A report named “The Vulnerability Report: Human Trafficking in the Greater Mekong Sub-region”, a first of its kind regional study was launched by World Vision with the support by a leading UK research university through interview of nearly 10,000 children, young people and adults from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam in response to the International Migration Day on December 18th. The report said that young people who knew how to protect themselves were more likely to have a job with good working conditions and earn enough money to send home. The protective behaviors mentioned include having their passports or national identity cards with them when they work far from home, not giving original identity documents to employer, leaving copies of identity documents at home, contacting their family regularly. Among 2,000 Vietnamese children, young people and adults interviewed, over 60% of them had traveled to another town or country for work and they were able to find a job and send money home. “This is the first time we can confirm that with empirical evidence, raising awareness is not enough for human trafficking prevention work. Young people will continue to migrate. It’s time human trafficking prevention agencies shift the focus of prevention work to safe migration,” said Mr. John Whan Yoon, World Vision’s End Trafficking in Persons Regional Program Manager. World Vision has carried out activities to help young people and children in Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, China and Myanmar how to migrate safely and protect themselves from the risks of exploitation and from being trafficked through clubs. In Vietnam alone, since 2011, World Vision has set up a series of Smart Navigator Youth Clubs in Yen Bai, Quang Tri and Quang Nam provinces. Participants have been provided with the information about safe migration such as never traveling alone, having trustworthy contacts at destination, bringing identity documents with them, hotline phone numbers and addresses they can contact when in need. “In 2014, over 11,000 turns of children and adults in Vietnam have known how to migrate safely for work through World Vision’s relevant activities”, said Ms. Vu Thi Du, World Vision’s Manager of the End Trafficking in Persons (ETIP) Program in Vietnam. “Being equipped with protective behaviours and guided how to practice them are very important for the people who decide to migrate for work, especially when Vietnam is considered as a labor-exporting market”, added Ms. Du. About 70,000 Vietnamese workers leave the country for jobs overseas each year and approximately 400,000 Vietnamese labourers are now present in over 40 countries and territories worldwide, according to the statistics of the Ministry of Labor, War-Invalids and Social Affairs. “We are not advocating for young people to move beyond their borders for work. However, we are seeking to empower youth with protective behaviors that could keep them safe in case they decide to work in another country,” Mr. Whan Yoon said. (Dangcongsan.vn Dec 19)
