COSECAM News

Over one-thousand students, local people, authorities, representatives from local and international organizations and high-ranking government officials from Cambodia and Thailand gathered on the 12th December, 2010 to mark the fourth anniversary of anti-human trafficking day in Malai district, Banteay Meanchey province.

The gathering was to raise people’s awareness of trafficking and to promote collaborative efforts and commitment amongst all stakeholders to combating human trafficking in Cambodia, especially along the Cambodian-Thai border.

The anniversary, under the theme of “Together, we can combat human trafficking", was jointly organized by Border Issues Group for Children (BIG C), International Organization of Migration (IOM), COSECAM, World Vision Foundation of Thailand, and LOVE 146, and was presided over by Her Excellency Chou Bun Eng, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Interior and also the General Secretary of the National Committee to Lead the Suppression of Human Trafficking, Smuggling, Labor Exploitation and Sexual Exploitation in Women and Children.

Also in attendance were the Banteay Meanchey provincial deputy governor, deputy governor of Thailand’s Srash Keo province, Banteay Meanchey Provincial Police Chief, Srash Keo Provincial police chief, Malai district governor and local officials from both neighboring countries as well as distinguished national and international guests.

At the celebration, victims and vulnerable children sang a song describing her miserable life she has experienced and acted in a short play about trafficking.

“I was painfully hurt by trafficking and burst out crying almost every day. I was sold like a cow or buffalo. Today, I live with a lot of sufferings which have never been eased. Why is the life of a prostitute so unfortunate?,” sang a child from COSECAMs Girls Speak Out group in front of officials from both Cambodian and Thai government and the crowd.

School students, teachers, local people, law enforcement officials and staff of local and international organizations gathered at Malai High School and marched across Malai market, and continued to Malai district hall. The marchers, led by traditional dancing known as Chhai Yam, held banners and slogans, and shouted out messages related to human trafficking and sexual exploitation.

“Humans are not for sale” was one of the slogans shouted by the marchers.

Other slogans included "Human trafficking is a criminal offense"; "Together, we combat child trafficking", and "Human trafficking violates human rights".

Malai district governor, Mr. Tep Khunnal, said the celebration of the event clearly showed joint efforts from national to local levels to combat human trafficking.

“From such high commitment, our aim to alleviate and to eliminate human trafficking problem will be achieved,” Mr. Khunnal said.

Srash Keo Deputy Provinical Governor, H.E. Chalkiti Noppadon, said there were three main causes of human trafficking – poverty, education, and physical weakness of children and women.

“Poverty forces the poor to look for jobs in better places, and sometimes, they often fall victims of trafficking. The less educated, more or less, are often cheated by the traffickers,” said the deputy governor.

Her. Excellency. Chou Bun Eng acknowledged that people’s poverty and shortcomings of law enforcement of each country have allowed the traffickers the opportunity to operate their activities. She said that the number of trafficking cases has decreased, and that the continuous crackdown has shown the government’s commitment to fighting the problem.

“I would like to call on the Cambodian authorities, especially those of the provinces along the border to prevent the problem," she said.

“Everyone, including children and adults, shall involve themselves in combating human trafficking, for example, through education and by informing the authorities. It’s not the sole responsibility of the authorities. We shall work together to combat human trafficking, labor exploitation, and commercial sexual exploitation, especially in women and children.”

According to report by Poipet Transit Center, between November 2009 and November 2010, 140,673 illegal Cambodian migrants were returned from Thailand.

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