Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Man goes undercover to combat child sex slavery



February 9, 2010
By Leif Coorlim, CNN Producer
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • NGO: As many as 30 percent of sex workers in Cambodia are children
  • U.S. official: Cambodia not making enough progress to combat trafficking
  • Aaron Cohen helps free trafficking victims around the world
  • One girl he rescued dies; family says death due to impact of sex work
Phnom Penh, Cambodia (CNN) -- Aaron Cohen first met Jonty Thern and her older sister, Channy, in 2005 while singing in a karaoke bar in Battambang, Cambodia. He has come back to see them every year since.

The California native often schedules his trips for November, the month when Cambodians celebrate the Bonn Om Teuk water festival, marking the end of the rainy season.

"The whole country comes together for boat races. Hundreds of thousands of people descend on the waterfront and it's filled with colors and flags," said Cohen. "You know my thoughts about the water festival always include Jonty, because she and her sister would get a day pass during the festival."

There was a smile on his face when he started the sentence, but by the time he had finished, it was gone.

Abolishing slavery

Cohen is a human rights advocate. He founded a charity called AbolishSlavery.org last year, but his work freeing victims of human trafficking began more than a decade ago.

At 6'5" (195 cm) with long, black hair, he stands out in almost every crowd. But Cohen often goes undercover to obtain the information needed for law enforcement officials to conduct raids and make arrests.

His trips have taken him around the world, from Sudan to Nicaragua to Israel. But, he says, in Southeast Asia the problem is especially bad.

"I would rank Cambodia right up there with India as one of the worst places in the world for sex-trafficking."

A bad problem getting worse

According to the NGO, End Child Prostitution, Abuse and Trafficking (ECPAT), as many as one-third of all sex workers in Cambodia are children. Government entities, including the U.S. State Department, are pressuring countries like Cambodia to do more to stop the modern-day slavery epidemic.

"We are making major strides in the fight against human trafficking. But it is a major problem, we know that," said Ambassador-at-Large Luis CdeBaca, who leads the State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. "You have estimates as to the number of people in servitude worldwide and it's anywhere from 12.3 million on the low end as cited by UN's International Labour Organization -- to as many as 27 million people on the high end. That's a number coming from the research done by (the aid organization) Free the Slaves. But 12.3 million is a baseline number that everybody agrees that there are at least that many people in forced labor, and that's far too many."

In its comprehensive 2009 Trafficking in Persons Report, the State Department put Cambodia on its Tier 2 Watch List. The ranking means the Cambodian government does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, but is making an effort to do so.

"[In Cambodia] the number of victims is increasing and the number of prosecutions has gone down from the previous year," says CdeBaca. "The report shows that despite the overall effort, the government has not shown enough progress in convicting and punishing human trafficking offenders or protecting trafficking victims."

Cambodia is categorized as a destination country for foreign child sex tourists, with increasing reports of Asian men traveling to Cambodia in order to have sex with underage virgin girls. The State Department report states a significant proportion of trafficking victims in Cambodia are ethnic Vietnamese women and girls who are forced into prostitution in brothels and karaoke bars.

A chance encounter

Jonty Thern's short life could be a case study for that assessment. Jonty's family immigrated to Cambodia from Vietnam shortly after the Vietnam War.

Faced with gripping poverty and a debt, Jonty's mother sold her daughter, who was 10-years-old at the time, to a person on Cambodia's border with Thailand.

That person told her mother Jonty would be selling flowers and candy to customers in bars and nightclubs. It was only later, the mother says, that she learned while there, Jonty would be repeatedly raped and beaten.

After three years of physical and sexual abuse, Jonty was released by her captors and allowed to return home to Battambang. Soon after, she and her sister willingly went to work at a karaoke bar to help the family pay off their debt, according to her parents.

The scenario in which Cohen describes meeting Jonty Thern, then 13-years-old, is as appalling as it is prevalent.

"I was working as an undercover sex vice," Cohen said. "I was posing as a sex tourist, going from karaoke bar to karaoke bar, massage parlor to massage parlor, looking for underage workers, to see if I could get them on camera soliciting me for sex."

As evidenced in the State Department report, it is a poorly-kept secret in Cambodia that many of these establishments are also operating brothels.

"I went to a number of karaokes and about my second or third karaoke of the night and I immediately notice this one really young looking girl. I requested Jonty and her sister and a group of other girls," Cohen said.

"In these bars, the girls are told to drink as much as they can, because they'll charge you for the beers. So this girl comes in and I noticed, man, she downed that beer in like 2 seconds. She seemed to be having a good time, she didn't seem unhappy or anything. But here she is nonetheless, a 13-year-old girl in a brothel drinking 10 beers in the time that I drank two," he added.

He said he invited several friends who work at a nearby victims' shelter to come join him. They posed as partiers as well, until Cohen felt comfortable to ask the manager an important question.

"After the girls began to dance and sing, I asked the mamasan what more can I get besides karaoke and so then she says 'well, for sex it's $50.'"

Cohen used the solicitation video from that night, recorded on a cell phone camera, to provide police with the information they needed to raid the karaoke brothel.

More than a dozen girls, including Jonty and her sister, Channy, were freed that night and sent to live in a victim's shelter, where they received counseling, care and an education.

Final Respects

Cohen's most recent trip to see Jonty and Channy in Cambodia was not a happy reunion. It was a trip planned so that he could say goodbye to one of them.

Three days before arriving in Phnom Penh for the water festival, Cohen and Channy, along with Channy's mother, spent the morning in an 8th century pagoda in Siem Reap, watching as monks conducted an ancient funeral ceremony. They were transferring Jonty Thern's ashes into a marble urn.

Jonty died of liver failure at age 17. Her family claims it was the result of years of alcohol and drug abuse she was subjected to while working first in the nightclubs as a 10-year-old, and then later in the karaoke bars.

"The ashes of my goddaughter are the symbol of why we have to do this. This doesn't have to happen. These girls do not have to be enslaved," Cohen said.

"We tried our best with Jonty and we failed because we lost her. But if there's meaning in her death, the meaning is that there is more work to be done. When I'm in that karaoke now, or when I'm in that massage parlor, she's my little angel. She's watching over me and she's protecting me," he added.

That evening, after watching the festival's fireworks display and saying goodnight to Channy, Cohen strapped an undercover watch camera to his wrist, and went to a karaoke bar.

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

This people is not Khmer they are YOUN who open such business in Cambodia. Listen to them talking... They are YOUN!

Thanks to Ah Kwak Kbot Cheat Hun Xen to allow such disgraceful business in our country.

Anonymous said...

CORRUPTION IS NORM WITHIN AH KWAK KBOT CHEAT HUN XEN RULING. AH KWAK KBOT CHEAT IS CORRUPTED HIMSLEF. THIS IS WHY CAMBODIA IS WHAT IT IS TODAY.

Anonymous said...

How can you sell your child for $33!!! This is crazy.........

Anonymous said...

According to IRI Cambodia is heading to the right direction. So don't worry just ride a long the government will take you there. Hang on tight...

Anonymous said...

It takes Hun Sen only two hours to stop everything in Phnom Penh including kill his opponent. So don't worry Hun Sen will use his power to clean up everything in the future...

Anonymous said...

2:44pm, You don't live in Cambodia so it's easy for you to say! Riding along with the Hun Xen's government will take Cambodia to hell, Youn slaves!

2:47pm, Nonsense! Yea Hun Xen only strong to threathen unarm victims like Mr. Sam Rainsy, SRP and millions other Khmer citizens.

Anonymous said...

Not all Vietnamese people in Cambodia are bad to our people. Of course there are some who try to apply Uncle Ho to annex our country. Some Yuon are people who come to find an opprotunity for living not invasion

Anonymous said...

This idiotd hookers is Youn people they're good in business in saling pussy. Even in Orange County Ca alots of Youn hooker too. Over here they charge you for $120 for one shoot.

Anonymous said...

YOUN send in there disposable citizens and are ruining the Khmer society slowly and surely.

Anonymous said...

Dudes, whether they are youn or khmer they are all human being and as such they deserve better

Anonymous said...

sorry to CNN it is not the khmer is the Vietnamese, pls try make it clear on Cambodia

Anonymous said...

70% of prostitutes are Vietnameses in Cambodia.
CPP members must send back your master children to your Vietnam homeland because they are too dirty to be in Cambodia.

Anonymous said...

More she drinks beer, more you pay, more owner earns money and more she earns money.

Anonymous said...

In Cambodia, Vietnamese women always sell her daugthers to the brothel..

Anonymous said...

To CNN:

Since, you are not Cambodian, you don't know Cambodian. If you listen to the background sound 1000% Yuon whore.

KhmerKingdom said...

Yes, I agree these people are Viet and you can tell by their accent. They are Vietnamese making our Srok Khmer look bad. Remember that there are millions of Viets all over Cambodia and most of these businesses are Youn. The Viets are the scums of the earth. They should be electrocuted and sent back to Vietnam where they belong. Khmer people do not do these kinds of things only Viets. May Buddha help us Khmer and destroy the Viet race, oh and also the Thai race..ahhahahah!!

Anonymous said...

YUONs are disgracing our nation today.

Anonymous said...

This people is not Khmer they are YOUN who open such business in Cambodia. Listen to them talking... They are YOUN!

Hehehe! Listen to the dude!

Youn fucked your mom and these kids are Khmer-Youn hookers!

Deal with it!

Btw, are you sure that all kid prositutes in Cambodia are Youn, not Cambodian?

C'mon, dude, don't be so naive!

Anonymous said...

All the background speaking are mostly in Vietnamese.

Anonymous said...

My mother always told me that you are loved and I will not give you away for any amount of money. She said not even someone will give her a gold the size of a coconut. As a child, I believe her with all my heart. Today, she is gone, but my mother's loving memory will always remain. I'll love and treasure her words forever. I also have learned that it's the best and greatest gift that any Mom can give to a child and my mother gave it to me. Thank you Mom and that's all I need. I love you.


Writting in memory of all the loving mothers.

A Cambodian Daughter

Anonymous said...

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=srey+tomnerng&search_type=&aq=f

This link is the video scene from the police interogation room with full of people trying interogting the girl (appeared to have known few powerfull people). The girl kept refusing to give up her gun in her pocket, and the cops (Not sure who are the cops) kept begging her for the gun. It's so funny to see these cops are like monkeys, so ignorant and incompetent.
If the foreigners want to save the poor girls who have no other ways to earn money to support her family, they need to get rid of these cops first, then there will be no brothels or places where they sell underage sex girls.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=srey+tomnerng&search_type=&aq=f

Anonymous said...

fuck u cohen, r u trying to make your report sensational to cnn, that how it is, you'r just a child fucker too. first thing so wrong about your report is if you campare children in cambodia to usa, in everage girls in usa start having sex at 12-13 year old and that just for fun, but here in cambodia children making money to support the family. those children have accepted to do so for money, becuz no choice for living. second those prostitutes are viet not khmer, and it's illegal viet business in cambodia, our government is under viet's rule. and they can't do nothing to track down business. on the picture, the girl is lying to u she's underage, becuz she know alot clients prefer youngest. u can't know the truth becuz asian girls are diferent than white girl, the 25 y/o asian girls looks 15 y/o. so fuck u you'r fuck n disgrace not the girls on your repport, but khmer country for someone else are doing in cambodia for sex slave, becuz our weak government.

Anonymous said...

they 'r not allowed to take any picture becuz they want to protect their business, it's not becuz they gonna to shoot u. what's a lie, u better to stay a lille longer to better know how 's life in cambodia, before u can report everyhing wrong like this. asshole,...

Anonymous said...

Aaron Cohen is nothing but a scumbag who wants to profit from someone else s misery. Why not look in your own back yard the USA. I will gladly donate $$$$ to have this scumbag's cock picked in prohok, and even more to hold the knife myself.

Anonymous said...

And to KI- media Why do you support the such bad reporting about your country. May be you are also youn

Anonymous said...

Don't want it on the news, don't do it and don't let it happens. By the way where is the law of parents who govern minor children?

Aaron Cohen is a good man who truely want to protect children from sex trade. You stupid ass 8:42 & 8:46 need to see him in the right way. Glad it's on CNN. The more the better, because it gives Cambodia a chance to clean up her act. Want to have sex with a minor go to Vietnam or Thailand.

Anonymous said...

Tatian and Aaron,

You two are doing such as a superb job helping the innocents across the globe especially in Cambodia.

Keep up your great work, and god bless both of you, and be safe!