Thursday, September 8, 2016
Sold by their mothers: Shining a light on the child sex trade in Cambodia
The fight to end child trafficking 07:04
The CNN Freedom Project wants to amplify the voices of the victims of modern-day slavery, highlight success stories and help unravel the tangle of criminal enterprises trading in human life.
(CNN)When
Kieu was 12, her mother asked her to take a job. But not just any job.
Kieu was first examined by a doctor, who issued her a "certificate of
virginity." She was then delivered to a hotel, where a man raped her for
two days.
In 2013, the Freedom
Project went to Cambodia with Oscar-winning actress and UNODC Goodwill
Ambassador against Human Trafficking, Mira Sorvino.
The result was "Every Day in Cambodia: A CNN Freedom Project
Documentary," which looked at child sex trafficking in the country.
In
Svay Pak, a notorious child sex trafficking hub in Phnom Penh, Sorvino
met Kieu, who was then around 14 years old. She had been rescued from
sex trafficking by Agape International Missions (AIM), a non-profit for trafficked and at risk children and teenagers.
Kieu
told of how she had been sold aged 12 by her mother to a Khmer man of
"maybe more than 50" who had three children of his own, Sorvino
explained in her Cambodia journal:
"The price set in advance for her virginity: $1,500, though she was
ultimately only given $1,000, of which she had to give $400 to the woman
who brought her to the man. Her mother used the money to pay down a
debt and for food for the fish they raise under their floating house --
their primary income source.
"Beforehand,
Kieu said, 'I did not know what the job was and whether it was good for
me. I had no idea what to expect. But now I know the job was not good
for me.' After she lost her virginity to the man, she felt 'very
heartbroken.' Her mother supposedly felt bad too, but still sent her to
work in a brothel. Kieu said she did not want to go, but had to. She
said, 'They held me like I was in prison.'"
She
was kept there for three days, raped by three to six men a day. When
she returned home, her mother sent her away for stints in two other
brothels, including one 400 kilometers away on the Thai border. When she
learned her mother was planning to sell her again, this time for a
six-month stretch, she realized she needed to flee her home.
Her
story is all too common in Svay Pak; she was just one of the girls
whose stories were told in the film. Fast forward to 2015 and "Everyday
in Cambodia" was named "outstanding documentary" by the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation, winning a Gracie Allen award.
Sorvino
says the film has raised awareness of the issue of child sex
trafficking in Svay Pak and Cambodia, helping to raise funds for AIM to
build a school that, when completed, will offer hope for more than 1,000
children in the region.
"Primary
and especially secondary education is extremely important in preventing
trafficking," she says. "It allows children to develop critical thinking
skills to be able to defend themselves from traffickers and to have the
skills that will enable them to have gainful employment to be able to
support their families in other ways than being sexually exploited."
AIM also now works with an "incorruptible" police SWAT team to raid brothels where children are working.
But
Sorvino adds that it's not just about helping the victims. "The demand
side really needs to be addressed," she says. "If people weren't trying
to buy child sex it wouldn't be being sold."
Watch the video above to find out more.
More from the CNN Freedom Project.
More from the CNN Freedom Project.
Nepal's Organ Trail: How traffickers steal kidneys
CNN
Victims of a cruel trade 01:59
The CNN Freedom Project wants to amplify the voices of the victims of modern-day slavery, highlight success stories and help unravel the tangle of criminal enterprises trading in human life.
Kathmandu, Nepal (CNN)On the streets of Kathmandu, the sight of people begging for kidney treatment has become common.
The
capital of Nepal is no different from many places in the world where
aging populations, poor diets and no health insurance systems mean
increased organ disease.
The organ
in highest demand is the kidney and black market traffickers are
meeting that demand. Up to 7,000 kidneys are obtained illegally every
year, according to a report by Global Financial Integrity.
Organ trafficking is an illegal, yet thriving trade around the globe.
That same report shows the illegal organ trade generates profits between $514 million to $1 billion a year.
In Kathmandu, we spotted a couple begging on the street for their son's kidney treatment.
Jeet Bahadur Magar and his wife spent their entire savings to treat their son's kidney disease.
Out of money and options, they are now out on the street hoping to raise enough funds to cover the medical bills.
"I pray to God that no one has to ever go through kidney failure problems," Jeet Bahadur said.
But many Nepalis do.
During
our visit, Nepal Kidney Center in Kathmandu was packed with patients
having dialysis -- a grueling four-hour process of purifying blood
through a machine.
A patient can avoid the kidney transplant by having dialysis at least three times a week.
Those
lucky enough to afford a transplant still face obstacles: the donor
must match the blood group of the recipients and Nepali law requires the
organ donor to be a family member.
Nepal's 'kidney bank'
We
traveled to Kavre, a tiny district close to Kathmandu, and what
activists and authorities say is a ground zero for the black market
organ trade in Nepal.
Here, kidney
trafficking rackets -- well organized and well funded -- dupe the poor
and uneducated into giving away a piece of themselves.
The district has developed an unfortunate reputation as the "kidney bank of Nepal."
For
more than 20 years, activists say, people from villages in Kavre have
been the primary source of kidneys for sick and desperate patients
throughout Nepal. But now the numbers are being tracked.
In
the last five years more than 300 people have been reported to be
victims of kidney traffickers in this district alone, according to Forum for Protection of People's Rights, a Kathmandu-based non-profit human rights organization. Some activists say the number is much higher.
"Social
stigma and threats from traffickers keep many victims from coming
forward," said Rajendra Ghimire, a human rights lawyer, and director of
Forum for Protection of People's Rights.
'The meat will grow back'
Nawaraj Pariyar is one of the many victims of kidney traffickers.
Like
many in Kavre, Pariyar makes a living from selling cattle milk and
doing seasonal labor jobs on nearby farms. Poor and uneducated, all he
has is two cows, a house and a tiny plot of land.
Victims tell their story. 01:01
Pariyar
used to visit Kathmandu to find construction work. He was on a site in
2000 when the foreman approached him with a dubious offer: if he let
doctors cut out a "hunk of meat" from his body, he would be given 30
lakhs -- about $30,000.
What he wasn't told: the piece of "meat" was actually his kidney.
"The foreman told me that the meat will grow back," Pariyar said.
"Then I thought, 'If the meat will regrow again, and I get about $30,000, why not?'"
"What if I die?" Pariyar remembers asking the foreman.
The foreman assured Pariyar that nothing would happen. He was given good food and clothes, and was even taken to see a movie.
Then he was escorted to a hospital in Chennai, a southern state of India.
Traffickers
assigned a fake name to Pariyar and told the hospital he was a relative
of the recipient. The traffickers, Pariyar says, had all the fake
documents ready to prove his false identity.
"At
the hospital, the doctor asked me if the recipient was my sister. I was
told by the traffickers to say yes. So I did," Pariyar said.
"I
heard them repeatedly saying 'kidney'. But I had no idea what 'kidney'
meant. I only knew Mirgaula (the Nepali term for kidney.)
"Since I didn't know the local language, I couldn't understand any conversation between the trafficker and the hospital staff."
Pariyar
was discharged and sent home with about 20,000 Nepali rupees -- less
than one percent of the agreed amount -- and a promise he would have the
rest shortly.
He never received any more money and never found the trafficker.
"After
I came back to Nepal, I had a doubt. So, I went to the doctor. That's
when I found out I am missing a kidney," Pariyar said.
Pariyar is now sick and getting worse by the day. He has a urinary problem and constant severe back pain.
But he cannot afford a trip to the doctor and is afraid he will die.
Duped into donating kidneys 01:26
"If
I die I can only hope for the government to take care of my two
children. I don't know if I will die today or tomorrow. I'm just
counting my days," Pariyar said.
Pariyar's experience is one of many similar stories we heard in Kavre.
Understanding
the economic situation in this district is the key to understanding why
so many people here easily fall prey to kidney traffickers.
There
are hardly any other economic opportunities other than substantial
farming and rearing livestock. One bad harvest or a big medical bill can
easily ruin families.
"The main
reason is poverty and lack of awareness. It is very easy for the
traffickers to brainwash the villagers. Also, the villages in Kavre are
close to the capital and are easily accessible," Ghimire said.
Indian links
Traffickers
use proxies at different stages of the process. First, someone will
approach the victim, another will create the donor's fake documents and
then another will escort the donor to the hospital.
Few
hospitals in Nepal perform kidney transplants. And even the doctors in
Nepal know most well-heeled patients prefer to go across the border to
India.
Two brothers who were duped by kidney traffickers show their scars
"They
want better services, they want Indian doctors. That's why they go to
the hospitals in India," said Dr. Rishi Kumar Kafle, Director of the
National Kidney Center.
But activists have other explanations for the demand for Indian surgeries.
"It is hard to cross-check Nepali records across the border, so traffickers prefer to take the donors to India," Ghimire said.
We
noted, before any kidney operation can be carried out in India, the
hospital requires a No Objection Certificate, a letter drafted by the
Nepali embassy in New Delhi confirming the donor as the kidney
recipient's relative.
Photographs
of the recipient and the relative, who would be the legitimate donor,
were not included in the letter until recently.
Since
Indian hospitals accept official Nepali documents, anyone could show up
at the hospital, provide papers saying they were that person and have
their kidney removed.
Activists say this is the loophole traffickers used for many years.
With the easy availability of forged documents, traffickers can beat the system.
While the Nepali government tries to tighten policies, Nepal's police officers are trying to crack down on the criminal rings.
Last year authorities arrested 10 people accused of organ trafficking in Kavre. Their case is still in court.
Sub-inspector Dipendra Chand, who led the police investigation, says stopping the underground trade is difficult.
"If we crackdown in one village, the traffickers simply move to another," Chand said.
Rajendra Ghimire says that the trafficking rings are now moving beyond Kavre.
"We have reports that this problem is expanding into other surrounding districts as well," Ghimire said.
The
attention to this problem is growing in Kavre. Kidney trafficking
stories are making headlines on the local and national newspapers.
But for victims like Pariyar and others, the media attention is too late.
Read more: http://edition.cnn.com/2015/04/03/world/cambodia-child-sex-trafficking/index.html
Read more: http://edition.cnn.com/2015/04/03/world/cambodia-child-sex-trafficking/index.html
Wednesday, September 7, 2016
Kanye West Offered $10M By Saudi Prince to Sleep With Kim Kardashian
by Naomi Lane at . Comments
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Appalled reactions aside, the Saudi Defence Minister, Prince Mohamad Bin Salman, reportedly learned of Kanye West's money problems after the rapper made them known on Twitter earlier this year.
West made headlines when he tweeted that he was $53 million in debt, then asked Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg for a $1 billion loan.
I guess the prince deemed this a good time to make an offer, but he
says he's really not into Kanye's music or fashion line - just Kim.“I have no interest whatsoever in his music or his clothing,” Prince Mohamad said during a press conference.“But his wife, she is a treasure of inestimable value. I would gladly pay $10M or even more to spend one night with her.”Let it be noted that this is the ONE TIME we shall welcome an unhinged Kanye West tirade. Seriously, 'Ye, have at it.Report this ad
On second thought, we'd love to hear it from Kim.So far, neither Kim nor Kanye have reacted to the offer publicly - or privately, as far as we know.The couple's marriage has reportedly been on the rocks for months, according to every tabloid.In fact, Kanye's tweets about his financial woes (plus other insane rants) reportedly sent a humiliated Kim over the edge.Divorce rumors quieted down for a minute, then sparked back up again after Kanye spewed out seven full minutes of word vomit about whateverrrrrr on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
Monday, September 5, 2016
'Islam is evil' Hairdresser facing jail for throwing hijab-clad woman out of salon
A HAIRDRESSER who threw a hijab-clad woman out of her salon saying she did not want “evil” in her establishment is facing a possible six month jail term.
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However the hairdresser said she was fully within her rights to not colour the hijab-clad woman’s hair – and said it was not religious but political matter.
The 47-year-old Norwegian added it would have been discriminatory against her other customers if she had not thrown Malika Bayan out of the establishment.
TV2“As most people know hijab clad woman do not get to show their hair to men. My salon is a man and women’s hair salon.
“It would have been deeply discriminatory if I had banished men from the lounge because of a woman who could not show her hair to them.”
The hairdresser was initially fined £800 by the police, but as the activist, who has spent years campaigning against the “Mohammedanism of Europe”, refused to pay she now has to appear in court.
NCI fear the totalitarian symbol of the hijab which says that I should be killed
The business owner said she would appeal all the way to the European Court of Human Rights if Norwegian court ruled against her.
Hodne said: “I don’t want this evil inside the doors where I’m in charge.
NC
YOUTUBE“I’m not afraid to lose but I won’t pay for something that is wrong. I’ll appeal to the court of human rights.
“I have dedicated my life to this. I’m not a racist. I am a political activist fighting against Mohammedanism of Europe. It’s not Muslims I’m critical of.”
TV2The 24-year-old said: “It was very offensive. It is disturbing that she treats people this way in a free country. Norway is my country.
“She says Islam is oppressive to women, but she is oppressing me.”
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