Cambodia: Unfortunate Unknowns

           As we continue on with our lives, we don’t really see the whole picture of the world. For many people the life they know and have only experienced was of where they were born and raised, not venturing far from the comforts of home. Unfortunately, as this happens we become blind to the world around us, turning away from the worst of the world and people. As an avid adventurer and traveler, I love the new cultures and experiences out there, but as you learn more about the countries you travel to, not everything is as great as it seems. Over the past summer I traveled to Cambodia to experience the culture, food, and environmental impacts of logging, mining and other ecological hazards. While learning about the Khmer people and history before the expedition, I and my fellow travelers discovered some of the hidden tragedies of Cambodia.

            Before the trip we had read several books and articles about the illegal trades that have and are still occurring in Cambodia. As a third world country, the possibilities of problems that occur on the streets of Cambodian towns and cities are endless, many of which are not known or stopped by law enforcement. Some of these illegal events include drug trafficking, types of Cambodian mafias, and sex trafficking. One of the most widely increasing and unfortunate illegal sex trafficking is of women and children in Cambodia. While reading through my newsfeed I recently found a video of actress, Miro Sorvino’s firsthand experience of seeing some of the men behind children sex trafficking in the town of Sway Pak. In the video it was said that most of these men traffic their own children. Sorvino’s reaction was of shock and disgust, knowing that they do this to their own children.

I feel the same shock and disgust knowing that there are monsters like this out there all over the world taking advantage of women and children in this way, it makes me sick. Although Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in the world, with people struggling to earn money for their families, that is no excuse for selling your own children to people for sex. I would like to think that something like this does not happen in this world we live in, but it does, and it happens every day. Although it is tough learning about events like this happening all across the world, it is very difficult seeing it firsthand. You may think it would be easiest to just arrest the men involved in the trafficking, like the ones in the video, now and put a stop to the sex trade, the trafficking is much larger than you can imagine. Men like the ones in the video are only the surface of sex trafficking, and unfortunately the law enforcement found in Cambodia is often times corrupt and may even be involved in the local trafficking rings. For the many women and children forced into the sex trade, they may never receive the help to get out.

Legal Rights for Chimpanzees?

           The New York Supreme Court judges will have a lot to consider when Steven Wise presents a lawsuit on behalf of Chimpanzees to be treated as human beings, not just animals. Steven Wise is the founder and president of the Nonhuman Rights Project, their aim is to give captive chimps the rights of a “legal person.” The NRP plan to present to the court four different cases of captive chimpanzees who need help and be the voices for Tommy, Kiko, Hercules, and Leo in the upcoming trial. While reading Chimps Should be Recognized as ‘Legal persons,’ lawsuits claim, covered by Holly Yan and Mayra Cuevas, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for these animals. Two live in cages on private property, while the other two are used by the New Iberia Research Center at Stony Brook University in a “locomotion research experiment.”

These animals do not deserve to live their lives in cages or to be used in experiments for human research which is why the Nonhuman Rights Project is fighting for their rights. Joyce Tischler of the Animal Legal Defense Fund explained that the “legal person” lawsuit helps these chimpanzees because they don’t necessarily need to be human to be given the same rights as a legal person. Although chimpanzees are not the only animals that are mistreated by their owners, they cannot be included in this lawsuit. “‘Lawsuits have to address a real problem faced by an individual plaintiff. You cannot sue on behalf of all animals everywhere,’ Tischler said.” The NRP hope to act as a protective service for Tommy, Kiko, Hercules, and Leo by removing them from their owners and moving them to an animal sanctuary to live in a more natural environment with their own kind. Cruelty toward all animals is upsetting and should be stopped, the Nonhuman Rights Project plans to continue their efforts to provide basic rights for all animals.

Girls Pushed to Become "Future Inventors"

           “Toys for future inventors” is the theme for one of the four finalists of the “Small Business, Big Game” contest. With jobs for women increasing every day, Stanford-educated engineer, Debbie Sterling, decided to take matters into her own hands to “get girls building” and put down the dolls. Her ideas are what helped create the all new Goldieblox toys to help girls dissociate from the gender inequality produced from the blue boys games and toys and the pink baby toys for girls. According to the Association for Women in Science, women only make up 24% of the science and engineering work force. Sterling hopes to bridge this gap between gender inequalities with the Goldieblox toys.

With over 3.5 million views over the internet, Goldieblox is going to be a very rough contender for the “Small Business, Big Game” contest. The Goldieblox toys offer something different, something almost no girl has played with since the creation of play kitchens and Barbie dolls. I like the idea that. I believe this is going to become a very big hit for parents who choose to further their children’s learning through equality of sexes. The tag line found with Goldieblox is that they are the “toys for future inventors.” This may become a concern for young boys as the Goldieblox toys are pink, hopefully Sterling can create a more gender neutral Goldieblox in the future.