Trafficking

Tracing Human Trafficking

Chonlatis Kaewprasertsom and Chatra Siamthong, Producers, Saradee Company, Thailand

Tracing Human Trafficking in the Mekong Sub-region
 

Owing to their geographical locations, Laos and Thailand enjoy close ties. They have similar languages and traditions, and the importation of Thai products to Laos has always been brisk. But unscrupulous people are now taking advantage of the convenient and easy routes between the two countries, and more and more Lao people are becoming victims of human trafficking in Thailand. View Film

 

VIETNAM: Guidelines Seek to Assist Trafficked Women and Children

HANOI - Trafficked women and children would receive more help to return to Vietnam and integrate back into society with the release of ministry guidelines on effective use of the law, a press conference was told here on June 27.

LAOS: More Illegal Migrants Volunteer to Return Home

VIENTIANE - A group of 837 illegal Lao migrants arrived in Vientiane on June 22 after spending years suffering in Thai detention camps.

Burmese Workers’ Death Shocking, But Far from New

By Marwaan Macan-Markar

BANGKOK, Apr 12 (IPS) - The death by suffocation of 54 Burmese migrant workers who were being transported in an enclosed container truck in southern Thailand was a shocking tragedy, but one that did not surprise labour rights activists.

Drugs: From Golden Past to Crystalline Future

By Rosalia Sciortino*

BANGKOK, Sep 20 - Recently, Philipp Borgs, a student of mine at the South-east Asia Studies Masters’ Programme of Chulalongkorn University, submitted a term paper on drug smuggling in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS).

Hmong Refugees Starve to Resist Deportation

Marwaan Macan-Markar

BANGKOK, Aug 19 (IPS Asia-pacific) - By going on a hunger strike, some 150 ethnic Hmong refugees in Thailand have turned the heat on the Thai government to respect their rights and treat them with compassion.

Smuggling Continues, Despite Cambodian Ban

Duong Sokha

Smuggling continues, despite cambodian ban
 

POIPET, Cambodia – At 7.30 a.m., some 50 porters were already lined up in front of the border post here, fidgeting with their carts as they waited to be allowed to cross over to Thailand.

When the Poipet international gate finally opened, the bustling trade on both sides of the border between Cambodia and Thailand began for the day.

On the Trail of Khmer Antiquities

   Photo Essay by Khem Sovannara

Some 1.4 million tourists trooped to the Angkor Wat complex in 2005 alone. While the temple complex is well-guarded now, looting continues from Cambodia's other ancient sites. Heritage Watch says demand is driven by collectors and big auction houses that do not check enough about the origins of the antiquities they buy.SIEM REAP, Cambodia — The huge statues at the entrance of the Bayon temple in the Angkor complex here exude an air of strength, in contrast to other statues in the other temples and sites that have arms hacked off, or heads missing.

Bayon was the last state temple to be built in the 13th century at Angkor Thom, on the banks of the Siem Reap river here in north-west Cambodia. The Bayon is home to 200 huge faces carved on more than 40 towers, among other images.

Drug Trade Finds A Way

   By Anucha Charoenpo

Amporn Romyen, a volunteer with the probation department of the Justice Ministry, says this bank of the Mekong River is among the places where boats unload metamphetamines from Laos.NONG KHAI, Thailand - For the most part, Ban Khok Suak in Tambon Phraphutthabaht in Sri Chiang Mai district is a typical farming village in the Thai north-east.

Most of its inhabitants grow cabbages, tomatoes and chili. But one thing sets it apart from the typical north-eastern farming village: it lies along the Mekong River. This is mostly a good thing since it allows villagers to fish and use the mighty river for transportation.

Khmer Child Beggars in Vietnam

You Porny, Sao Seyha and Lach Sophy, Youth Today Television Program and Sao Sopheak, Apsara Television

child beggar
 

The booming economy of Vietnam is evident in Ho Chi Minh City, and the Khmers who live in the nearby province of Svay Rieng, Cambodia have taken notice.

Since 1996, more and more Cambodians from the the Kompong Roug and Chan Trea district of Svay Rieng have been steadily trying their luck in Vietnam as beggars. Sadly, most of them are children.