The History Of Cambodia Exacerbating Human Trafficking
The History of Cambodia: Exacerbating Human Trafficking
Introduction
A tragic fact that plagues the world today is the practice of selling humans as chattel every day. Reduce, reuse, and recycle is not only just a motto for a greener environment, but also a concept that can be applied to selling human lives. The oppressors reduce the millions of victims that are enslaved into the human trafficking system to objects to sell. The victims are reused daily by their buyers and are recycled by society. It is a worldwide epidemic, but human trafficking is particularly horrifying in Cambodia. Situated between Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos in South-East Asia, the situation in Cambodia is often overlooked. The history of this small country tells an unstable and disconcerting story that has deeply affected how it functions today. The culture, economy, and societal norms have exacerbated and justified the act of selling people. The poor infrastructure in Cambodia’s culture, economy, and government can be seen as a great contributor to the presence of human trafficking.
The Global Epidemic In order to understand Cambodia’s issue and statistics with human trafficking, it is important to know the background of human trafficking on a global level. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime defines and discusses human trafficking in Article 3, paragraph (a):
“Trafficking in Persons as 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, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or
Introduction
A tragic fact that plagues the world today is the practice of selling humans as chattel every day. Reduce, reuse, and recycle is not only just a motto for a greener environment, but also a concept that can be applied to selling human lives. The oppressors reduce the millions of victims that are enslaved into the human trafficking system to objects to sell. The victims are reused daily by their buyers and are recycled by society. It is a worldwide epidemic, but human trafficking is particularly horrifying in Cambodia. Situated between Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos in South-East Asia, the situation in Cambodia is often overlooked. The history of this small country tells an unstable and disconcerting story that has deeply affected how it functions today. The culture, economy, and societal norms have exacerbated and justified the act of selling people. The poor infrastructure in Cambodia’s culture, economy, and government can be seen as a great contributor to the presence of human trafficking.
The Global Epidemic In order to understand Cambodia’s issue and statistics with human trafficking, it is important to know the background of human trafficking on a global level. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime defines and discusses human trafficking in Article 3, paragraph (a):
“Trafficking in Persons as 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, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or