VZCZCXRO3680
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHNH
DE RUEHHM #0936/01 2540852
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 110852Z SEP 07
FM AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3091
INFO RUEHHI/AMEMBASSY HANOI PRIORITY 2168
RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY 3299

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HO CHI MINH CITY 000936 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS AND G/TIP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM SOCI PREL PGOV KTIP ELAB KWMN VM
SUBJECT: PROFILES OF ANTI-TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS PROGRAMS IN SOUTHERN 
VIETNAM 
 
REF: A) HCMC 801 B) HCMC 191 C) HCMC 090 and previous D) HANOI 393 E) HANOI 394 F) HANOI 402 
 
HO CHI MIN 00000936  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Women's Union officials in Ho Chi Minh City, 
An Giang, and Can Tho provinces report that GVN anti-TIP efforts 
under the GVN National Program of Action are generally uniformly 
implemented, but the resources made available to the different 
provinces are not.  Meanwhile, NGOs AFESIP (Acting for Women in 
Distressing Situations) and ADAPT (the USAID-funded An 
Giang-Dong Thap Alliance for the Prevention of Trafficking) 
provided a less optimistic perspective on the Women's Unions 
activities. Contrary to recent estimates in the 2007 Vietnam TIP 
Report, the Can Tho and An Giang's Women's Union reported many 
fewer TIP victims in their region.  This under-reporting may be 
the result of the fact that the Women's Unions-and the GVN in 
general-lack a systematic way of tracking TIP victims and may 
not be sharing with each other the little bits of information 
they do have.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Between July 2 and August 1, PolOff discussed anti-TIP 
efforts with Women's Union officials in An Giang, Can Tho and Ho 
Chi Minh City, three of Vietnam's highest-risk areas for 
trafficking in persons.  (Note: Under the GVN National Program 
of Action, the Vietnamese Women's Union, one of the six "mass 
organizations" in Vietnam, plays a lead role in anti-TIP 
educational awareness and communications programs.  It also 
supports TIP victim returnees.  End note.) The Women's Union 
officials talked to us about the activities they have carried 
out pursuant to Prime Minister's Decree 130, which outlines the 
GVN's anti-TIP strategy and National Program of Action.  The 
Decree 130 programs run by the Women's Union focus on raising 
public awareness and providing health care, vocational training, 
and reintegration for returning TIP victims, who typically 
reside in shelters from six months to a year.  The 
government-subsidized shelters and women's centers also work to 
educate local communities to prevent women and children from 
becoming TIP victims and to alleviate any stigmatization towards 
returning victims.  The centers offer vocational training 
classes such as sewing, embroidery, rug weaving and making 
artificial flower arrangements.  They also provide small loans 
for women to start their own businesses and legal and counseling 
services.  As carrying out activities under Decree 130 is only 
one of six official functions carried out by the Women's Unions, 
they also broaden their efforts by partnering with organizations 
like the Vietnam Youth Union and the media on a variety of 
TIP-prevention activities. 
 
AN GIAN PROVINCE WOMEN'S UNION 
------------------------------ 
 
¶3. (SBU) Leaders of the An Giang Women's Union told us that 
since 2001, their branch has helped 52 trafficking victims 
reintegrate into their communities.  Vice Chairwoman Ms. Tran 
Thi Lan noted that of these 52 women, 10 currently lead stable 
lives and have started their own families.  From 2001 to June 
2007, 37 TIP victims (32 women and five children) were rescued 
and repatriated through official channels.  Most of the 
returnees in An Giang come from Cambodia via bordering Tay Ninh 
province.  Other risk areas the Women's Union focuses on are 
Chau Phu, Chau Doc and An Phu districts.  Currently the Union 
does not precisely track the number of women trafficked from 
these areas. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The An Giang Women's Union has cooperated with two 
bordering provinces in Cambodia, Ta Keo and Can Dan, but stated 
that such cross-border cooperation is limited by the language 
barrier.  In addition, a bilateral agreement of cooperation on 
TIP issues between An Giang and the two Cambodian provinces is 
fairly new and operational details have not yet been formalized. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Lan noted that TIP victims generally do not want to 
work with authorities to convict traffickers because the 
traffickers are often family members or acquaintances.  The 
Women's Union stressed they do not pressure known TIP victims 
either to publicly identify themselves or to force them to use 
its services.  Surprisingly, the Women's Union believes that the 
number of women trafficked in An Giang is low, when compared to 
other provinces, and is decreasing.  This view seems 
inconsistent with the USG's 2007 Vietnam TIP Report, which 
estimates the number of women trafficked in Vietnam since 1998 
could be as high as 50,000 victims (Ref D).  It also conflicts 
with reports from international NGOs working in the area. 
 
A GRASSROOTS PERSPECTIVE IN AN GIANG 
------------------------------------ 
¶6. (SBU) ADAPT (An Giang Dong Thap Alliance for the Prevention 
of Trafficking) is a USAID-funded program that works to prevent 
trafficking in the Mekong Delta. The project is administered by 
three Vietnamese American NGOs: Pacific Links Foundation, East 
Meets West Foundation and the International Children Assistance 
 
HO CHI MIN 00000936  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
Network.  ADAPT uses scholarships as a TIP prevention tool by 
helping at-risk girls cover school expenses until they graduate. 
 The girls are nominated by their schools and screened for 
eligibility by ADAPT.  On August 1, PolOff attended an ADAPT 
Awards Ceremony in An Giang that gave scholarships to 122 girls 
in grades six through ten.  The scholarships provide funds for 
tuition, books, supplies, uniforms, and even health care.  This 
year, 281 girls in three districts of An Giang were awarded, 
many for the second time.  In addition to the scholarships, 
ADAPT also donated 17 personal computers, dictionaries, and 
bilingual books to schools and education centers; and awarded 
140 bicycles to girls who improved their grades during the 
school year. 
 
¶8. (SBU) The ADAPT program is not without challenges.  During 
the 2006-2007 school year, 35 ADAPT recipients dropped out of 
school.  Of the 35 drop-outs, 19 were eventually convinced to 
return to school.  PolOff met with two ADAPT scholarship 
recipients, Le Thi Trinh (Grade 9) and Nguyen Thi Truc Ly (Grade 
9) at their homes.  It was clear during the visit how poverty, 
poor living conditions, and problematic family relationships 
greatly contribute to the problem of trafficking in persons in 
Vietnam.  ADAPT organizers noted that convincing the parents of 
the benefits of education for their girls is one of their 
biggest challenges, because parents often feel the girls should 
work instead to help out with family finances. 
 
HCMC MARRIAGE ASSISTANCE CENTER 
------------------------------- 
¶9. (SBU) In Ho Chi Minh City, trafficked women are in the 
minority at the Women's Union Shelter, as the majority of 
residents are victims of sexual abuse.  Of the women who 
complete the rehabilitation program, 70 percent reintegrate 
successfully and 20 percent re-marry.  Chairperson Nguyen Thi 
Ngoc Hanh of the HCMC Women's Union and Nguyen Thi Bach Tuyet, 
Director of the Marriage Assistance Center, described their TIP 
program as having three components: the women's shelter, the 
Marriage Assistance Center and a public awareness campaign. 
 
¶10. (SBU) The Marriage Assistance Center is a matchmaking 
service where women can take a variety of classes designed to 
assist them in building successful marriages with foreign 
spouses.  The Center boasts approximately 100 successful matches 
a year.  The classes include language courses, cooking foreign 
cuisine, making floral arrangements, and learning about 
immigration laws and individual rights in their respective host 
country. 
 
¶11. (SBU) Foreigners are then matched with a prospective 
Vietnamese spouse after completing a questionnaire that includes 
information about the foreigners' interests and personality 
traits.  The system differs from illegal marriage brokerage 
services, which commonly feature foreign men picking women out 
of lineups.  At the Marriage Assistance Center, the matched 
couples court each other via phone and/or email.  The 
prospective foreign spouse must also meet and be approved by his 
fiancie's parents.  The Marriage Assistance Center does not 
charge a fee, unlike most commercial marriage brokers. 
 
¶12. (SBU) The HCMC Women's Union Awareness Program targets 
at-risk groups by arranging talks, publishing news articles, and 
distributing information via brochures and their website 
(www.hcmcwu.org.vn).  Leaflets are also handed out at the 
Women's Club, which has an average attendance of 7,000 women per 
year.  Through their public awareness campaign, the Club reveals 
the most common tricks used by traffickers to lure women 
overseas, while encouraging the community at large to denounce 
traffickers to the police.  They also give out advice on how to 
obtain important travel documents and suggest women leave 
photocopies of their documents at home with a trusted family 
member or friend. 
 
A GRASSROOTS PERSPECTIVE IN HCMC 
-------------------------------- 
¶13. (SBU) On July 20, PolOff met with George Blanchard, Director 
of NGO AFESIP (Acting for Women in Distressing Situations) 
Vietnam, to discuss that organization's anti-TIP programs in 
HCMC.  AFESIP is a non-profit NGO that originated in Cambodia. 
It helps those women who have been trafficked or forced into 
prostitution. 
 
¶14. (SBU) AFESIP focuses on educating sex workers about safe sex 
practices and counsels them about the dangers of the sex trade. 
Through hotlines and street teams manned by volunteers, they 
disseminate condoms and information on sex education and 
HIV/AIDS.  They also run a shelter, in conjunction with the 
Women's Union, for trafficked women who have returned to 
Vietnam.  Their staff includes four social workers, two peer 
 
HO CHI MIN 00000936  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
educators and more than 150 volunteers.  Their shelter is run in 
collaboration with the Women's Union. 
 
¶15. (SBU) According to Blanchard, getting an accurate number of 
TIP victims would be close to impossible in Vietnam, because the 
numbers as well as the circumstances change every year.  He 
believes the number of Vietnamese women sent to Cambodia is 
decreasing, but he has found new cases of victims arriving from 
Laos.  Despite the difficulties in getting accurate numbers, he 
feels the  Police Department's numbers are the most reliable. 
(Note: PolOff contacted the HCMC police, who declined to share 
their figures. End note.) 
 
¶16. (SBU) Blanchard said AFESIP is currently focused on 
documenting its program model, so that it may be replicated by 
others.  Blanchard believes the size of the program is not as 
important as achieving a high standard of quality for others to 
follow.  AFESIP's program has been proudly showcased by the GVN. 
 While funds are always a concern, Blanchard says 
capacity-building is AFESIP's biggest challenge.  He explained 
that even with an increase in funds, AFESIP would still need 
human capital to grow.  In the future, AFESIP hopes to open a 
separate shelter for child victims. 
 
CAN THO 
------- 
¶17. (SBU) In southern Can Tho Province, Ms. Lam Nhat Phuong, 
Deputy Director of DoLISA (Department of Labor, Invalids and 
Social Affairs) described the operations of the 'Women Far Away 
from Home' organization. Established in 1995, the group provides 
services for TIP returnees, including social networking, 
HIV/AIDS counseling, and vocational training.  As in An Giang, 
the Deputy Director also claimed that the number of TIP cases in 
Can Tho is relatively low when compared to neighboring 
provinces.  However, she admitted that the number is low 
primarily because the union lacks capacity in identifying 
victims of trafficking.  Right now, the Women's Union becomes 
aware of victims only if they return and identify themselves or 
are identified by authorities.  This year, four women have been 
returned by police after being apprehended at the Cambodian 
border.  Ms. Phuong said most women from Can Tho are believed to 
be trafficked to Macao and Thailand through Ho Chi Minh City and 
Cambodia. 
 
¶18. (SBU) The Can Tho Women's Union has also received 
non-government funding since 2005. The HCF Foundation funds 
awareness efforts, while a Spanish NGO funds small loans for 
women to start up their own business.  Health services are 
provided by the Provincial Department of Health and HIV testing 
is subsidized by the USG PEPFAR program and NGO Family Health 
International (FHI).  The incidence of HIV/AIDS is high among 
the women in the Women Far Away From Home organization, and lack 
of medication for HIV-positive patients is the highest priority. 
 The Union also highlighted their greatest triumph thus far-- 
six women who had been forced into abusive marriages overseas 
who returned and have now successfully completed the program. 
 
¶19. (SBU) COMMENT: The lack of accurate measurement tools to 
track the number of trafficked victims remains a major problem 
in combating and preventing TIP in Vietnam.  The fact that 
officials of the Women's Union in An Giang and Can Tho believe 
that the trafficking problem in their region is "relatively 
small" despite lack of accurate numbers is also a concern--and 
points to a lack of cooperation and information-sharing among 
the provincial and city Women's Union groups.  While HCMC's 
Marriage Assistance Center is a positive step to combat the 
rising tide of illegal trafficking rings posing as marriage 
brokers, the service is not being extensively used.  On the 
other hand international grassroots organizations with GVN 
support such as ADAPT and AFESIP are managing small but 
successful programs that serve as important models of how to use 
resources effectively to combat root causes of TIP and help 
victims reintegrate into society.  END COMMENT. 
FAIRFAX