For the promise of $2000 a village’s hopes goes up in the air. That’s the truth of what is happening in Phnom Penh, throughout Cambodia and in other Asian nations. Each day at least two groups of 50+ young Khmer girls, aged 14-15, fly to Malaysia or another Asian country on the promise that after two years of work in a mill or family home they will be paid $2000.
$2000 is an astronomical amount on the face of it for the girl’s family and/or village although when calculated it equals just over $.18 an hour (average of 15 hour days). Girls are the primary target because they are largely considered throwaway – not as important as the boys to the family unit. (This holds true except for the Vietnamese community living in Cambodia where baby girls are celebrated when born. Primarily boat people, many of the poorest Vietnamese have discovered that they can sell or prostitute their girls as early as 5 years of age. That means money for the family that would not ordinarily be possible).
Never mind the cost to body, soul and spirit during those two years. Most of those who survive to return to their home village (only a fraction of those who were enticed to go) will weigh instead of 100 pounds just 65 to 70 pounds upon return. Along the way they find themselves prisoners of those who ‘employ’ them…slaves to do the bidding of those they answer to; not only underfed and overworked but raped, beaten, kept alone and separate from the only girls they ever knew when they began their trial to be.
If they do not get sick, or disobey, or break a bone - they are often let go for not being a good worker 23 months into their term. They then find themselves without a passport, which they never held themselves, and alone on the streets as illegal aliens. They find themselves lost with no way to get home, no way to call, really, no place to call. However, if they are incapacitated in any way during their two years ‘obligation’ they are merely dropped off somewhere or killed. After all, there are so many more of them available.
It all starts with ‘recruiters’ going into villages that are poor and without hope. They are told that they will be able to break the cycle of abject poverty if only the families and villages will give them their girls for a two-year period to work for the ‘Company’. The company is actually private individuals who prey on young women for profit. Once agreement is reached the recruiter earns $150 per girl. When away from their villages their hair is cut short (which is not a custom of the Cambodian girls), are bought new clothes so they blend in when being transported to their new ‘jobs’, and new backpacks and new shoes are also purchased so the pretense is maintained until away from Cambodia.
In the airport they look like any group of young girls on an excursion out of town. Led by punks in their 20s who hold all the passports they follow the lead of the leader, silently following to a future they can’t possibly imagine. Often after arriving in their destination, the girls are stripped and forced to work without clothes for a week, just to cement fear in their hearts.
If a girl lives through the two years and is not discharged she is returned to Cambodia but not with $2000. First they deduct the cost of the passport, then the fees to the staff that supervised them on the airline out of and back into Cambodia, their food and other [trumped up] ‘necessary’ charges. The average amount for those that make it back may reach $700. The math now shouts just over 6 cents per hour for 7 days a week labor, 15 hours a day. They are often given a chance to re-up with the explanation that the first two years was a trial period and they could earn more if the stayed. The pressure to save face and not disappoint their parents or village sometimes is all it takes.
If they runaway, eventually they will die from starvation, disease or at the hands of abusers, prejudice or predators.
So, this is the reality for over 700 young women a week: traded, misled, abused, underfed, controlled and kept in a state of fear. Even though the villages are often warned about this charade – covering the reality of human trafficking – the promise and allure of receiving $2000 clouds rational thinking. The poorest of poor have lost all hope – this scam, this promise is often all they have.
$2000 is an astronomical amount on the face of it for the girl’s family and/or village although when calculated it equals just over $.18 an hour (average of 15 hour days). Girls are the primary target because they are largely considered throwaway – not as important as the boys to the family unit. (This holds true except for the Vietnamese community living in Cambodia where baby girls are celebrated when born. Primarily boat people, many of the poorest Vietnamese have discovered that they can sell or prostitute their girls as early as 5 years of age. That means money for the family that would not ordinarily be possible).
Never mind the cost to body, soul and spirit during those two years. Most of those who survive to return to their home village (only a fraction of those who were enticed to go) will weigh instead of 100 pounds just 65 to 70 pounds upon return. Along the way they find themselves prisoners of those who ‘employ’ them…slaves to do the bidding of those they answer to; not only underfed and overworked but raped, beaten, kept alone and separate from the only girls they ever knew when they began their trial to be.
If they do not get sick, or disobey, or break a bone - they are often let go for not being a good worker 23 months into their term. They then find themselves without a passport, which they never held themselves, and alone on the streets as illegal aliens. They find themselves lost with no way to get home, no way to call, really, no place to call. However, if they are incapacitated in any way during their two years ‘obligation’ they are merely dropped off somewhere or killed. After all, there are so many more of them available.
It all starts with ‘recruiters’ going into villages that are poor and without hope. They are told that they will be able to break the cycle of abject poverty if only the families and villages will give them their girls for a two-year period to work for the ‘Company’. The company is actually private individuals who prey on young women for profit. Once agreement is reached the recruiter earns $150 per girl. When away from their villages their hair is cut short (which is not a custom of the Cambodian girls), are bought new clothes so they blend in when being transported to their new ‘jobs’, and new backpacks and new shoes are also purchased so the pretense is maintained until away from Cambodia.
In the airport they look like any group of young girls on an excursion out of town. Led by punks in their 20s who hold all the passports they follow the lead of the leader, silently following to a future they can’t possibly imagine. Often after arriving in their destination, the girls are stripped and forced to work without clothes for a week, just to cement fear in their hearts.
If a girl lives through the two years and is not discharged she is returned to Cambodia but not with $2000. First they deduct the cost of the passport, then the fees to the staff that supervised them on the airline out of and back into Cambodia, their food and other [trumped up] ‘necessary’ charges. The average amount for those that make it back may reach $700. The math now shouts just over 6 cents per hour for 7 days a week labor, 15 hours a day. They are often given a chance to re-up with the explanation that the first two years was a trial period and they could earn more if the stayed. The pressure to save face and not disappoint their parents or village sometimes is all it takes.
If they runaway, eventually they will die from starvation, disease or at the hands of abusers, prejudice or predators.
So, this is the reality for over 700 young women a week: traded, misled, abused, underfed, controlled and kept in a state of fear. Even though the villages are often warned about this charade – covering the reality of human trafficking – the promise and allure of receiving $2000 clouds rational thinking. The poorest of poor have lost all hope – this scam, this promise is often all they have.