MTV EXIT (End Exploitation and Trafficking), a campaign to promote freedom and respect for human life, will return to Vietnam after two years. It is estimated that 2.5 million people worldwide are currently victims of human trafficking and that more than half of them originate from Asia and the Pacific.

Often, the victims are young. For example Vietnamese men, women, and girls are trafficked for sexual and labor exploitation in other Asian countries like Malaysia and South Korea; they are smuggled into Arab nations, on to Eastern Europe and all the way up to Sweden and the UK while some even go to Trinidad and Tobago and Costa Rica.

In 2010, the total number of Vietnamese working overseas in 40 countries and territories is estimated to be around 500,000, and most of them work in construction, fishing, agriculture, mining, logging, and manufacturing sectors. Many state-affiliated and private labor export companies force these migrants to sign contracts in languages they do not understand and charge these migrants high fee in excess of those allowed by law which forces them into extreme debt from which they cannot escape.

In both sex trafficking and labor trafficking, debt bondage, confiscation of identity and travel documents, and threats of deportation are commonly utilized to intimidate victims.

Therefore, the MTV campaign in Vietnam includes a nation-wide initiative against human trafficking, featuring a series of events, TV shows, and the very first multi-media exhibition on human trafficking as part of MTV EXIT Youth Sessions. The exhibition will highlight innovative ways of discussing this issue. It will be divided into a series of different experiences, such as video, music, photography, and interactive activities for young people. The flagship event will be a massive live concert at Hanoi’s My Dinh Stadium on May 26, featuring performances by famous Vietnamese singers along with Canadian modern-rock sensation, Simple Plan.

This will be Simple Plan’s first-ever live performance in Vietnam. Simple Plan‘s members have established “The Simple Plan Foundation”- to support a variety of worthycauses, including various cancer charities.

“Over our career, it’s always been very important for us to get involved socially and support causes that are close to our hearts. We started the Simple Plan Foundation with the goal of helping young people in need,” said Chuck Comeau, the drummer of Simple Plan. “Teaming up with MTV EXIT to raise global awareness around the issue of human trafficking is exactly what our mission is all about.

Human trafficking is a horrible crime with devastating consequences for so many young people and their families. We are proud to stand together with MTV EXIT and their partners in the fight against exploitation. We can’t wait to play in Vietnam for the first time and are looking forward to informing our fans on how they can get involved and help out.”

The organizer of the live concert hope it will be successful as MTV EXIT’s 2010 concert tour in Vietnam, where 80,000 Vietnamese music fans attended four concerts across the country, including performances by K-pop band Super Junior.

To find out more about human trafficking and exploitation in Asia, visit www.mtvexit.org or follow MTV EXIT on the following social media platforms: Twitter @mtvexit and www.facebook.com/mtvexit

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If you are looking to escape a hectic, noisy lifestyle, traveling countrysides may be the perfect place for you to go. The best thing about traveling is trying something that can’t be done at home. although traveling has much more to offer. Taking a trip somewhere can include recreation, tourism, vacationing, volunteering, or discovering and exploring new cultures and civilizations.

There are many advantages to consider about traveling to the countryside, including the fact that some places, including the country of Nha Trang city, Vietnam is less polluted and the traffic isn’t as heavy. The Biet Thu town near Nha Trang city has a pleasant waterfront esplanade, palm trees and nearly 6km of clean beach.

Also beaches in Bai Bien town, which is located around 40 km north of Nha Trang, have more tranquil, cleaner and beautiful beaches. It is well worth taking a tour there. Local fishermen families sell and prepare seafood which they cook on the beach for very affordable prices. Countrysides also have limited temptations to waste money; having no malls, no clubs and no fancy hotels.

However, there are still places to spend money in for example the Irish countrysides, because they have pricey bed spaces and breakfasts.People traveling to the countryside can enjoy the natural life by walking in the forest, hunting or swimming. Travellers can try original, authentic cuisines, regardless of having limited options of national and international food chains.

Local food expresses the heart of the local culture for any society. It’s also a great idea to buy souvenirs to keep it as something to remind you of the time you spent there. The souvenirs sold near tourist attractions in the countryside tend to be much cheaper than buying from the city.

For example, traveling in Indonesia, buying souvenirs near from Borobudur Temple is much cheaper than buying them Yogyakarta city. Borobudur Temple is located in the heart of nature, lying between two volcanoes Sumbing and Merapi as well as two rivers, the Progo and the Elo.

When visiting a more rural area, keeping the environment clean would be appreciated by the local people and even by the natural habitats themselves. This is especially important when visiting a place as nice as La Diague Island in Seychelles, east of mainland Africa, which has the most photographed beach in the world as mentioned in the La Diague Island official website.

The most important thing when traveling to small villages is respecting the local culture and the religion of the country. For example, when traveling to towns in a predominantly Muslim country such as Malaysia or Indonesia, it’s not accepted to visit the mosques or graveyards wearing shorts or sleeveless shirts. Also in these places tourists shouldn’t demonstrate public affection.

Reading about the destination before traveling will help to plan where to go and what kind of transportation to use to get around the tourist spots. Google is a useful resource to collect information about the destinations when preparing for travel. It is useful to prepare a Google map to use during traveling, using a smart phone or a printed map.

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It has been a rough year for animals so far, particularly birds and fish.  There have been countless massive and unexplained animal deaths since the year began.  Even some with official explanations still seem questionable.

The New Year began ominously with 5,000 blackbirds literally falling out of the sky is Beebe, Arkansas.  Officials have concluded that fireworks were probably to blame for scaring the birds and causing them to fly into each other and other objects.  But, fireworks are launched at least two times a year in most communities and such a large number of bird deaths are extremely rare.  Following that, it was difficult to keep up with the dying birds.  Large numbers of birds were found dead in Sweden, Italy, Louisiana, Kentucky, and California.   Even just last week, 200 geese in Ohio have died and many more are sick.  Officials have offered a number of explanations for the bird deaths although nothing has been conclusive.  Officials also stress that these occurrences are not connected.   Are the large number of dead birds a normal thing that we have just focused on more or is it something else?

Marine life has also been dying at alarming rates.  Hundreds of thousands of fish were found dead in the Arkansas River, not far from the first bird deaths in Arkansas.  Fish were found dead in Florida, New Zealand, and Illinois.   An estimated 40,000 crabs washed ashore in England during January.  Two million fish were found dead in the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland.  In Brazil, millions of dead fish washed up on the beach.  Officials blame most of the deaths on cold temperatures.

More recently, some mammals have died in massive numbers.  10,000 cattle died in Vietnam and officials say that cold weather is to blame.  However, the weather wasn’t really that cold and cattle can survive in colder weather.  200 cows died in Wisconsin, but that is one animal death with a definitive answer—the poor cows ate moldy sweet potatoes.   Now, the dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico are turning up dead.  Although, this probably isn’t very mysterious since millions of gallons of oil spilled there last year.  60 dolphins, many newborns, have been found dead in the last month.  Is this all just a normal cycle of nature or is it something else?

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