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["Toni Hawryluk" <tonihawr AT msn.com>]

OK all you stalwart "Christian" (athletic) supporters of the 

__ick in DC - now what ?

 

excerpt #1 .. receives U.S. funding to help trafficking victims, has an 
annual budget of more than $2.6 million.

 

Excerpt #2 ''If we don't see anyone come out to address the trouble caused to 
our organization ... .... we will close ''for good"

 

http://famulus.msnbc.com/famulusintl/ap12-10-192633.asp?reg=pacrim&vts=121020042024<http://famulus.msnbc.com/famulusintl/ap12-10-192633.asp?reg=pacrim&vts=121020042024>

 

Women's group in Cambodia closes after armed raid on shelter, 92 people 
kidnapped

ASSOCIATED PRESS

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, Dec. 10 - A shelter for women and girls forced into the 
sex trade shut its doors Friday after gunmen kidnapped 92 of its occupants 
and made death threats against the staff, the shelter's director said.

 

     Attackers stormed the shelter Wednesday and abducted 84 women and girls 
who had been rescued from a <>Phnom Penh brothel the day before, director 
Somaly Mam said. An additional eight girls at the shelter were kidnapped. One 
resident escaped by hiding in a restroom. 
       The U.S. State Department strongly condemned the attack. 
       ''This is horrific to us,'' spokesman Adam Ereli said Friday. ''We 
also believe that the Cambodia government must thoroughly investigate this 
outrageous attack and must bring those to justice responsible.'' 
       The shelter director said she and her staff no longer felt safe 
because the gunmen made death threats during the attack, and she would 
temporarily close her women's rights organization, Afesip, which handles 
various services for women and employs 180 people. 
       ''Unless there is an intervention from the government, we don't know 
how we can continue to operate,'' she said. 
       ''If we don't see anyone come out to address the trouble caused to our 
organization ... by some mafia group, we will close'' for good, she added. 
       Afesip, which receives U.S. funding to help trafficking victims, has 
an annual budget of more than $2.6 million. 
       Interior Ministry spokesmen and anti-trafficking officials were not 
immediately available Friday for comment. 
       ''If we close for good, it will also be disadvantageous for the 
government,'' Somaly Mam said. 

       On the Net: 
       Afesip: http://www.afesip.org<http://www.afesip.org/>