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Concert for Cambodia heightens awareness about the problem of human trafficking in the region

• Published: 28/12/2011
• Bangkok Post
  

The capital city of neighbouring Cambodia, Phnom Penh, recently hosted a concert with the aim to raise awareness about a problem that's long afflicted our region _ human exploitation and trafficking.

After School

The concert, MTV Exit, where Exit is the acronym for End Exploitation and Trafficking, was staged on December 17 to a full house at Phnom Penh's Olympic Stadium.

The MTV Exit movement began in Europe, but its roots have spread to Asia which has played host to 28 such concerts the past three years, including in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Nepal, Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia and Timor-Leste. It uses music to communicate to young peers the world's single most important message, respect for human rights, and has long waged a crusade against human trafficking and exploitation.

Taking to the stage were local and international artists, rising and established stars, and the concert was a resounding success as over 40,000 fans packed every inch of the stadium's parking space, where the stage was set to offer fans a chance to feel close to their idols, according to the organisers, while for foreign visitors, it was an eye-opener to Cambodia's up and coming music scene.

The opening act was performed by Ekhlectic, an emerging Cambodian hip hop crew whose members include US-born rappers and local B-Boy dancers. Ekhlectic created eccentric sounds that combined old-school Khmer rock to classic American music. After sunset Cartoon Emo took to the stage with their high-pitch emo-rock numbers, when its skinny lead singer wowed every spectator with his powerful screams. Read the full article and see more beautiful pictures at The Bangkok Post.