Monday, January 19, 2009
Child Safe
One of the serious social problems in Cambodia is human trafficking and especially child prostitution. This is especially a problem in Phnom Penh and Sianhoukville. The hotel we stayed in is part of "child safe" a program by local businesses to try to curb this problem. Child safe businesses train their employees to be aware of the signs that a child may be in trouble or be involved in a prostitution ring. There are also programs in Sianoukville for at risk kids and for those who have been victims of abuse. In Phnom Penh there was dramatic police raid in which they shut down a "sex village"in which hundreds of children were held prisoner.
But the problem is huge. Thailand has been kicking out many undesirables Westerners and many head for Cambodia. As the police in Thailand have tried to crack down on human trafficking, many operations have gone across the border to Cambodia. These sex slavery rings not only operate in Cambodia, but also ship girls to other parts of Asia. In fact, many of the girls (and sometimes boys) who are involved in child prostitution come from Viet Nam or China. This is certainly one of the saddest aspects of life in Cambodia and a symptom of the enormous poverty in this country.
To find out more please check these links:
http://childsafe-international.org/CAMBODIA/CSCambodia.asp
http://www.uri.edu/artsci/wms/hughes/cambodia.htm
http://www.gvnet.com/childprostitution/Cambodia.htm
Labels: Cambodia, child abuse, culture and society, legal system, prostitution
Friday, December 21, 2007
New Helmet Law
Viet Nam recently enacted a helmet law. Like Thailand, all people riding motobikes in Viet Nam are required to wear helmets. This is part of a safety campaign to reduce the number of accidents and traffic deaths. Almost every day I go past a big electronic sign that keeps count of the number of accidents and deaths this year and last year. It reminds me of when I was a kid in the 60s and saw these types of totals on the front page of the newspaper. Most people seem to be complying with the law and on December 14, the day before the new rule went into effect,there were huge lines to buy helmets. Fortunately, my school provided me with a free helmet.
Labels: culture and society, legal system, Viet Nam and the West
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Paperwork nightmare
We had a big meeting yesterday of American citizens regarding getting work permits. Once a person has been working for a time in Viet Nam they need a work permit to continue. Unfortunately, the requirements have been changed recently and it's led to a very complicated mess.
To work in Viet Nam a foreigner needs a background criminal check in the country of origin and a notarized copy of any educational degrees or certificates the individual holds. This was something I didn't realize when I left the states, there was no mention made of it on the places I researched, including Apollo. I brought along a transcript from college and the results of a medical exam.
This was not acceptable once I was hired. It seems that the documents have to be notarized in the country of origin. I had this done with my criminal background check, however now they've added another step. The notary has to be notarized by the state government as being legit. My transcript didn't work either, they want a copy of the degree (which is God knows where in storage) and that needs to be notarized and then the notary needs to notarized by the state. It reminds me of one of those episodes of MASH where Radar explains the various forms that the Army requires.
The process is simpler for British citizens, they can take their documents to the British Embassy, which will stamp them as being authentic. In other words, the government will back the holder in their claim of authenticity. The US Embassy will not do this, they will only certify that the holder of the documents "says" they are authentic.
This I find most ironic, a fine point of grammar (but important, to be sure) may force me to leave here at the end of September, short of my goal of spending a year in Viet Nam.
To work in Viet Nam a foreigner needs a background criminal check in the country of origin and a notarized copy of any educational degrees or certificates the individual holds. This was something I didn't realize when I left the states, there was no mention made of it on the places I researched, including Apollo. I brought along a transcript from college and the results of a medical exam.
This was not acceptable once I was hired. It seems that the documents have to be notarized in the country of origin. I had this done with my criminal background check, however now they've added another step. The notary has to be notarized by the state government as being legit. My transcript didn't work either, they want a copy of the degree (which is God knows where in storage) and that needs to be notarized and then the notary needs to notarized by the state. It reminds me of one of those episodes of MASH where Radar explains the various forms that the Army requires.
The process is simpler for British citizens, they can take their documents to the British Embassy, which will stamp them as being authentic. In other words, the government will back the holder in their claim of authenticity. The US Embassy will not do this, they will only certify that the holder of the documents "says" they are authentic.
This I find most ironic, a fine point of grammar (but important, to be sure) may force me to leave here at the end of September, short of my goal of spending a year in Viet Nam.
Labels: legal system, Viet Nam, Viet Nam and the West
