Missing Children, Human Trafficking In Thailand

[Mai Krap]

Children in danger

Human trafficking suspected as youngsters go missing in Tak's Mae Sot district

Every month, a few children go missing from the Muslim Community in Mae Sot district in what clearly are cases of human-trafficking.

According to local community leaders, these children are sent to Bangkok, Nakhon Sawan and even Malaysia to be beggars, workers and prostitutes.

Some children are stolen, others are lured away. Some are sold.

"Some parents sell their own children," Thongsuk Khamveera said. He is the vice-chairman of the Muslim Community's board.

"Look around Mae Sot and you see how perpetrators exploit the children. Some mothers rent out their babies for Bt20 a day. Other women want to carry the babies while begging for money because this arouses sympathy from unsuspecting people," he said.

Thongsuk was now preparing to submit a petition to Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont calling for help in preventing human trafficking and other crimes in his community.

"Most perpetrators are aliens," he said.

In the community, some houses host about 10 alien families who pay the combined rent of Bt1,000 to Bt2,000 a month. Many of them reported carrying fake passports.

Thongsuk complained that his community was once a happy settlement but that changed after the influx of aliens. He said the number of aliens in his community now even exceeded the number of Thai locals, who are forced to live with the problems that relevant authorities rarely pay attention to.

"We suspect that some government officials are involved in the human trafficking," the community leader added.

He said thefts also took place on a daily basis.

Wisoot Sunthorn, a board member of Muslim Community, said the problems from alien residents had been aggravated during the past few years.

Because the town was located close to the border, people from Burma could easily sneak in and blend into the community. Even though a few hundred are deported every day, this many people are believed to slip across the border into Thailand every day.

Local resident Panee Panmini, 45, said her 11-year-old son disappeared on February 16 and she was terrified about what has happened to him.

"I don't know what has happened to him. I have been pleading with the police to help," she said.

Chaithai Raksachart, manager of World Vision Foundation of Thailand, said some alien parents suffered the same problem but were too afraid of attracting police attention to report their children's disappearance. These aliens entered Thailand illegally.

Mamijee, 50, said one of her sons went missing when he was less than six years old.

"But I am afraid of the police. I just reported to the community board. Till now, I haven't heard anything about him," she said tearfully.

According to her, several children go missing from the community every month. Ten days ago, one of her neighbour's children was among them.

Chaithai said most trafficked children from Mae Sot were forced to beg for money in Bangkok.

"In one case, a boy was forced to beg for money. If he earned less than Bt200 a day, the gangsters punished him with an electric shock," he added.

He said the foundation was trying to end the problem, but its efforts were insignificant given the sheer scale.

"There are many human-trafficking gangs. Besides, some parents very obviously are selling their children. We have been able to help some children but they ask not to be returned to their parents," he said.

An informed source said some trafficking gangs had even contacted a local centre for displaced persons to supply them with children.

"Each child is sold for between Bt4,000 and Bt5,000. These human traffickers then bribe police officers who will personally check their vehicles at the checkpoint and allow them to go undetected by other officers," the source said.

Mae Sot Police Station's deputy superintendent Lt Col Ampon Wongyai said police recently arrested a Burmese man of Arakan descent on charges of human trafficking.

"We are investigating the case further," he said.

Anan Paengnoy

The Nation

Tak

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/03/26...es_30030240.php

[cdnvic]

"Most perpetrators are aliens," he said.

The alleged police taking bribes aren't

"Each child is sold for between Bt4,000 and Bt5,000. These human traffickers then bribe police officers who will personally check their vehicles at the checkpoint and allow them to go undetected by other officers," the source said.

Mae Sot Police Station's deputy superintendent Lt Col Ampon Wongyai said police recently arrested a Burmese man of Arakan descent on charges of human trafficking.

Foreigner and hill tribesman... double scapegoat.

"We are investigating the case further," he said.

Translation: "We are currently covering our asses and making sure that nobody in the police force loses face or their job because we all know that this is much more important than the safety of children. If we did not do this people could get the mistaken idea that policemen are here to protect the public."

[bingobongo]

life is cheap in thailand, always has been and always will be just like most third world countries

[Mai Krap]

This entire situation disgusts me. One aspect that could be resolved and resolved quickly is putting a end once and for all of child beggars and babies in Bangkok. This would take about one day to round up all the kids and then you could sort out exactly who they were. I think life in prison for kidnapping any kid outside of custody disputes would be a little stronger deterrent than the current See No Evil method of justice. Anybody who maimed a kid to use as a beggar should just get the death penalty.

While the country is basically going to helll in a hand basket because of greed there is no greater issue than the health and welfare of the children. There are many things Thailand needs in this day and time but there is no more desperate of a situation than children in todays modern society being kidnapped and sold as slaves.

[uptou]

this is why i never give to beggars (unless they are missiing limbs or genuinely sick) as it encourages the individual or the organisers to do it more.

i spent a couple of years in mae sot & it always seemed to be only muslim people begging.there was this one guy who was always looking very frail of a night when out begging,but my girlfreind who used to work in mae sot said that during the day he was very lively.

alot of burmese people in mae sot are only earning around 50 baht a day there,but most of them seem to get on with it rather than go back to burma.

[bkkmadness]

this is why i never give to beggars (unless they are missiing limbs or genuinely sick)

That leads people to mutilate the children so they earn more money.

Never give money, only give food.

[uptou]

i agree bkkm.in mae sot there are quite a few land mine victims from karen state though.