CHILDREN ON TRAFFICKING

Children's Consultation Workshop on Child Trafficking

An activity Spearheaded by the Child Laborers and Advocates for Social Participation
"A Documentation"
29-30 September 2001
Calero Hall, Island Cove Hotel & Resort, Binakayan. Kawit, Cavite

• Saturday, 29 September, 2001
• Saturday, 30 September 2001

Sunday, 30 September 2001

Cecil, VF's President and Executive Director, starts the day with an interactive presentation of the ins-and-outs of Child Trafficking. She starts with the definition of Child Trafficking and how this trafficking differs from the common notion of traffic like the one in EDSA. She solicits the definition and distinctive features of child trafficking from the delegates themselves. Child trafficking, according to the delegates involves:

1. Relocation away from the home
2. Deception
3. Threats
4. Coercion or the use of force like physical abuse

And as a result of these features children victims find themselves in abusive situations.

Cecil then asks the delegates if they heard stories of trafficking in their respective areas. Here are the answers:

1. A recruitment that involves deception happened in the Payatas area. The promised job of course is fictitious and the victim found himself relocated, lost and without any means to come by each day.
2. A case of another deception that leda child entangled in the inhumane world of Muro-Ami. The boy was promised to receive Php 10, 000 for three weeks of fishing expedition. It turned out that that the fishing expedition is an on-going one with no definite end. They are treated harshly by the maestro (head of the group and may be equated to a slave-driver). When they try to go against the will of the maestro they experience physical abuse that most of the time leads to death. Usually they are paddled (hit with a paddle) to death, shot while in the water if they try to escape. Their ordeals sometimes lead to insanity. Of the five recruited boys, only one managed to escape and return home. The remaining four are of unknown status. Victims of recruitment that are brought to muro-ami vessels can almost be considered dead since tremendous dangers will confront them. They may drown while in the water, bitten or eaten by sharks, die of sickness especially scabies, physical abuse inflicted by the maestro and his associates and if they survive this they may later die of injury. Boys who try to escape by swimming are shot at or pursued to be later beaten up or shot at again.
3. The case of Gabriel was again retold. Gabriel was supposed to be sent to a piggery somewhere in Laguna, but was saved by the port police and VF. He is presently awaiting repatriation.
4. There are also stories of girls recruited from the provinces who are promised jobs like domestic helpers or as sales ladies but ended up as prostitutes. The said girls are licked up for several weeks in safehouses where they are not allowed to have any contact with anybody except for the recruiters and their associates. The are generously fed and are subjected to beauty treatments. Their hair are given treatment to be more alluring and attractive. There are stories that say that these girls are soaked in barrels of bleaching treatment for hours to make them fairer. Later when they are deemed to be attractive enough, they will be sold to prostitution dens.

At this point, Cecil again reiterates that throughout the process of recruitment coercion never fails to occur. She also asked the delegates what is the reason they were invited to the consultation eventhough they are not victims of trafficking. The delegates said that those who are not involved in any form in child trrafficking will learn from those who have sufferd it. But the most important is that child trafficking begets child labor and that child trafficking is threatens child laborers (most of the delegates are child laborers):

1. Child trafficking almost always results to child labor.
2. Child trafficking worsens child labor.
3. Child laborers may later be trafficked.
4. 80% of trafficked children have experienced or presently experiencing child labor.
5. Child trafficking is a major contributor to the population of child laborers.

Cecil points out that the issue of child trafficking is important since a) children are helpless against the atrocities and deception inflicted by the perpetrators of child trafficking. b) The voice of children are not enough to prevent and eliminate child trafficking. Another important reason is that c) adults are the ones who trafficked children and it is adults who will have to stop this menace. It is accepted regardless of culture that d) children ought to be in school or at play. Trafficking insults human dignity. It is the new demon in our society.

Cecil launches a discussion on the forms of child trafficking. The following are actually the end results of child trafficking:

1. For prostitution
2. For adoption. Children are sold for adoption
3. For employment subjected to hard labor.
4. Organ trafficking

Another valid point that we raise against child trafficking is that e) we are against child labor, it necessarily follows that we are also against child trafficking because it leads to the former. Cecil also points out that f) anyone can be preyed upon by traffickers. Our sisters, brothers and friends are all potential victims. The more marginalized a family is , the more suceptible it is to child trafficking. And lastly we need to cleanse society of this menace g) to protect the next generation of children. We would not want to be ancestors to trafficked children.

Cecil emphasizes that eventhough VF has more than enough work to do, it still ventured in the battle against child trafficking because it is alarmingly worse. She notes that VF and CLASP targets certain sectors of society to call upon. The delegates voices will be the voice of all those who are victimized by child trafficking and all the innocent that are in danger of being trafficked.. The targets are:

1. All Adults who have the power to cause change:
   1. Government/Public sector
   2. Private sector especially the employers
   3. Non-Government Organizations (NGOs)
   4. Trade Unions
2. Governments:
   1. Legislative
   2. Executive
   3. Judiciary
3. Children:
   1. Children need to be organized .
   2. Children need to inform and be informed
   3. Children need to be recognized

Here are the concrete ways that children can do to combat Child Trafficking:

1. Sharing of experiences.
2. Reaching out to other children. (like handing out flyers)
3. Expressing opinions and statements.
4. Staging of theatrical plays that show our sentiment for child trafficking or any other art to add to advocacy against child trrafficking.
5. Informing proper authorities of the existence of victims of child trafficking and perpetrators of trafficking.
6. Informing our parents and relatives, neighbors and communities of the threat and existence of child trafficking.

Cecil, at this point discussed the UN foundations or basis for the crusade against child labor. The issue of child labor fell under the UN body International Labor Organization (ILO). The upcoming ILO Ministerial Meeting on Child Trafficking will be the medium by which the children will air their statement. The statement is the product of this consultation. The focus of the consultation will be internal trafficking as the case applies to the Philippines. Other Asian countries have land borders or some are even landlocked. Cross border migration and trafficking is quite easily compared to archipelagic Philippines where the scourge is internal child trafficking.

The children's voice will then be heard through the voices of these delegates. It is soundly assumed that it is wise that the leaders of Governments, Employers and Trade Unions across Asia should first heed the voices of children before drafting laws that will address children's needs and problems. Hearing the childrens voice first will make laws more responsive.

WORKSHOP

The next workshop will focus on the opinions and call of the children delegates. Before anything else, Kip, CLASP's secretary general, discussed the guidelines of the workshop. The guide questions (nos. 1 & 2) are part of the over all framework of the statement which is at the same time the framework of the activity. The groups are instructed to discuss and later report their output. The framework is as follows:

We are children victims of child trafficking and/ or child labor that advocates childrens' rights who:

1. BELIEVE that children have the right to live, be given protection, to participate and to be developed. We all belong in school, at play and in the care of our family and relatives and not at work in such an early age and be victims of hazardous work�
2. But most of us are not enjoying our rights because we are involved in child trafficking and hard labor�..
3. Therefore, WE CALL UPON the following to give attention to children victims of Trafficking:
   1. Government
   2. Employers
   3. Trade Unions
   4. Non-Government Organizations (NGOs)
4. As children, we unite to participate in activities for our benefit. We will strive to do our best to prevent child trafficking and involve:
   1. ourselves
   2. our fellow children
   3. families
   4. communities and societies

REPORT:

Here is the summarized report of the four groups:

For the Government:

• draft, pass, implement laws and programs to adress child trafficking
• information dissemination about Child Trafficking
• hear the pleas and call of children before drafting bills
• prosecute and punish child traffickers

For Employers:

• to treat child workers as family
• respect the rights of children
• avoid the recruitment of children
• check if there are children victims of trafficking in their enterprises and if there are, report it to the proper authorities
• for shipping lines: take the initiative to check the premises of the ships for children victims of trafficking and suspected recruiters. Bring them to the proper authorities.
• report to the proper authorities all illegal recruiters that do bussiness with them.
For Non-Government Organizations (NGOs):
• to continue pushing for the observance of children's rights
• to expand services like halfway houses
• to provide support and moral inspiration
• to encourage children to speak up especially those who are victims of trafficking.
• put up programs that will innovate services

For Trade Unions:

• to include in their agenda and ideals the rights of children and the issue of trafficking
• to fight for children's rights
• to give support to children workers and victims of trafficking

For Ourselves:

• to be firm, unite and cooperate to battle child trafficking
• to enrich information and knowledge on child trafficking
• to be ever cautiouswhen dealing with strangers and never to go with them
• for victims of child trafficking to share their experiences
• for those who have proper knowledge and information, share it with others
• to warn other children of the threat of child trafficking
• to raise advocacy into another level by engaing in arts like theatre and visual art.

For our Fellow Children:

• to ask them to share their experinces and dwell on the issue of child labor
• to inform and warn them about the threat of child trafficking

For our Parents and Families:

• to inform and warn them about the threat of child trafficking
• to persuade and encourage them about not allowing their children to work away from home
• to ask them to report all cases of child trafficking
• to report to the proper authorities if their child had been victimized by trafficking

For our Communities:

• to organize among themselves to fight child trafficking
• to participate with other organizations in the fight against child trafficking
• to organize meetings and outline measures to prevent child trafficking
• to support the laws and programs that the government implements

 

These statements, which is the product of the workshop have been transformend into the statement that will be brought to the delegates of the ILO Asian Ministerial Meeting on Child Trafficking.

Here is the final version of the statement:

UNITED CALL

We, members and leaders of the Child Laborers and Advocates for Social Participation (CLASP), composed of victims of trafficking in children for labor, child laborers and child rights advocates, who attended the Children's Consultation on Child Trafficking last September 29-30, 2001, in Kawit, Cavite, would like to express that:

We believe that, children as we are, have fundamental rights to survival, protection, participation and development. We should be in schools, playgrounds and under the care of our families. We should not work at a very early age, and most of all, not in very abusive work and under hazardous working conditions. We should also not fall victim to child trafficking from which others profit. Adults, children and society itself should take responsibility in upholding these rights.

Most of us have suffered, are recovering from, and are at great future risk from situations that put us in danger, like child trafficking that takes us away from our homes by use of threat, coercion, deception and abuse to distant places for dangerous work, like prostitution. While many illegal recruiters are the usual operators of such schemes, we also fall victim even to friends, relatives, townmates, and new acquaintances who take advantage of our weaknesses.

We are therefore calling out to all the following adults, specifically to the participants of the ILO Asian Meeting on Child Trafficking, to take immediate action against the spreading threat of trafficking in children. We are calling on:

Governments to heed our pleas for the protection and upholding of our rights, needs and opinions. By heeding our call, we expect our governments to respond more sensitively through legislation and implementation of existing laws that provide us with broader protection including the immediate arrest, prosecution and punishment of those who take advantage of our weaknesses. It is also our call that governments, with all its power, inform the people and lobby its nations against the threat of child trafficking and to expand its program to address this existing problem.

1. EMPLOYERS to take responsibility to ensure that there are no children who are victims of trafficking employed in their businesses, and to report such cases to the proper authorities for speedy action. We call on them to formulate and implement policy and programs to prevent and protect children from abuse and hazardous work. Many such children be treated no different from that of a family member.
2. TRADE UNIONS to include in their objectives the rights of children and the issue of child trafficking and for them to actively pursue the fight for children's rights.
3. NON-GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATIONS (NGOs) to continue and expand their programs that promote children's rights and protection, for us children and our families. To create safety nets that stop the worsening threat of child trafficking.

We STAND by this call and we PLEDGE the following actions to do our part in this battle against child trafficking:

1. For OURSELVES, we will strive to be strong and involved in the fight against child trafficking through art and advocacy.
2. To our FELLOW CHILDREN, we will try our best to inform and warn you of the threat of child trafficking, We, at the same time, call upon you to be alert and cautious against deception and to join and participate in organized actions against child trafficking.
3. To OUR PARENTS AND FAMILY, take care of us, your children, and be alert against the deceiving nature of child trafficking. We call upon you not to let your children work far away from home. You need to be united in order to eliminate all forms of danger that may prey upon your children.
4. To our COMMUNITY AND THE REST OF SOCIETY, we call upon you to unite and protect the children. Organize and help actions, which promote the development and improvement of laws and programs to effectively put an end to child trafficking.

• List of Partners
• Talking Points with GMA
• Can We End the Worst Forms
• Child Core Marchers
• Children on Trafficking