Saturday 10 December 2011 is UN Human Rights Day when we remember the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 63 years ago.
Among the first and most fundamental of all the rights enshrined in this declaration is the right to freedom from slavery and servitude.
But today human trafficking and forced labour continue to enslave millions of children and adults all around the world, especially here in our own region – Asia.
Through our
Don’t Trade Lives campaign and projects in at-risk communities, World Vision is working to prevent this crime against human rights. Yong’s story below shows how quick and easy it can be to fall into the traffickers’ web.
All he wanted was to help his parents
In Yong’s village in Laos, there are few jobs. So he took a risk and travelled to neighbouring Thailand to look for work.
He first worked in an aluminium factory where he was paid about $90 a month. The work was too hard for him physically and when he told the owners he wanted to go back to Laos, they said he must earn his fare home.
Instead of going home, Yong was taken to Bangkok with nine others and then to Malaysia where he was forced to work on a plantation spraying pesticides. Without protective gear, Yong developed skin allergies. He begged the plantation owner to let him go home but he refused and confiscated his passport.
With no other choice, Yong and a friend escaped the plantation, but they were soon caught by police. After an eight-day investigation and nine months in jail, Yong and his friend were turned over to World Vision’s Anti-Human Trafficking Program and sent home.
Like many before him, Yong became trapped in forced labour because he was unaware of the dangers he faced when he crossed the border.
World Vision’s Anti-Trafficking Program, in partnership with different government departments in Laos, has stepped up its campaign to promote awareness about trafficking amongst children and young people.
We recently established a migrant advice centre in Savannakhet Province, a major cross-border transit area. We are also training peer educators in at-risk communities and helping to establish village-level child and youth protection committees.