Human Trafficking 1

Human Trafficking in Cambodia

Researched Papers on Social Issues in Cambodia

Phanara Mao

Advanced Writing Skills - ELT 114 Section 1

Professor, Robert Flinn

May 29, 2014

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Abstract

Recently, political activists and researchers have expressed their concerns about the

growing of social issues in Cambodia, especially human trafficking issues. Meanwhile, most

people agree that the issues should deserve to be solved, and there should be the existence of

the optimal solutions to cope with it ethically and efficiently. Thus, this research paper

discovers the problems of human trafficking with analysis of the roots causes and future

consequences of human trafficking in Cambodia that happen to Cambodian people itself as

well as the victims who are trafficked to Cambodia. In addition to the existence of human

trafficking, its causes and effects, this research paper also compels the comprehensive

optimal solutions that use political, social, educational and economic approaches to ooze and

solve the complexity of this problem in the long-run.

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Human Trafficking in Cambodia

Researched Papers on Social Issues in Cambodia

The world is about the businesses, people always trade goods and services in every

single angle of the world. After developing the world over decades, people are now

considered similarly as the goods and services for trading, too. And this is called “human

trafficking." All countries around the world have been facing this problem, especially in the

21st century while the world becomes more modernized day by day. Specifically, Cambodia

is also confronting this problem badly. Many Cambodian people are trafficked to both local

and international destination to around the world while some people from other part of Asia

are trafficked and sent to Cambodia, especially, Vietnamese women who are transported to

Cambodia as the premium products. As the matter of facts that this problem is inevitably for

the countries all over the world regardless of how industrialized, fast-developing, or slow

developing the countries are, yet it happens accordingly to various reasons. Therefore, this

research paper will clearly describe how it happened by responding to these following

questions:

1. What are the problems of human trafficking and the evident of its existence?

2. What are the roots causes of human trafficking in Cambodia?

3. What are the future consequences of human trafficking in Cambodia?

4. What are the optimal solutions can be implemented to reduce the human

trafficking rates while prospering Cambodian people ethnically?

Familiarizing about human trafficking, its complexities, its causes, its effects and the

optimal solutions in Cambodia is not very different from other part of the world, and it is a

hot issue for young Cambodian scholars as well as the societal development researchers in

Cambodia and even researcher outside Cambodia.

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Human trafficking is defined as the illegal movement of people, typically for the

purposes of forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation, according to the Oxford

Dictionary. Children, males and females are trafficked domestically or internationally like the

products. Due to this, the government, non-profit organization, and civilians start questioning

this hot social issue, call for suggestions and solutions in purpose of dealing with human

trafficking issues ethically. To achieve the goals, this papers need to response to the question:

What are the problems that problems of human trafficking and the evident?

Human trafficking is not the only problems for those who are trafficked, but it is also

the societal problems that every single person in the society will be facing unless the optimal

solutions are existed and implemented. According to Annette Lyth, regional project manager

of the U.N. Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking (UNIAP), he said “The Asian region

is one of the world’s top destinations and origins of trafficked persons, and a total of 959

cases of human trafficking were reported in 2012 in Cambodia alone, with 364 in Burma, 883

in Vietnam, 594 in Thailand and 193 in Laos" (HRUBY, 2014).

In addition to this: according to Human Trafficking Organization reports,

Cambodian men, women, and children are trafficked for sexual and labor

exploitation in Thailand, Malaysia, Macao, and Taiwan. Men are trafficked for

forced labor in the agriculture, fishing, and construction industries. Women

are trafficked for sexual exploitation and forced labor in factories or as

domestic servants. Children are trafficked for exploitation and forced labor in

organized begging rings, soliciting, street vending, and flower selling. Not

only intentional human trafficking between Cambodia and other countries, but

the local human trafficking is also taking place in Cambodia. The common

destinations for trafficking victims are Phnom Penh, Siam Reap, and Sihanouk

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Ville. A 2005 report estimated that 2,000 victims in Cambodia have been

trafficked into sexual exploitation, approximately 80 percent of whom were

Vietnamese women and girls (Human Trafficking Organization, 2014).

According to these hypotheses, it is clear enough to argue that human trafficking is

truly committed in Cambodia and happen to Cambodian people, as well as other countries

around the world.

Human trafficking, a social problem that all countries around the world are facing, but

each country experiences this problem in different ways while some problems and causes of

it are also similar to one, and another.

What are the roots causes of human trafficking in Cambodia?

Human trafficking is critically considered as one of the major problems in the world,

followed by arms trafficking and drug trafficking across the globe. According to the Skoll

World Forum Contributor Organization, human trafficking happens due to multiple factors

including poverty, corruption, education, political instabilities and natural disaster, and

oppressive cultural norms (Skoll World Forum Contributor Organization, 2014).

First of all, poverty, accounts for more than 20% of Cambodian people who are living

in poverty line, is the major problem because almost 100% of people are trafficked decided to

migrant to work in other country because they are facing financial difficulties. Those people

get lower paid in Cambodia regardless of where they work, how many hours they work or

how much overtime they work, and they can’t feed themselves and their family properly. So,

these situations lead to incentivize them to move or migrant domestically or globally.

Therefore, it becomes a good chance for the human traffickers to persuade those victims. As

a strategy, the human traffickers incentivize those people by promising them to provide a

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higher-paid job and better living condition for them. So, they undoubtedly decide to work

abroad illegally. Another point is about parental pressure, some bad parents force themselves

to pressure their children to do so, because are not able to feed their children and they don’t

have money for maintaining their living allowances.

In addition to poverty, corruption is also critical to human trafficking. Corruption

becomes so widespread to be committed without accurate punishment by judicial system;

thus it allows the activities of human traffickers become stronger and stronger day to day. Not

only this, Cambodian citizens are also facing difficulties in legalizing passports and visa

because of corrupted activities. Therefore, they start deciding to get abroad regardless of

legality or illegality by various reasons. Finally, those people feel so sorry after they realize

that they were already trafficked illegally to their current workplaces.

Poverty and education are the enough to proof the existence of human trafficking in

Cambodia because the most critical reason is education. Without proper education, people are

not able to make the decision rationally and economically. So, those uneducated people and

no-proper-educated people are easily deceived by professional human traffickers who have

tons of experiences in cheating these kinds of people for years. The people who are cheated

don’t know how to legalize migration and moving resident officially, so they do need good

people to guide them how to complete the legalization of moving residents or migrating to

other countries. Unfortunately, most of them meet professional human traffickers; thus they

are persuaded to migrant or moving residents without proper legalization. More than this,

most people are not educated Economics Studies, so they are not be able to calculate the real

value of their salary in where they are going to live after moving or migrating. Specifically,

they get higher paid in the place where they are going, but their real salary 1may not be

1 Real Salary: refer to the salary that is computed by allocating to the price index of inflation and price level economically.

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higher than the real salary in Cambodia. Therefore, education is the most important quality to

escape from being trafficked or involving human trafficking in Cambodia.

However, poverty, corruption and education are critically considered as the major

causes, but political instabilities and natural disasters cannot be neglected to be considered as

the main causes of human trafficking in Cambodia. According to Invisible Traffic

Organization, political instabilities and natural disasters can make people vulnerable to being

trafficked (Invisible Traffic Organization, 2014). Wars, civil unrest and the aftermath of

natural disasters cause societal instability that traffickers can use to their advantages. So,

people are inspired by professional human traffickers to be trafficked quickly without proper

decision. People do not want to live in a war, unstable society, in all-day protests, or under

control by illegal government. In addition to this, natural disaster also contributes to the

factors that force people in that area to move their resident domestically or starts migrating

abroad by various methods regardless of legality or illegality in migrating. Therefore, the

human traffickers take this chance to convince those victims by promotes destinations where

people can get higher wages either in Cambodia or outside of Cambodia. To result, human

trafficking has been taken place in Cambodia active day by day.

The last reason is about oppressive cultural norms; some people are forced to be

moved or migrated or being trafficked because they have been under pressure or incentivized

by guardians or parents to do so. According to FBI, many young people are recruited into

prostitution through forced abduction, pressure from parents, or through deceptive

agreements between parents and traffickers (FBI, 2011). These factors catalyze their

psychological moods in migrating or moving from one to other places by being trafficked

illegally. So, those victims and prospective victims have been deceiving these sorts of

oppressive culture norms hellishly.

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According these causes, it is understandable that there will be many effects happen

concerning to human trafficking. Therefore, one part of this research paper will response to

the following question:

What are the future consequences of human trafficking in Cambodia?

Human trafficking is an ill plaguing our society even in the 21st century. Men, women

and children, anyone can become its victim. Not so surprisingly, it happens to be the biggest

organized crime in the world, after illegal dealing of drugs and weapons. The effects of

human trafficking are numerous and far-reaching. According to Human Explore, human

trafficking leads many consequences such as; physical health problems, psychological

problems, economic problems, and societal problems (According to Human Explore, 2014).

The first consequence that happens to the victims from human trafficking is

psychological difficulties. The victims suffer from lack of self-esteem, disorientation,

emotional disturbance and depression that has been haunted the rest of their lives. Some of

those victims are likely to become withdrawn and tend to commit suicide. To children of

those victims, especially prostitution, are taking away of their birth causing further mental

problems to the motherhood. By compelling these, females and children have been being

suffered much badly rather than male victims.

Furthermore, health effects also unethically threaten and haunt the victims as bad as

the psychological effects. Based on US Buzzle Anti-Human Trafficking Unit, 80% of the

victims, mostly young females between 16 to 25 years old and children are estimated to be

trafficked for sexual exploitation and forced into prostitution purposes (US Buzzle Anti-

Human Trafficking Unit, 2014). Such a victim, they are forced to serve sexual activities and

facing various sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS that they are not only suffering, but it

further pass to the sexual partners and their partners. Such a victim, they are not supply

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proper food and living in poor condition, which may lead them to dead or even heavy illness

in the near future without proper health care and medical insurance. So, the occupational

diseases or this modern-day slave is critically to be considered as an extreme health difficulty

for human trafficking victims.

However, psychological and health effects, societal effects, cannot be neglected as

well. The victims may be transported to another country whereupon arrival; their passports

and migration document are taken away from them, leaving them with the lack of supports

and immobile. Once upon arrival, they are kept in very poor living condition with lack of

proper clothing and healthy food. Sadly, they are often physically and sexually abuse by their

employers and clients without reasonable returns. This is the sad images of Cambodia behind

the wall. Furthermore, the victims always struggle to gain acceptance in society from the

stigma after they are already rescued. More than this, corruption is so widespread in

Cambodia that greed for wealth only further boosts trafficking of the human flourish, with no

barriers. In such a case, the development of robust society and stability sound like a far-

distant dream.

Lastly, economics effects are the major consequences that inevitably happen.

According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), human trafficking generates $31.6

billion estimated illicit profit worldwide. As calculated by the CIA, a trafficker earns up to

$250,000 per victim of the sex trade in a year (ILO, 2014). The victims are paid very meager

wages or nothing for their physical labor which prevent them from fleeing. Such a cheap

labor employment opportunity, it thus subsequently reduces GDP per capita 2for the country

and lead to lower the GDP of Cambodia than it is supposed to achieve. Illegalities of

migration are also a threat to national security and ignite a concern for Cambodian and nation

2 GDP per capita: A measure of the total output of a country that takes the gross domestic product (GDP) and divides it by the number of people in the country.

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worldwide. These problems lead the existences of problems such as; poverty, unemployment

and high crime rates, and these factors slow down the economic growth of Cambodia.

Bases on the future consequences of human trafficking in Cambodia, it is clear

enough to call for urgently optimal solutions that are helpful, effective, efficient and timely to

solve this problem for Cambodian presently as well as in the future. So, the suggestion and

solution should be responsive to the question:

What are the optimal solutions can be implemented to reduce the human

trafficking rates while prospering Cambodian people ethnically?

By the proof above, human trafficking is truly a social issue that cannot be

overlooked. So, it needs to be solved by using scientific approach bases on law legislation,

political, economic modules and especially governmental partnerships and sponsorships. By

looking backward to the roots causes, human trafficking issues can be solved by various

optimal solutions which are a mixture of huge political shift or movement, law enforcement

on migration and corruption, an educational revolution and especially agricultural revolution.

First of all, there is a need of legal government and nationalistic government to legalize

legislative laws and regulations to prosper to nation with no absent of illegal law and political

instabilities. Secondly, there is a must of restriction on migration and plus the corruption

along the borders by the police officers and migrating officers in legalizing the migration

document. Furthermore, reeducating and educating present and next generation is also a must

to provide a better and proper education with high quality and standardization to Cambodian.

Doing so, is only for one purpose of increasing number of productive human capital to

develop the country alongside of modernism faster with effective and efficient approaches.

Lastly, the agricultural revolution must be compulsory to ensure the efficiency and

effectiveness of reducing poverty rate and migrating elsewhere. As the matter of facts that,

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Cambodia is an agricultural country with an enormous amount of poor farmers, so

revolutionizing the agricultural system is compulsory to reduce the poverty rates and the rate

of illegal migrating abroad of Cambodian people while creating more job opportunity for

Cambodian people itself.

By following these strategies, Cambodia, an agricultural and slow-growing country in

Asia, can tell the globe of how attractive Cambodia, and start to attract more investment to

Cambodia and create more occupational chances, reducing unemployment rate, attracting

more tourists and fame of Cambodia, advancing and standardizing educational system and

recognition, modernizing agriculture and mastering its benefits, securitize the Nation, gaining

more tax revenue of higher growth domestic products, higher GDP for Cambodia, higher

GDP per capita for Cambodian and many other benefits that are the factors in profiting and

prospering Cambodia economically.

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References

Exploring Human Trafficking. (n.d.). Effect of Human Trafficking in Cambodia Retrieved

May 29, 2014

fromhttp://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/svaw/trafficking/explore/4effects.htm

FBI Government. (n.d.). Law Enforcement of Human Trafficking. Retrieved May 29, 2014

from http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/law-enforcement-

bulletin/march_2011/human_sex_trafficking

Forced labour, human trafficking and slavery. (n.d.). Forced labour, human trafficking and

slavery. Retrieved June 3, 2014, from http://www.ilo.org/global/topics/forced-

labour/lang--en/index.htm

Forum, S. (2013, November 15). How to End Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking.

Forbes. Retrieved May 29, 2014, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/skollworldforum

/2013/11/15 /how-to-end-modern-slavery-and-human-trafficking/

HumanTrafficking.org | Cambodia. (n.d.).HumanTrafficking.org | Cambodia. Retrieved May

28, 2014, from http://www.humantrafficking.org/countries/

Human Trafficking. (n.d.). Human Trafficking. Retrieved May 29, 2014, from

https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/global-report-on-trafficking-in-

persons.html

HRUBY, D. (2014, June 6). Cambodia Offers Best Practices Against Trafficking | The

Cambodia Daily. The Cambodia Daily. Retrieved June 6, 2014, from

http://www.cambodiadaily.com/archives/cambodia-offers-best-practices-against-

trafficking-53731/