerable, as they are believed to be more effective beggars," Mr Lim said. "Up to 700 children a month are being trafficked across the borders." Although the government has adopted some measures to curb the trade in human beings, much more needs to be done, humanitarian workers in Phnom Penh say.
"It's an uphill battle," Mr Lim said. "Human trafficking is a major industry and it's growing every month." ljagan@thenational.ae