VZCZCXRO4565
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHNH RUEHPB
DE RUEHHM #0388/01 1070443
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 170443Z APR 06
FM AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0690
INFO RUEHHI/AMEMBASSY HANOI PRIORITY 0504
RUCNARF/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE
RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY 0720

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HO CHI MINH CITY 000388 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREF PREL CVIS KWMN ELAB SMIG SOCI TW
VM 
SUBJECT: TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS IN THE MEKONG: KIEN GIANG PROVINCE 
 
REF: 05 HCMC 1299 
 
HO CHI MIN 00000388  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary:  Kien Giang Province is reportedly a source of 
trafficked women and children, particularly for the sex trade in 
Cambodia.  The provincial Women's Union is spearheading 
anti-trafficking efforts working with the International Office 
of Migration on an awareness campaign to counsel potential 
victims and assist actual victims to reintegrate into the 
community.  Kien Giang's openness to cooperation with 
international NGOs is a model.  Throughout the Mekong, the fight 
against traffickers is carried out largely by provincial level 
officials with Womens' Unions often in the lead.   End Summary. 
 
 
Background 
---------- 
 
¶2.  (U) Poor agricultural villages in the Mekong Delta 
have been the primary source of brides marrying Taiwanese (at a 
rate of 4,000 per year - Reftel) and are also the hunting ground 
for traffickers.   According to IOM's 2005 data, 700 women and 
children were documented as trafficked to Cambodia.  IOM 
believes 22,000 Vietnamese women work in the sex industry in 
Cambodia, though the vast majority appears to have migrated 
voluntarily in search of higher income. 
 
Recognition of a Problem 
------------------------ 
 
¶3.  (U) During an April 5 visit to Kien Giang province, the 
Consul General met with the provincial Women's Union to review 
provincial efforts to combat trafficking in persons.  Chairwoman 
Nguyen Viet Nu said that the Women's Union has focused efforts 
on assisting vulnerable women in the villages along the 
province's 56 kilometer border with Cambodia and in the fishing 
communities.  Aided with a USD 15,000 grant from the 
International Office of Migration (IOM), the union has 
implemented an awareness campaign highlighting the dangers of 
trafficking.  The campaign has incorporated a telephone hotline 
that counsels callers on risks of irregular migration, and 
offers advice on alternative vocations and training 
opportunities. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Nu added that recently, four women who were trafficked 
to Malaysia through Cambodia and Ho Chi Minh City were 
repatriated back to Kien Giang following IOM and the Women's 
Union joint intervention in Kuala Lumpur.  The women reported 
that they had been lured to Ho Chi Minh City with the promise of 
lucrative jobs, then later sold to brothels in Cambodia, where 
they were further trafficked to Malaysia.  Upon return they were 
given medical treatment by IOM staff and counseled by the 
Women's Union to facilitate their reintegration back into Kien 
Giang. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Madame Nu said that the Women's Union coordinates 
counter-trafficking activities in Kien Giang with local police. 
The two sides routinely share information.  Reports from border 
patrol units are often relayed to the union directly from the 
field.  In turn, the women's union has provided provincial 
police authorities with actionable information from its 
counseling sessions with vulnerable or reintegrated women. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Madame Nu said that she is concerned with the 
"excessive" number of Vietnamese brides immigrating to Taiwan, 
which she considered to be "an abnormal trend in the province." 
According to women's union data, in 2004, some 500 Kien Giang 
women married Taiwanese men, 300 in 2005, and 42 during the 
first quarter of 2006.  While not necessarily victims of 
trafficking, the Chairwoman was concerned that individuals or 
organized syndicates maybe exploiting some of these women once 
in Taiwan.  However, she did not mention any specific cases of 
trafficked brides to Taiwan that had come to her attention. 
 
Open to International Cooperation 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Chairwoman Nu was very positive about her relationship 
with IOM.  She added that it is the responsibility of the union 
to work with international NGOs to  spotlight TIP issues.  She 
hopes to build on her partnership with IOM to tackle poverty the 
root cause of trafficking in the provinces well as to raise 
awareness among the vulnerable populations, and to enhance 
social services.  The Chairwoman noted that cooperation between 
provincial authorities and foreign entities in Kien Giang was 
expanding and that for the first time in the province's history 
a foreigner, Mark Estes, Project Director of Habitat For 
Humanity International (HFHI), was awarded a certificate of 
merit by Kien Giang provincial authorities for his NGO's 
contributions to women's issues. 
 
¶8.  Comment:  The discussion with the Kien Giang Women's Union 
 
HO CHI MIN 00000388  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
Chief illustrates the increasing awareness and concern about TIP 
issues in the Mekong Delta.  This fact is fundamental as it is 
in the provinces that national policy must be translated into 
local action against TIP.  The discussion with Madame Nu also 
highlights the opportunities for increased international 
collaboration to combat TIP in the Mekong Delta as well as the 
need for additional resources to assist well-meaning provincial 
staff.  End Comment. 
WINNICK