Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE ABUSE OF INNOCENCE
The sexual abuse of children by foreign paedophiles is a serious problem in some parts of the Mekong
region. Many child prostitutes are sold into the business by relatives. These sex slaves are either traf-
ficked overseas or forced to cater to domestic demand and local sex-tourism operators.
Fear of contracting HIV/AIDS from mature sex workers has led to increasing exploitation of (sup-
posedly as-yet uninfected) children. Unicef estimates that there are close to one million child prostitu-
tes in Asia - one of the highest figures in the world.
Paedophiles are treated as criminals in the region and several have served or are serving jail sen-
tences as a result. Many Western countries have introduced legislation that sees nationals prosecuted
in their home country for having underage sex abroad. Visitors can do their bit to fight this menace by
keeping an eye out for suspicious behaviour on the part of foreigners. Don't ignore it. Try to pass on
any relevant information such as the name and nationality of the individual to the embassy concerned.
End Child Prostitution & Trafficking (Ecpat; www.ecpat.net ) is a global network aimed at stop-
ping child prostitution, child pornography and the trafficking of children for sexual purposes, and has
affiliates in most Western countries. Childsafe International ( www.childsafe-international.org ), oper-
ating out of Cambodia, now covers Laos and Thailand as well, and aims to educate businesses and in-
dividuals to be on the lookout for children in vulnerable situations.
Maps
Good maps of Indochina, including Bangkok and Northeast Thailand, include Nelles Vietnam, Laos & Cam-
bodia map at a scale of 1:1,500,000.
Money
Most experienced travellers will carry their money in a combination of US dollars and credit/bank cards.
You'll always find situations in which one or the other cannot be used, so it pays to carry both. Euros are
harder to change in a pinch, and it's difficult to cash travellers cheques outside of big cities.
 
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