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A Victim of Trafficking and Disability Champions Adversity

Phnom Penh, 16 November 2009— Holding the computer mouse, clicking on the Start Menu and going to Microsoft Excel, Dy Vattanak, is about to practice his computer skills by typing out his school timetable.

"I have been learning computing skills here for more than one year now, and I know something about [microsoft] excel," says 17-year-old Vattanak.

Vattanak is the eldest son in his family. His father is a construction worker, and his mother is a manicurist. Vattanak has suffered from paralysis of both legs since the day he was born. In 1998, due to poverty and his disability, he became a victim of trafficking and exploitation when his mother sold him to a trafficker who sent him to work as a beggar in Bangkok, Thailand.

He has no idea how much he was sold for because it happened late one night and his mother did not say.

Vattanak was immediately sent to Thailand along with as many as five or six other children. Once in Bangkok, he was forced to beg for money in public places to a schedule arranged by his overseer. He worked three times a day from 4:30am to 12:30pm, 1:00pm to 4:00pm and 5:00pm until 1:00am. Each day he could earn on average between 1,000 and 2,000 Thai baht for his overseer.

While he was there, he wasn't given enough food and was frequently beaten and electrocuted. He was only given lunch and dinner, which consisted of mainly rice and fish. He would be beaten, electrocuted, or starved if he did not earn enough money to meet his overseer's satisfaction. Thus, if he earned a lot of money he would be spared from punishment.

Two months later, Vattanak was arrested by Thai police and put in custody for about five months before being sent to a center in Thailand where children are re-educated and corrected so that they will quit begging professions.

In an effort to send Vattanak back to Cambodia, the Thai authorities contacted Damnok Toek (Goutte d' Eau) in Poipet where he was given shelter at their drop-in center in 2001. In 2003 he was transferred to the Damnok Toek center in Phnom Penh. It is at this centre that Vattanak receives education in mainly computer skills and English each evening and lessons in musical instruments at the weekends, as well as care and other basic support. He is now a 10th grader at a nearby high school called Pshar Deum Tkov. He says he is really interested in electronic engineering.

"I want to be an electrician." Vattanak says. "I feel happy to be living in the center. If I had stayed at home, I would not have had the chance to study."

The Damnok Toek center coordinator, Mr. Vorn Sin, says the center is also taking into account Vattanak's aspirations.

"As we know, he is interested in electronics. We are considering how to do this. And now he has said that he wants to at least finish high school," Vorn Sin says.

Khuon Butny, the educator at the center, says that Vattanak is a very polite, helpful and smart boy and never has arguments with other children.

"If there are problems, he just grins and bears it and brings the problems to our staff's attention. Regarding his study, he is very curious and often asks questions to our staff. He is very flexible," Butny says.

Although he has mobility difficulty, Vattanak goes to market and shops in his free time to ease the cook's workload.

"I can cook and I like cooking and at free time, I help the cooks with their work like cooking," says Vattanak.

Mr. Khuon Butny says Vattanak's mother got arrested for her conduct but was later released at Vattanak's plea. However, the trafficker managed to escape and has so far remained at large.

Currently, the Damnok Toek center in Phnom Penh provides a home to 29 children and offers them educational services, medical support and reintegration. The children at the center are either disabled or have mental problems, and are aged between 6 and 20 years old.

Mr. Vorn Sin says that parents are more likely to abandon their children if they suffer from disability problems. However, he says that the children will be reintegrated back into their families once the center finds out whether the families can support the children on their own.

Vorn Sin says, "When we find out that a child's family is capable of supporting him or her, and the child him or herself has his or her own skills, then we can reintegrate him or her back into the family. But more importantly, our center is aimed at building the capacity of children so that they can live on their own in the future using the skills provided by our center. It doesn't mean that we will have to keep them forever."

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