Soma Norodom
The Phnom Penh Post
Stories of physical and sexual abuse, beatings and starvation by employers of Cambodian maids have recently been in the news.
Modern-day slavery is alive and well, and it is happening to our Cambodian people.
Human trafficking, the buying and selling of human beings, is a connection of evil, as traffickers perform all acts of cruelty. The International Labour Organization (ILO) puts the global number of slaves at between 10 and 30 million worldwide. The levels of slavery and people-trafficking today are greater than at any point in history.
Human trafficking can be compared to a criminal enterprise; greed, quick returns on investment and government ineffectiveness.
The United Nation’s Office on Drugs and Crime reports that human trafficking is the fastest-growing criminal enterprise in the world (US$15.5 billion), ranking third behind illegal drugs and trafficking in arms.
