Damian Walshe-Howling is travelling to Cambodia to see to see firsthand the journey trafficked and exploited children would normally take and to witness the real difference World Vision’s Child Rescue projects are making. In the coming weeks, we'll be posting Damian's blog here so you can stay updated and share this journey with him.
Day 4 and 5
The more time I spend in Cambodia the more I feel an affinity with these beautiful smiling people. The humility, generosity and humour they share with us daily is an invitation to be present and available. Today marked one of the most moving experiences we have encountered since arriving in Cambodia. We arrived at Hagar, a shelter, funded in part by World Vision, for young girls who are survivors of sexual trafficking and exploitation. Thirty or so kids greeted us with the timid smiles and giggles of excitement that you would expect in any primary school setting when visitors arrive. The girls proudly pinned handmade paper flowers onto our shirts as a welcome and symbol of their hospitality. I was overwhelmed by the generosity and gentility of this gesture, especially when considering the private trauma each of these kids has endured. What followed was a series of one on one meetings and interviews with the various carers, counsellors and facilitators of the extensive and comprehensive rehabilitation process needed at Hagar to take care of these children. What an incredible melting pot of expertise, selflessness and love.
It is almost impossible to express in words the power of our key interview today.
We were told by staff that a young girl aged thirteen was interested in speaking to us about her experience, and then briefed us on some of the trauma she had lived through since she was very young. We heard how she was sold into sexual servitude as a young child and had been rescued from a brothel and brought to Hagar a couple of years ago. They told us how she was suicidal and regularly aggressive when she first arrived. Through many hours of constant care, love and psychological counselling her gentle trusting nature had begun to arise and was now extending to a growing wisdom and nurturing of other girls in the shelter, including new arrivals in major distress and some much older than her.
Finally Lee* came into the room bringing with her a vibrancy and deep awareness, a seemingly gentle disposition and enthusiasm to share her story. We took great care to set the camera up as a shot from behind her shoulder to keep her identity secret. Once we started the interview she spoke candidly about her past and shared many insights with us about the long road she is travelling to an ongoing rehabilitation. She talked passionately about wanting to take care of the other girls and her hopes for the future. When I finally asked her if she had a message to share she became quiet for a few moments then extremely emotional and finally said, “Tell the people, ‘Please don’t hurt the kids’…” These words… so simple… yet so honest, vital and profoundly true…These words that left the room full of adults speechless and in tears… These words that can only be spoken with such power by child who has walked a path unfathomable to the majority of us… and yet a path that many children in Lee’s situation walk everyday… I was deeply humbled by this courageous thirteen year old girl and found myself unable to say anything in that moment that seemed even vaguely appropriate…
Herein lies a seeming paradox. What I am coming to see, through the work being done in the field by truly selfless individuals, is that in wanting tangible answers and solutions to these powerfully confronting issues I can be blind to the simplicity of compassion, love and grace which are the essential requirements of every one of us. And that work is not only being done in the field but is being facilitated and supported by the generosity of many who give in whatever way they can…
Damian…
*Name has been changed
Day 2 and 3
Talk about an in depth introduction to the issue of child trafficking. The last two days have presented perhaps one of the most comprehensive immersions into the heart of the issue that I could have imagined. We have also begun to realise some fundamental challenges in the telling of the story. Our first meeting yesterday took us to the home of an organisation called International Justice Mission (IJM) who are trained investigators working with Cambodian police, busting young children (particularly girls) out of bonded sexual exploitation in illegal underground brothels. It is confronting to imagine the world these children inhabit and I simply can’t wrap my head around the demand for child sex. I am however particularly interested in how to affect positive change in their lives. It is incredible to see that people, such as these investigators, literally risk their lives to rescue these kids from harm.
One chief investigator shared harrowing stories with us about rooms full of young girls, some as young as six, chained to each other with very little food and no access to toilets or other facilities. Not to mention the constant abuse they endure.
Next we traced the steps these survivors take. After the raids the investigators take the girls to temporary shelters, such as World Hope, where emergency assessment and immediate trauma counselling and care is initiated.
This is only the very beginning of the journey for these deeply disturbed children and the level and continuity of care throughout their lives is essential for healing to take place. Many then go on to live in longer term shelters offered by amazing organisations, such as Hagar and World Vision’s Trauma Recovery Project, who care for and educate these girls on an ongoing basis until they are ready, after many years, to be placed in safe foster homes.
Hagar is partly funded by Child Rescue and provides expert psychological care and round the clock counsellors. Break downs and suicide attempts are common but through ground breaking counselling techniques, many of these kids are beginning to come to terms with their trauma and even glimpse a brighter future.
What I am learning is that these locally based organisations rely on the support of each other and depend on desperately needed funds to continue the quality and breadth of care they provide. I feel such a deep respect for the devotion being shared and am astonished to witness such love in action. It is obvious that it is not possible for any one organisation to provide the complete care for a rescued child to survive.
What more can I say today?
Damian…
Day One
Well, after an eight hour flight, which I was fortunate enough to sleep through, we hurtled along the manically busy streets of Phnom Penh on the King’s birthday weekend. The familiar smells, sights and sounds of Asia exciting every nerve ending in my being. After 20 odd years of personal travel through Sth East Asia it was Cambodia that left me with a rare enchantment and need to return. I never imagined I would be returning as a World Vision ambassador.
The all knowing mischievous smiles of these beautiful people, who have endured unimaginable trauma and the loss of their identity under the Khmer Rouge Regime of Pol Pot.
We arrive at our hotel and are surrounded by an enthusiastic group of teenagers from all over the Mekong Delta region which stretches across Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand. Many of them know people who have suffered at the hands of exploitative labour practices. They are completing their last day of an education and youth advocacy forum on Child Trafficking run by World Vision, using drama, art, music and games as the means for learning and expression. They are hardly able to contain their excitement about bringing awareness to the issue and are more than willing to share their own stories. I am immediately hit by the enormity of the journey we are about to undertake and can’t quite comprehend what, where and how we are going to tackle this… the ‘why’ though is clear in my heart…
In the afternoon we go to the local markets with the students who want to buy gifts to take back to their families. These markets sell all sorts of goods from household items to fakes of every major fashion brand. Many of the goods have been produced in sweatshops, yet deciphering which ones is nearly impossible because there is no regulation of trade. This form of exploitation leading to profit is common all over the world but the lack of regulation is more apparent here and many of us are unaware that this is a significant piece in the puzzle of human trafficking.
In the afternoon we find out we have the unique opportunity to meet with one of the world’s leading prosecutors in the area of human trafficking, from the USA, Albert Moskowitz. We can hardly contain ourselves when he agrees to an impromptu interview on camera 15 minutes before he has to catch a plane. To hear this man speak on all the legal implications and complexities of the issue and then explain them in simple terms was extremely enlightening.
If that isn’t enough on our first day, we go on a tour of Phnom Penh’s seedier areas at night to catch our first glimpse of the rampant undercurrent of sexual exploitation that exists behind closed doors. It is confronting to think what we may encounter over the next few days… I feel extremely humbled already by the immensity of this issue.
Cheers, Damian…