In collaboration with Women Rights Committee, our Committee continues to look into issues concerning global human trafficking, abuse and discrimination against women. Together, we aim to stop human trafficking. We were invited to attend meetings, conferences, seminars and related activities. We also supported and organized such events in order to discuss the issues, share our views and goals as well as raise awareness on issues associated with anti human trafficking to the world.
ICA Sweatshop challenge 9 May 2015
We joined the Sweatshop Challenge at ICA on the slave labour simulation event.
Cambodia Trip 26th – 28th April 2015 A trip beyond temples. A trip full of hope.
On the 26th April, we set out to see the floating village. The sun was shining bright and the water murky. Under the heat, many people from as young as children to elderly struggled to search for (we believe) fish in the (we were told) “fresh” waters. This village, comprising of homes, shops, schools and churches, ‘floats’ on wooden stilts. We learnt that this village is home to many who are stateless and poor. Many dream of leaving this village, but know that their “corrupt” government will not allow them to do so.
Of course we did not miss out on what Cambodia is well known for – their temples – Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm (“Angelina Jolie tree”) and Bayon Angkor Thom are the most popular. The photographs of the ancient and grand structures speak for themselves. On the 27th, we started the day with the sunrise at Angkor Wat then flew from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh. At Phnom Penh, we visited all the courts – the Court of First Instance (CFI), the Court of Appeal (CA) and the Supreme Court (SC). The newly built CFI had many floors of courts and offices for the judges, prosecutors, police and lawyers. The layout inside the court was similar to our courts, except the witnesses sat side by side the defendants. Overall it seemed more lax, where the accused with handcuffs sat right outside a judge’s office and defendants marched across the car park in a big group to go up the courtroom. All the files, although stored with padlocks, are placed right in the corridor. At the CA, the defendants sat in a door-less room, where a police stood and acted as the door between them and people who passed by. The doors of the courtrooms were fully transparent. The SC looked like a temple from the outside and had offices like the CA and CFI.
After the court visits, we went to Svay Pak to learn more about Agape International Missions (AIM). Prior Svay Pak, we have heard about AIM’s work at Siem Reap, where they mainly help young adults who work at KTVs. As we turned and entered the ‘not the obvious’ entrance into Svay Pak, we saw a street of deserted stores and empty lots. It was not long after that we were greeted with smiles and hugs. Despite language barriers, I could feel their warmth through their smiles, hugs and high-fives. Upon arrival, I have actually not met anyone who did not smile back at me. Svay Pak used to be a frequently visited brothel area. Since 2004, brothels have closed down one after another, where AIM’s presence has ‘made it harder for them to do business’. One of the rehab houses used to be a brothel; although torn down, you can still see the marks of the wall dividers.
This was once an evil place, but it has now changed into something better. Brothels have indeed changed forms to KTVs and still happen underground, but hopefully AIM will be able to create a domino effect. Who would have guessed that the cheerful house-mum at the centre used to be trafficked by her own mother? Who would have guessed the story behind the high-fives of an energetic young boy – hand jobs? AIM cares for any and everyone in the community who wants help, providing them with education (also in the process of building a school), employment, discipleship, gym and medical care. Although we did not stay there for long, I felt the sense of hope and future that was engrained in everyone – the staff, the volunteers and the community (whether they were or are victims or not). Staff and volunteers at Svay Pak live everyday with death-threats and risks, yet they chose to remain there to do everything they can to mend and transform these beautiful yet battered souls.
On the 28th, we visited Hagar Cambodia (Hagar). Comparably, Hagar has a slightly longer existence in Cambodia and is more structurally established. Hagar does extensive research, notably the most recent “A System Just for Children: Voices of Child Victims and Witnesses About their Experiences in the Cambodian Criminal Justice System”. We met one of the victims who told us about her ten-years-plus story from her stepfather’s abuse until now, where she has put that in the past and working towards her goal as a teacher.
After this visit, we had a chance to talk to a member from the Ministry of Women’s Affairs about children protection laws. Currently, there is no consolidated Children’s Act and limited enforcement of existing laws. Simultaneously, the Cambodia government and the Korea International Cooperation Agency hosted the ASEAN conference and ICAPP workshop on human trafficking. These are good efforts, but as the issue is so big, there must first be awareness and education, then cooperation among the region in preventing, protecting and prosecuting.
Although the problem is not resolved entirely, with the presence and great work that AIM and Hagar is doing, there is hope that victims will be restored, community values changed and pain prevented. It always comes back to the question of “what can we do?” We need the help of every single person to fight against human trafficking. Not everyone has to be on the front-line. Each individual is unique and there is always something you can do. A simple and effective way is to share this issue with your family, friends and colleagues to raise awareness. Go make a difference and end human trafficking!
Macau Conference 17th March 2015
We attended the “Business Leadership to End Human Trafficking & Modern Day Slavery” Conference, co-organised by Vital Voices USA and Good Shepherd Centre Macau. It was a one-day summit in Macau to discuss the issue of human trafficking from a business perspective. Throughout the conference, it was emphasised that trafficking is and should be a concern to the business community, where exploitation in business practices is unacceptable and inefficient. Business leaders have great responsibilities and should adopt strategies to prevent such exploitation from happening.
Supplier management is important, where risks must be identified and monitored. Companies should not act and react only when their reputation is at stake. There are many good examples, such as Disney where they pulled out from Bangladesh because they could not do business responsibly there and M&S where their source of materials can be traced. Moreover, MGM Hotel (a sponsor of this conference) has also been working closely with Sister Juliana in fighting against this issue, while Carlson Hotel have compulsory employee awareness training, specific contract clauses with suppliers, code of conduct, business ethics and travel alerts. Human trafficking is not combated by one, two or several companies alone, all of the companies must work together.
Thailand Conference 17 - 19 November 2014
We attended the Asia-Pacific Regional Conference on “Assuring Sustainable Development Goals: Challenges in Transforming Women and Girls in Asia and the Pacific” on 17th November 2014 in Bangkok, Thailand. It was organised by the Asia-Pacific Regional Council (APRC) of the International Council of Women (ICW), the National Council of Women of Thailand (NCWT), in cooperation with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).
The conference was held in conjunction with the “Asian and the Pacific Conference on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment: Beijing+20 Review” and focused on the issues of violence against women, economic empowerment of women as well as gender and climate change. With at least 60% of the world’s women living in the Asia-Pacific region, their hopes and aspirations, concerns and needs, will be paramount in securing a development model to implement their full human rights and fundamental freedoms. At the conference, we moderated at the workshop on violence against women. This workshop brought up the issue of human trafficking in general as well as its prevalence in Asia.
Cantonese Opera Charity Performance 8th November 2014
The Cantonese opera charity performance “紅鸞喜 (Joyous Wedding)”, organised by Ms Anita Lee, was held at Kwai Tsing Theatre. The main aim of this performance was to raise funds for charitable causes supported by FIDA, including AIM, an anti-trafficking NGO in Cambodia, founded by Don Brewster as well as to promote one of our Chinese traditional culture – Cantonese Opera. FIDA Honorary Member Ms Miriam Lau Kin Yee GBS OBE JP and FIDA Past President Judge Wong Hing Chun also joined us for the night, with Ms Elaine Chiu as the MC and Ms Ming Chan and Ms Angela Wong as guest performers. Through purchase of tickets and sponsorship, this event raised gross funds of approximately HK$600,000.
Macau Trip 19th September 2014
During our Macau trip, we had fruitful discussions with Macau’s Human Trafficking Deterrent Measures Concern Committee, Good Shepherd Centre and the Social Welfare Bureau. The Committee is an interdepartmental body established in 2007 to come up with proper and comprehensive measures to safeguard human rights, safety and freedom. More specifically it takes on prevention, victim protection and combats human trafficking. This is supported by the Social Welfare Bureau, which set up sheltered centres for victims and provides social workers to provide counselling service and assistance. We visited the Good Shepherd Crisis Centre, which offers short-term care, shelter, counselling, small group activities, education, recreational services and advocacy services.
“Training on Identifying Victims” 8th and 15th October 2014
We participated in the talk organised by the Medico-Legal Society, Liberty Asia and Latham and Watkins on 8th and 15th October 2014
“Briefing on the Discrimination Law Review” on 2nd September 2014
We also attended the talk organised by The Women’s Foundation and Herbert Smith Freehills on 2nd September 2014.
LGBTI Symposium 29 August 2014
We have attended the international symposium “Working Together for an Inclusive Society: LGBTI Rights in Comparative Perspective”, co-organised by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), the European Union Office to Hong Kong and Macao, and the Gender Research Centre of the Hong Kong Institute of Asia Pacific Studies at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. The symposium discussed about LGBTI legislation, transgender people’s rights and gender recognition legislation, community concerns and social impact of such legislation as well as roles of stakeholders in securing legislation and promoting such rights.
Gateway Camp 19th July 2014
We did a screening of “Nefarious – Merchant of Souls” and presentation to teach students about human trafficking at the Gateway Camp – Law and Justice Workshop at Lingnan University.
AIM Fund-raising Dinner 17th May 2014
We attended AIM’s fund-raising dinner at the Hong Kong Country Club and learnt more about
what AIM has done and is doing to fight against human trafficking.
Facebook Page
We have maintained a Facebook page “Go Make A Difference X Human Trafficking”, updating recent news, events and information in relation to the issue of human trafficking
