TIP Part 1

Thoughts about Trafficking In Persons (TIP) in Poipet, Cambodia.

Introduction

I live in Poipet; a small city on the Cambodian-Thai border. Every day I see children whose lives are vastly different from my childhood experience of growing up in a beachside Sydney suburb. Young boys and girls scrounge piles of rubbish for cans, plastic bottles and other recyclables. Kids wander the streets clasping plastic bags, sniffing glue to get high. I sit at a roadside café having a meeting with a coworker when a young boy wearing nothing but a ragged T-shirt comes up and begs for a bit of money. I read research done by Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) reporting that these same kids are also at risk of being trafficked across the border and forced to work as beggars, house keepers or even for sexual purposes. I’ve lived in Cambodia for almost five years and I've heard enough stories that back up the statistics.

So how do I respond? How to we, as Christians, wrestle with the reality of such confronting needs? God has poured out His love in our hearts through the Holy Spirit and Christ’s love compels us to respond. But before we rush in to "rescue" vulnerable kids by placing them in a Christian-run safe house, it’s worth taking some time to consider the problems in context as well as various ways of responding. I suggest we need to understand the local context, use language carefully, ask questions, remember God, cooperate with others, value the church and consider alternative responses.

1. Understand The Local Context

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) claim that trafficking is inextricably linked to poverty. Banteay Meanchey, even compared with other provinces in Cambodia, is extremely poor. Khmer Rouge fighting continued in Poipet until the mid to late 1990s which has left the city and surrounding areas very unstable. In 1999 Poipet was home to 5 000 people. Yet from the opening of the first casino almost 10 years ago until now, the population has increased to approximately 115 000. Many have come from other parts of Banteay Meanchey and across the country in the hope of finding work. The reality is that hopes of a better life have only been found by few.

2. Use Language Carefully

It's easy to throw around vague jargon in order to rally support for a cause. However, it is important to define out terms and to try to be specific in our language. In Matthew 5, Jesus clarified people’s distorted interpretations of the Old Testament law. Over many generations, the intention of the law had been lost in the interpretation of the law. Jesus took time to clarify muddied thinking. We need to make sure we are clear on our definitions too.

For example, we need to remember that migration isn’t the same as trafficking. According to the United Nations, Trafficking In Persons (TIP) or human trafficking is the “recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, or the abuse of power of a position of vulnerability or of a person having control over another person, for the purposes of exploitation.” Migration may be simply defined as “the movement of people from one place to another” (International Migration Organization). While there is a link between migration and trafficking in persons, it is important to note that they are not the same thing. Poipet is a border town home to 8000- 10 000 who willingly enter Thailand for employment purposes every day.

Also, sexual exploitation and prostitution seem to be common buzz words related to human trafficking. Research shows, however, that there is a greater scope to the problem. Trafficking does not exclusively target women and children; men are also trafficked. Women may be trafficked for domestic service or to labour in the garment industry. Men may be forced to work in construction or fishing industries.

3. Ask Questions

Asking a few simple questions give us a better picture of the current situation locally. Here are three important questions:

Who are the traffickers? It was commonly thought that trafficking existed through high scale and sophisticated agents prowling on the vulnerable and uneducated in rural communities. However a study (by Intervida) in the mid 2000’s showed that i) the trafficker is usually known by the victim and ii) the trafficker is usually a respected community member. One study showed that 38.76% were trafficked by a friend/acquaintance, 28.68% current employer, 16.28% neighbor or village fellow, 8.53% extended family member, 6.2% mother or sister (ECPAT. 2007-2008. ‘NGO joint Statistics: Database Report on Trafficking and Rape in Cambodia’. ECPAT: Phnom Penh).

Who are the victims? Many studies further show the majority of victims consented to be trafficked to escape present situations. From those willing to go with there trafficker, 36.36% stated it was to escape a current situation, 26.45% wanted more money, 23.97% were pressured by another person (ibid.).

Is the problem getting worse? Trafficking in persons is an illegal, undercover and under-reported activity, which means that it is difficult to find reliable, recent reports. Having said that, one NGO in Poipet has seen a dramatic decrease in their reported cases during 2009. Only 4 reported cases of trafficking in women were recorded with their organization during January to June 2009 opposed to 19 cases the previous year.

4. Remember God

A personal discipline that I need to cultivate is to remember that even in the midst of struggles, God is in this place. I think of the story in which God gave Jacob a dream of a stairway reaching to heaven with angels of God ascending and descending on it. God spoke promises over Jacob. (I am with you. I will watch over you. I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you. I will do what I’ve promised.) When he woke up, Jacob was struck with a new understanding of God’s presence in that place. Jacob exclaimed, “Surely God was in this place and I was not aware of it! How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God!”(Genesis 29:15-17).

Even though the Lonely Planet refers to Poipet as the “armpit of Cambodia”, I remember the story of Jacob and exclaim, “Surely God is in this place!” Surely the God of Jacob is the God of Poipet. Surely God has a vision for these people. Surely God has a hope and future for the emerging generations. Surly God is active, moving with strength and justice to rescue the oppressed. There is great need but surely this also means there is great potential to see God at work. For these reasons I can say, “How awesome is this place!”

(Part 2 to come soon...)