Heather Bellamy interviewed Steve Chalke about the campaign to stop the sale of people

'The majority of trafficked victims arguably come from the poorest countries and poorest strata of the national population' - quoted from a global alliance against forced labor, International Labour Organisation, 2005

Heather: Do you know of any personal stories from people who have escaped or been released?

Steve: Member organisations of Stop The Traffik work directly with people who have been trafficked. Below is one story taken from Tearfund. You will find further case studies and downloads on the Stop The Traffik website.

Brothel in Cambodia (Photo: Randy Snook c/o Chab Dai Coalition)

Sokha, Cambodia
Tourist guides call Poipet the 'Wild West' of South-East Asia, on account of its roaring sex trade and gambling scene. People also come here to buy or abduct children. Girls as young as five are trafficked over the border into Thailand. Sokha* and Makara* were sold to a trafficker who promised good jobs for the girls in Thailand. Sokha explains that her mother was ill with a liver complaint. The family needed money to pay for drugs to treat her, and they also hoped to buy some land to build a home. But, reality turned out to be very different. There were no 'good jobs' for the girls, Sokha's mother died within a year, and the family couldn't afford to buy land. Sokha, now 17, says, 'I felt cheated. The traffickers used us for slave jobs, and whilst they earned lots of money we only got enough to feed ourselves each day.' She explains how she and Makara, 16, were given jobs selling fruit, but it did not pay enough. Soon their bosses forced them into sleeping with men to pay their way. When they were sold they were 14 and 15 years old. A Tearfund partner provides young girls with sewing skills, counselling and the loving support of a local church. The girls' parents met staff from Tearfund partner, Cambodian Hope Organisation (CHO), and gave them photos to pass on to an organisation in Thailand that rescues girls from prostitution. They found - and duly rescued - Sokha and Makara. By then, the girls' ordeal had been going on for nearly a year. Sokha says, 'It's good to be home. We are grateful to CHO who have brought us back to our home, provided us with counselling, taught us the skill of sewing, and brought us into the church.' When asked what they hope for in the future, Sokha says she hopes to set up her own sewing business and employ and help girls in her situation. 'We were scared all the time in Thailand,' she says. 'Now I'm happy, getting support, living with my family and free to work when I want.'

This woman in a village in rural china returned to her village after being trafficked to a large Chinese city to become a 'wife' for a rich elderly man. When he died she was released and has returned to her village to help improve life and educate others about the dangers of trafficking. (Photo: Duncan Parker/The Salvation Army)

Heather: What's the root of the problem in your opinion?

Steve: Traffiking is a huge and complex problem. It's fuelled by numerous factors, which include:

Supply factors:

• Poverty and the need to earn a living or to support the family
• The desire for a better life
• Ignorance or lack of understanding of the children, parents or other caregivers of the negative consequences that may be associated with children leaving their homes to work
• Lack of schools or means to pay for education
• Family violence or other dysfunction
• Political conflict or natural disasters that devastate local economies
• Traditions of migration for labour, land or fodder
• Traditions of placement of rural children with urban-based relatives (particularly in Africa)
• Gender discrimination