 |
|||||||||
  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||||||||
       |
        |
   Three years ago, Sok Channah was rescued from a nightmare. Born in Kampong Chhnang province in Cambodia, Channah’s parents sold her for 100 Baht — about $2.50 — to a man who took her to Bangkok and forced her to work on the streets as a beggar.Channah speaks frankly about her brutal existence in the Thai Capital. "In Bangkok life was hard. Thais were rather nice, they gave me coin easily. I worked at a bridge where I begged for money, but in the evening the ‘mekiol’ took everything. I was hungry. Sometimes he beat me." At 14 years old, Channah has learned to smile again and to trust. Repatriated to Cambodia by a non-governmental agency, she has found a new family at "Krousar Thmey", a centre in Takhmao near Phnom Penh, for children who need special protection. "I can go to school, nobody forces me to work, I have friends and eat my fill," she says. Channah is also studying dance, music, and sewing. She would like to become a seamstress. She does not want to see her family or to return to their village and has decided to settle close to her new family at "Krousar Thmey". The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) provides support for "Krousar Thmey", or the New Family Centre, which cares for 39 children, including 11 girls, most of them rescued from the streets of Bangkok and Phnom Penh. Tragically, the trafficking of young girls like Channah is a growing phenomenon. While patterns vary in different parts of the world, children are trafficked for sexual exploitation; begging; child labour, including domestic work; illegal adoption; participation in armed conflicts; marriage or criminal activities like selling drugs. The causes include poverty, unemployment, an upsurge in international crime, the low status of girls, lack of education, inadequate or non-existent legislation and/or poor law enforcement. UNICEF’s strategy for addressing the problem involves raising public awareness, providing economic support for families at risk, improving access to education and advocating children’s rights. In carrying out its mission, the agency is guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the first legally binding international treaty to incorporate the full range of human rights — civil and political, as well as economic, social and cultural rights. FIND OUT MORE about how UNICEF and the ILO work to protect children all over the world. Click on the links next to Channah. ADDITIONAL STORIES ABOUT CHILDREN: Tira gets a healthy start Alhaji's incredible journey photo credit: UNICEF |
  |
 |