{"id":3958,"date":"2017-07-10T15:45:25","date_gmt":"2017-07-10T15:45:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gophilanthropic.org\/?p=3958"},"modified":"2019-05-03T20:56:06","modified_gmt":"2019-05-03T20:56:06","slug":"gophil-expands-trafficking-work-vietnam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gophilanthropic.org\/gophil-expands-trafficking-work-vietnam\/","title":{"rendered":"GoPhil Expands Trafficking Work to Vietnam"},"content":{"rendered":"
by Gemma Marshall – GoPhilanthropic Regional Development Manager SE Asia<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n A further root cause of trafficking specific to Vietnam and surrounding countries relates to proximity and policy. Northern Vietnam borders China, who had a one child policy between 1979 and 2015. As a result, many Chinese families valued boys over girls. Boys were preferred for their potential to work and earn and ancestor worship<\/i> \u2013 a key Chinese ritual paying reverence to family members who have passed over, but something only male family members are allowed to do.\u00a0<\/span>As only one child per family was permitted and boys were the preference, there has been a high incidence of girls being aborted, abandoned or murdered at birth, despite laws set in place to prevent this.<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n According to estimations from sources such as the UN Population report around 30 \u2013 60 million girls are considered \u2018missing\u2019 from this time period. Roll to 2017 and the young men from this generation are now looking to get married yet are finding that there are not enough women of marriageable age. In neighboring Vietnam there are plenty young women and traffickers who are happy to \u2018find\u2019 and \u2018import\u2019 brides. <\/span><\/p>\n The more time I spent researching Vietnam and meeting people and organizations working on the issue, there the more I learned the depth of Vietnam as a source country of trafficked persons. Young women are trafficked to China, Cambodia, Thailand, Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, Macau the Middle East and several African Countries (driven by the construction market) for sexual exploitation and domestic labour. Men are trafficked to these regions also, but mainly for forced labour in construction, factories and fishing boats. Children (or young adults) are often trafficked to the UK, US and Australia for sexual exploitation, forced labour in places such as nail bars, and to be used as pawns in criminal operations (for example in cannabis factories or for ATM thefts). In 2015 it was estimated that 3000 children were trafficked from Vietnam into forced labour in the UK. Many of the trafficked adults have bought passage to these countries, and spend time in transit or destination countries working to pay off their debt in bonded labour schemes.<\/span><\/p>\n Before partnering or funding any organizations, GoPhil spends a great deal of time researching. Early in the year I spent an interesting and intense period of time delving into the arena in attempts to understand who is doing what, where and why. I found that the number of NGOs in Vietnam was much smaller than in Cambodia, as it is much more difficult to register an NGO.\u00a0 <\/span>One must have a government partner and be subject to scrutiny and intense monitoring and risk having operations revoked at any time. I was delighted however, to find a solid handful of organizations working on the full spectrum of ways to tackle trafficking. This includes education and prevention, rescue, rehabilitation, future options \/ training and working with the government, law enforcers and border guards to recognize trafficking situations, tackle traffickers and treat victims with respect.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n After online research and Skype meetings I ventured to Ha Noi and Sa Pa to learn more about these organizations, explore synergy with GoPhil and see how we could learn from their experience, and support their ongoing efforts. I met with five NGOs in Ha Noi, who were all interesting and helpful and remain a part of our network. Three of these organizations fit GoPhil\u2019s criteria and we are delighted to have signed official partnerships with them for future collaboration. <\/span><\/p>\n One of our recent partnerships is with <\/span>Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation\u00a0<\/a><\/strong>\u2014 one of the most well known organizations in Vietnam, with a\u00a0great reputation for their work with street children and rescuing victims of\u00a0trafficking.\u00a0 <\/span>To date they have rescued 646 children from trafficking. You can explore some of their stories here:\u00a0https:\/\/www.bluedragon.org\/meet-the-kids\/watch-kids-stories\/<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Blue\u00a0Dragon are working with young people by rescuing them\u00a0from trafficked situations, giving them safe space to live and learn, education\u00a0and skills support, rehabilitation,\u00a0advocacy to get justice, and work with\u00a0policy makers and enforcers to create a safer country for those at risk. In\u00a0addition, they run a daily drop in center for street children\u00a0to come together\u00a0in a safe space for support and their basic needs. <\/span>We were delighted to offer a pilot grant to Blue Dragon for them to organize a three day life skills workshop in July 2017 to teach vital skills otherwise not covered by education curriculum. These skills focussed on in the workshop include: Financial Literacy, Sexual Health and Career Preparation. We look forward to updating you with the success of their workshop and pilot grant later in the year.<\/span><\/p>\nGoPhil\u2019s work exploring new organizations in Cambodia (see previous blogpost<\/a><\/span>) led me to Vietnam where we discovered that trafficking was, sadly, even more prevalent. Once again I saw that education is one of the main root causes, for two reasons. Firstly, a lack of education creates poverty, a lack of options and a desperation to bring in income, which ultimately leaves people vulnerable. Secondly, those who are uneducated may be more na\u00efve to the tricks and promises of those who prey on vulnerable people.<\/span><\/h3>\n
\nWhere are Vietnamese people trafficked to?<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n
Research, learning and discovery<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n
GoPhil offers its first grant to Blue Dragon<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n