USAID and MTV Jointly Stage Cambodian Drive To End Human Trafficking

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

The USAID-supported MTV EXIT (End Exploitation and Trafficking) campaign staged a Cambodia-wide drive to raise awareness about human trafficking and then moved on to Bangkok, the capital of Thailand.

Cambodian, U.S. and British musicians urged audiences to be vigilant when searching for work. The artists performed at rock concerts in Cambodia’s capital of Phnom Penh, the beach town of Sihanoukville, Cambodia’s third-largest city of Kampong Cham, and at 12th-century temple of Angkor Wat. Thai, Burmese and U.S. rockers playing in Bangkok also warned crowds about this modern-day form of slavery.

The MTV EXIT campaign is on air, online and on the ground. The terrestrial component – free concerts and cultural events involving national and international artists, as well as local non-governmental organizations – was launched in Laos, ramped up in Cambodia and Thailand, and in 2009 will include nationwide campaigns in Nepal, Indonesia and the Philippines.

The event at Angkor Wat was the first rock concert ever staged at the UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was limited to 1,500 ticket holders to protect the temple, which served as the backdrop for the event.

Five days later, more than 25,000 people packed Olympic Stadium Phnom Penh to hear The Click Five and several of Cambodia’s top bands, including the country’s most popular singer, Preap Sovath, who narrates the Cambodian version of “Traffic: An MTV Special.” The film, which was funded by USAID, is a harrowing documentary about trafficking in Asia. It has been translated into 13 languages and has reached millions of people through broadcasts across much of the continent.

“We’re here to call attention to human trafficking, a form of slavery that is as big a problem today as perhaps anytime in history,” Placebo’s lead singer Brian Molko told the audience at Angkor Wat. He was joined by U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission Piper A.W. Campbell who warned of job offers that seemed too good to be true and urged people to report suspected traffickers. Scenes from “Traffic” were projected against a glimmering fountain of water behind the stage with three of Angkor Wat’s minarets illuminated against the moonlit sky.

USAID/Cambodia Mission Director Erin Soto joined performers in Phnom Penh to warn about the dangers of human trafficking. That concert coincided with Cambodia’s National Day to Combat Human Trafficking. NGOs distributed pamphlets and posters about human trafficking and other social issues. Volunteers handed out wallet-sized cards in Khmer with anti-trafficking hotline numbers for people to call.

Two nights later, MTV staged another on-the-ground event in downtown Bangkok between some of the city’s biggest malls and its main open-air Skytrain station, where thousands of commuters switch trains each hour.

U.S. Ambassador to Thailand Eric G. John joined The Click Five and Thai and Burmese artists, each speaking against human trafficking. Volunteers distributed cards with anti-trafficking information in Thai and Burmese.

“We are using music to spread the word about the dangers of human trafficking in Thailand and throughout Asia,” Ambassador John told the crowd. “Music delivers the message. And the message is clear: stop exploitation and human trafficking now.”

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