Post Conference Prayer Day 12

Find Your Voice. . .Break the Chain

MYANMAR: Tricked by Traffickers

 The international community needs to put pressure on countries of destination

Information: From a May 31, 2010 article of IRIN Humanitarian news and analysis; a project of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

From IRIN News: “…Due to limited job opportunities and low incomes, tens of thousands of Burmese seek work abroad, hoping to earn a better living, but many…fall prey to human traffickers. Although there is no reliable data on human trafficking in Myanmar, experts believe several thousands are trafficked annually. 

Human prey
According to the UN Inter-Agency Project (UNIAP) on Human Trafficking, Burmese women, children, and men are trafficked to Thailand, China, Malaysia, South Korea, and Macau for sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, and forced labour.

Myanmar is also a transit country for trafficked Bangladeshis to Malaysia and Chinese to Thailand. The Burmese government says China is the main destination, followed by Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. Women and girls are trafficked to China for forced marriage and sex work, while adults and children are sent to Thailand and Malaysia for forced labour and sexual exploitation. “The victims of trafficking blindly believe whatever they’re told by the brokers without trying to get correct information regarding the job,” Nan Tin Tin Shwe, anti-trafficking coordinator of the international NGO World Vision, told IRIN…”

The country also has internal trafficking from rural areas to the Chinese and Thai borders – known international trafficking routes.  “Children can fall prey to traffickers once they have migrated internally to these areas – or they may end up in exploitative and abusive labour in these areas,” said Lamia Rashid, director of child protection for Save the Children.   Agencies say traffickers with job offers are targeting children and young people in the Ayeyarwady Delta, which was devastated by Cyclone Nargis two years ago.   “Children and young people are keen to take these risks and migrate, and there is a high possibility for them to end up in exploitative working conditions, including sexual exploitation,” Rashid said.

Coordinated fight
The government and international agencies have been working on a national plan of action to combat human trafficking, raising awareness through the media and community meetings. In addition, the government has 23 anti-trafficking task forces to rescue survivors and stringent laws to punish the traffickers. Experts say ongoing efforts are needed to protect victims once they have returned home and to scale up prevention efforts in vulnerable communities. “Victims of trafficking come from source communities that are spread across the country, often living in villages that are remote and situated a long distance from services available from the Department of Social Welfare, the Myanmar Women’s Affairs Federation, and NGOs,” said Maciej Pieczkowski, programme manager of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Myanmar.  Just raising awareness in the country of origin is not enough,” said Ohnmar Ei Ei Chaw, national project coordinator of UNIAP. “The countries of destination, too, should take action effectively against the industries that use cheap labour and exploit the workers… The international community needs to put pressure on those countries of destination.”

Prayer Focus:
Ask God to bring unity between the governments in the countries of origin and the countries of destination of human trafficking.  Ask God to bring into light these transit countries that are lurking in the shadows as victims are transported from one country to another under the turned eyes of their governments.  Bring these governments into the spotlight so that more powerful governments concerned about humanitarian affairs will see these inhumane activities and step in to put pressure on these remiss governments.  

Ask God to give potential victims wisdom so they can detect warning signs and danger when they encounter human trafficking agents who disguise themselves as employers with good intentions.  Pray that the Lord will take away the timidity of these potential victims and replace it with boldness.  Ask God to cause them to use logic and reasoning inspite of the despair and emotion they are cloaked in from poverty.  Pray for open doors for microenterprise in these countries so that people can be empowered to economic independence.  Pray that God will stir the hearts of people with resources to begin to share their wealth with these areas of the world where people have so little.

Praise God for what He is doing through these nongovernment organizations like World Vision and Save the Children and others that are making a difference in these areas of the world in the fight against human trafficking.