-Financial crisis puts country at high risk of unrest: EIU - Human Trafficking On the Rise in Cambodia
-Another marker for Cambodian border *Financial crisis puts country at high risk of unrest: EIU* Written by Michael Fox Monday, 23 March 2009 A new report by the Economist Group says Cambodia is in among top five countries most at risk of instability from the worsening economic downturn CAMBODIA is among the countries most at risk of suffering serious social unrest as the financial crisis threatens stability across the globe, a report has warned. The report by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) states that the economic upheaval and a "global pandemic of unrest" is set to disrupt economies and topple governments over the next two years. The risk is classified as high or very high in 95 countries. Cambodia was ranked fourth in terms of the threat posed, equal with Sudan and ahead of only Zimbabwe, Chad and the Democratic Republic of Congo. It was ranked worse than war-torn Iraq and Afghanistan. According to the report titled "Manning the Barricades", as people lose confidence in the ability of governments to restore stability, protests will become increasingly likely. "A spate of incidents [across the globe] in recent months shows that the global economic downturn is already having political repercussions. This is being seen as a harbinger of worse to come." The governments of Latvia and Iceland have already succumbed to the political fallout from the crisis. The report's Political Instability Index was formulated using two indices: Underlying Vulnerability which took into account inequality, state strength and public trust in political institutions, while Economic Distress included levels of development, growth and unemployment. Cambodia scored 7.9 out of 10 in Underlying Vulnerability and eight in Economic Distress, up from a total risk of six last year. However, Cambodian economist Kang Chandararot said he was not as pessimistic about Cambodia's future as the EIU was, but acknowledged there would be an impact. "They may engage in something illegal [due to] the increase in insecurity in our country, but not in the form of revolution or mass strikes.... I don't think that will happen," he said. Kang Chandararot said the EIU did not know enough about the Cambodian economy. Unemployed people could return to the land if they are unable to find jobs in the main urban centres. "Agriculture is the last resort of unemployed people ... we still have a lot of land for subsistence and agriculture," he said. Public investment from foreign aid would help weather the crisis, provided the aid continued. “The ... economic downturn is already having political reperussions.” Kang Chandararot said observations of the Cambodian Institute for Development Study over the last four years showed that a dollar in public investment would lead to two dollars in private investment, contributing to continued growth. He could not put a figure on the number of Cambodian's who might lose their jobs as a result of the crisis. However, the report said the figure could be as high as 50 million globally. The Cambodian garment industry has already shed tens of thousands of jobs in the past six months. In spite of Kang Chandararot's confidence, the report said the social impact of the crisis was too serious to ignore. "[T]he threat of unrest is grave and the risk of complacency far outweighs any risk of exaggerating the dangers," it said. http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2009032324934/Business/Financial-crisis-puts-country-at-high-risk-of-unrest-EIU.html *Human Trafficking On the Rise in Cambodia * By Rory Byrne Pnom Phen 23 March 2009 Every year in Cambodia, hundreds of girls are trafficked and sold into brothels where they are forced to work as sex slaves. Although precise figures are unavailable, analysts say that the rate of trafficking is soaring. Many of the victims endure years of torture and abuse in brothels, resulting in lasting physical and psychological damage. Despite recent efforts by the Cambodian authorities to curb the country's huge illicit sex industry, analysts say it is continuing to thrive. Although many brothels have closed their front doors, their back doors remains wide open. Other brothels are using hairdressers or beauty shops to front their illicit trade. Although some sex workers do the job to escape poverty, many of those working in brothels are victims of human trafficking who are held against their will and forced to work as sex slaves. Founded by a former sex slave, The Somaly Mam Foundation was set up in 1996 to rescue and rehabilitate victims of human trafficking. Since then, the group has rescued more than 5,000 girls from brothels throughout Cambodia and is now caring for more than 250 former sex workers, more than half of whom were under 18 years of age. Somaly Mam says that the trafficking problem is getting worse every year. She blames organized crime and corrupt officials for running the industry. She says that criminal networks have set up a structured people-trafficking system. She says agents go from village to village, looking for girls whom they lure away with promises of marriage or a good job. She says that, because many of the victims are poorly educated, they fall for the trick and when they come to the city they get locked in a brothel. *Trafficking victims are enslaved, tortured* Trafficking victims in Cambodia typically endure years of torture and abuse. Vann Sina was lured from her village with an invitation to a Christmas party when she was just 13 years old. When she arrived in Phnom Penh she was locked in an underground cellar. She says she was beaten a lot and had to serve many clients. She says that if she refused she was tortured with electric shocks or forced to eat hot chilies. She says that if she did not receive 15 or more clients every day she was starved and beaten. Life in a brothel is a living hell, says Somaly Mam, as she recalls her years of abuse: She says that, if you have never lived in a brothel, you cannot understand how bad it is. She says she had to receive more than ten clients a day and that most of them were drunk, smelled bad and were very violent. She says that the terror she endured was so bad it is indescribable. Years spent locked in a brothel takes a huge mental and physical toll on the victims. As well as the scourge of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, many are psychologically damaged by their experiences Most of the girls who arrive at the Somaly Mam Foundation require years of therapy, says chief doctor Ma Ly. She says that most of the girls who come to the center have severe mental problems. She says they get angry easily, they shout a lot and many of them just want to die. She says she tries to encourage them to love themselves again, but that can take years of therapy. The Somaly Mam Center creates a loving environment where former victims can make new friends and attempt to recapture their lost childhoods. Somaly Mam says the center tries to teach them to love themselves again, but that they must never forget what happened to them. She says, just because you have lived in a terrible situation, it does not mean that you are a bad person. She says that she has survived by reshaping her past and turning it into something positive. *Mental treatment may take years* As well as treating victim's mental and physical injuries, the Somaly Mam Foundation provides further education and job training to help the girls find employment after they leave the center. But the main aim is to teach the girls that their lives have meaning and that they can have a bright future. A woman says that, when she was in the brothel, she never thought she could escape from that hell. She says she thought her pain was for a lifetime but that today she feels much better. Analysts say there are more victims of human trafficking today than at the height of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Without a greater effort to stamp it out, thousands other girls in Cambodia and around the world will fall victim to this modern-yet-ancient form of slavery. http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-03-23-voa20.cfm *Another marker for Cambodian border* (21-03-2009) AN GIANG — Construction of a border marker at the Vinh Xuong international border gate between Tan Chau District of Viet Nam’s southern An Giang Province and Cambodia’s Kandal Province began yesterday. The 241st border marker will be one of two grand border structures among the total 46 running along the 100km frontier between Viet Nam’s An Giang Province and Cambodia’s Takeo and Kandal provinces. The demarcation and construction of the border markers that the two countries have agreed upon will contribute significantly to the complete physical establishment of a borderline that marks the peaceful, friendly relations the two countries have shared. The work, jointly carried out by border marker building team 4 of Cambodia and team 9 of Viet Nam, is expected to support the social and economic development of both countries, particularly in the three border provinces. — VNS http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=07ECO210309 --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ The articles and commentaries on this forum reflect only the personal opinion(s) of the poster(s) and not that of any organization or group with which the moderator(s) is (are) affiliated. A forwarded message or event may be posted for informational/educational purposes. Unless specifically stated, no endorsement of the posted opinions/events should be implied. You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Angkorian Society" - <http://groups.google.com.au/group/angkoriansociety> -<www.geocities.com/angkorian_society> Keep away from bad deeds, Do good, and Purify the Mind ...This is the teaching of the Buddha..... To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] To subscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
