Human Trafficing In North Worsening

[george]

Northern girls being lured into porn: report

CHIANG MAI: -- The incidence of human tracking in the North provinces is worsening. And, it has emerged some women there are being lured to Japan and then into pornography.

The Anti-Trafficking Coordination Unit Northern Thailand, or Trafcord, revealed other young women had been lured to karaoke bars and restaurants in Malaysia and Taiwan.

Trafcord manager Suriya Kasemsirisawasdi said women from North villages are tricked into pornography and prostitution after marrying Japanese men and moving to their country.

"We found, too, that many girls aged just 12 or 13 are sent to work in Malaysia by their parents," said Suriya.

Trafcord recently completed an investigation into human trafficking in communities in Chiang Mai, Lampang and Phayao.

Suriya said the government needed to make human trafficking in the North a national-agenda item.

The unit discovered the culture of violence among juveniles was worsening and leading these teenagers into a life of crime.

Deputy director of Suanprung Psychiatric Hospital Dr Parithud Silpakij said teenagers were turning to violence as a way to solve problems because they saw it in the cinema and television.

He cited instances of girls brawling in public and senior students beating a first-year student.

Parithud said violence was a symptom of teenage neglect caused by economic factors that demanded parents work long hours outside the home.

Parithud blamed war and violence in movies or television, too.

Over the past few years, the Mental Health Department and the Education Ministry have established mechanisms to help students with mental-health problems.

Where signs of problems are found, teachers counsel the students and visit their homes.

The ministry hopes this will help teenagers and reduce their violent behaviour.

Parithud said all schools were not covered by this service yet and help was needed in areas without this care.

--The Nation 2007-10-07

[tijnebijn]

To blame it to movies is just easy talk from these officials again , I cannot agree with that.

Maybe they should consider these horrific problems comes from the dream

to make easy money , which again turns out is taken advantage of .

Horrifying to hear that such young children actually are sent in the first place .

It is more about education , or lack of it , and Thai TV is a part of it , or lack of knowledge and choice .

[Kaojai]

It's a worldwide problem, including places like the UK where you might have assumed it to be better controlled.

New crackdown on trafficking for sex trade

Wed Oct 3, 2007 6:37pm BST

LONDON (Reuters) - A new campaign against human trafficking for the sex trade will be launched across the country on Wednesday, police said.

The operation, codenamed Pentameter 2, will target the gang masters who force women and children to work in the sex industry.

It will also aim to help victims and raise public awareness of the problem.

The operation follows a similar four-month project last year after which 134 people were charged with various offences related to trafficking.

Nearly 90 women and girls were rescued from 500 brothels, massage parlours, homes and other premises. About half came from Eastern Europe and the rest from the Far East, Africa and South America.

A permanent unit, the UK Human Trafficking Centre, was set up as a result of the operation, bringing police, prosecutors and officers from the Serious Organised Crime Agency together.

The latest operation will be bigger, partly because the problem has become more complex.

It will target people born in the UK who are sold, moved around and exploited by criminal gangs as well those brought in from abroad for thousands of pounds.

Gloucestershire Chief Constable and spokesman for the Association of Chief Police Officers Dr Tim Brain, said: "The problem is large. It is growing because there are huge profits to be made in the exploitation of young women and young men for sexual purposes." Continued...

http://uk.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUK...eedName=topNews

[BossHogg]

Thai TV isnt the cause of all violence amongst Thai teenagers.However, alcohol and cigarettes cannot be shown yet is common to see a man assault his wife or girlfriend....not the best message to be sending the countries young men

[a2396]

Thai TV isnt the cause of all violence amongst Thai teenagers.However, alcohol and cigarettes cannot be shown yet is common to see a man assault his wife or girlfriend....not the best message to be sending the countries young men

It is aslo common to see Thai women asualting each other on TV drama/soap opera programs. OK to show this, but no kissing allowed. Violence lessons OK. Sex? We'd rather not know about it.

[Johpa]

Thai TV isnt the cause of all violence amongst Thai teenagers.However, alcohol and cigarettes cannot be shown yet is common to see a man assault his wife or girlfriend....not the best message to be sending the countries young men

It is aslo common to see Thai women asualting each other on TV drama/soap opera programs. OK to show this, but no kissing allowed. Violence lessons OK. Sex? We'd rather not know about it.

I would just be happy to see even a few of the women in the Thai TV "dramas" portrayed as adult human beings in control of their emotions instead of as children incapable of controlling their tantrums.

[blaze]

I don't know which is more pathetic- the childishly simplistic statements made by Dr Parithud- or the blind acceptance of those statements by the Nation reporter:

how does violence on TV inspire a mother to sell her daughter?

How does war coverage render a northern teen vulnerable to being lured to Japan?

Or are these intended to be two completely separate stories? One dealing with sexual exploitation, the other dealing with youth violence.

I suspect that rather than deal with the fact that there are some serious problems in contemporary Thai culture that have been evolving for much longer than villagers have had access to television- the doctor pumped out some half baked 'analysis' he'd heard somewhere as an undergrad- (the link between watching tv violence and committing violent acts) and tarred all social problems in the country with this convenient brush.

The reporter, rather than try to have the 'experts' elaborate on the the relationship between violence, TV and sexual exploitation- was content with accepting this bs at face value. And one more way for Thais to explain away serious social problems rather than engage in a deep and critical analysis of contemporary Thai culture has been tacked on to popular mythology: the long standing procilivity of the Thais to sell their kids? TV. (And of course we all know that violence on TV is a western import- so blame western culture, aped by Thai TV producers).

[bulmercke]

To blame it to movies is just easy talk from these officials again , I cannot agree with that.

Maybe they should consider these horrific problems comes from the dream

to make easy money , which again turns out is taken advantage of .

Horrifying to hear that such young children actually are sent in the first place .

It is more about education , or lack of it , and Thai TV is a part of it , or lack of knowledge and choice .

What do you mean by this?

There was a very disturbing report in the Nation recently about young Thai males getting drugged at major provincial bus/train terminals and then some time later finding themselves trapped on fishing boats in the middle of the ocean with no hope of escape. Sometimes these boats don't come ashore for five years or more for obvious reasons.

Slave ships!

Unfortunately if there existed a real and proper climate of investigative journalism here in Thailand then these these stories wouldn't just remain as hearsay but would be real and proper indictments against these ruthless and unscrupulous operators - mafia!

[brahmburgers]

There are many contributing factors. But I do agree that violence in TV and movies are up there near the top, and here's why:

They innure young people to abject violence, sexual manipulation and they de-sensitize people who watch that cr@p, particularly young people. They spend much more time staring at the tube (and soaking it all up) than conversing or learning from parents or older siblings. digital arcade games aren't any better, but at least the kids interact a bit with each other.

Nearly all videos feature one or more of the following : bondage, senseless violence, sexual manipulation, saddism, perversion. scary gore.

If I were miniding any young kids I would certainly try to screen them from that mind screwing stuff. I wouldn't expect kids to grow up in a wholesome environment (virtually impossible in Thailand(, but at least give them as much exposure to decency as reasonably possible - so they have an inkling of what the alternatives are.

[rafval]

I would just be happy to see even a few of the women in the Thai TV "dramas" portrayed as adult human beings in control of their emotions instead of as children incapable of controlling their tantrums.

It would be nice to meet a few in real life too.

[chownah]

How does the gov't know that there is an increase in human trafficing in the north?

Really, what do they base this on?

If they know who is doing it then why don't they stop it?

Seems like this is just fantasy.

[bulmercke]

How does the gov't know that there is an increase in human trafficing in the north?

Really, what do they base this on?

If they know who is doing it then why don't they stop it?

Seems like this is just fantasy.

There was an extremely damning article about this very same subject in The Nation last week. How can that be fantasy?......unless the whole story was a pack of lies!

[sharecropper]

There are any number of issues here:

1. Thai TV output - unthinking, uncrticitcal, undemanding, lowest common denominator rubbish of the worst kind, is probably only likely to make more Thais sink into their sofas and never question anything, let alone actually do anything. The routine beating of women on TV comes as a shock when you later see cigarettes and guns pixellated out. What kind of nonsense goes through the censor's mind?

2. Journalistic standards - I agree with a lot of the posts. The simplistic thinking and disjointed journalism evident in this piece would get a journalist sacked in the West. But let's not forget we are in a parochial, developing society, and Thailand should be judged in comparison to places like Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, not the UK and the USA.

3. Trafficking - When you can go out in Pattaya and at 1, 2 , 3 and 4am find babies in the arms of beggars on the streets, and children under 10 begging for money and hawking wares, being controlled by teenage minders, right under the noses of unconcerned lazy police, you have to ask does this society actually give a toss about child abuse. What sort of lives will these kids have when the enter sexual maturity (if not before).

They need to sort out child abuse and trafficking in Pattaya as well as overseas, but maybe too many fingers might get burned doing that.

[bulmercke]

There are many contributing factors. But I do agree that violence in TV and movies are up there near the top, and here's why:

They innure young people to abject violence, sexual manipulation and they de-sensitize people who watch that cr@p, particularly young people. They spend much more time staring at the tube (and soaking it all up) than conversing or learning from parents or older siblings. digital arcade games aren't any better, but at least the kids interact a bit with each other.

Nearly all videos feature one or more of the following : bondage, senseless violence, sexual manipulation, saddism, perversion. scary gore.

If I were miniding any young kids I would certainly try to screen them from that mind screwing stuff. I wouldn't expect kids to grow up in a wholesome environment (virtually impossible in Thailand(, but at least give them as much exposure to decency as reasonably possible - so they have an inkling of what the alternatives are.

brahmburgers - good post - agree totally with your sentiments about this matter.

[Shah Jahan]

What a bunch of bullshit

where I live in the north it is completely commonplace for a 15 hill tribe year old girl to be sent to Chonburi and have her virginity sold to a dirty old thai man for 30,000 baht and then she will work in one of the massage palors, jacking guys off for 500 baht a pop and sometimes boom-booming for more-

this is until she is 17-18 and ready for the bright lights of BKK at which point she will goto work at one of the palours along ratchada

the only pimps involved in the process are the girls older sister and aunties who will sell her off her virginity and keep part of the cut to buy a new cell phone

if thai authorities are so concerned about prostitution, then perhaps they should take a drive down to chonburi and the areas around and close down all the 500 baht jack off palours staffed by 15 year old girls.

----

edit

to the thai authorities credit, last year a dirty Japanese man did come to our village and try to lure a 15 year old girl away with him - we ran him out of town - unfortunately a few months later the girl was taken by her sister to sell her pussy in chonburi - the japanese was just trying to beat them to the punch - going directly to the source

I have had talks with 'Bangkok Elite' about this issue and they justify it saying that the hill tribe girls have no opportunity nor money for their families and they have to do that to support them so it is OK because they are hill tribe - the reality is that girl selling her pussy for 3 months will show up back home with a new cellphone, some cheap clothes, tacky makeup and about 1-2k baht for her parents - they actually save more money farming rice and living in the village

really no hope here

Edited October 8, 2007 by Shah Jahan

[Aussietraveller]

Northern girls being lured into porn: report

The Anti-Trafficking Coordination Unit Northern Thailand, or Trafcord, revealed other young women had been lured to karaoke bars and restaurants in Malaysia and Taiwan.

Trafcord manager Suriya Kasemsirisawasdi said women from North villages are tricked into pornography and prostitution after marrying Japanese men and moving to their country.

"We found, too, that many girls aged just 12 or 13 are sent to work in Malaysia by their parents," said Suriya.

So the manager of the Anti Trafficking Unit in Thailand, says that they found many girls of 12 or 13 are sent by their parents.

Why have they not stated in here how many of the parents have been arrested?

Once again unfortunately, the victims are those who are too poor to do anything about it and the kids sent to work in prostitution and porn.

The journalists here seem happy to write the story, but have very little backbone when it comes to getting and printing the facts.

Who are the people running the racket, and who are they paying off so that it does not get properly shut down or investigated?

[chiangmaibruce]

I understand there are two offices in Thailand to issue passports, BKK and here in Chiang Mai.

Here's a thought. If someone/anyone in the Thai government was serious about human trafficking (instead of watching TV in their office), then how about have some undercover people in these offices so when another group of hilltribe girls get shepherded in/out by a minder - like I saw today ... then maybe they could get even that person's name, follow them, do some INVESTIGATION. How did they get the money for passports? Are they really all getting jobs as nannies in Malaysia/ Taiwan? Who was the minder? school teacher? kindly benefactor? Nuh-uh, I don't think so.

Yes I know they would soon get clever and gone in ones and two's, but it would be doing something to hinder something that is occurring now so openly. Again, just a thought.

[brahmburgers]

I understand there are two offices in Thailand to issue passports, BKK and here in Chiang Mai.

Here's a thought. If someone/anyone in the Thai government was serious about human trafficking (instead of watching TV in their office), then how about have some undercover people in these offices so when another group of hilltribe girls get shepherded in/out by a minder - like I saw today ... then maybe they could get even that person's name, follow them, do some INVESTIGATION. How did they get the money for passports? Are they really all getting jobs as nannies in Malaysia/ Taiwan? Who was the minder? school teacher? kindly benefactor? Nuh-uh, I don't think so.

Yes I know they would soon get clever and gone in ones and two's, but it would be doing something to hinder something that is occurring now so openly. Again, just a thought.

Thai police are notoriously inept when it comes to going the extra mile, doing anything creative, or nabbing anyone important.

Have you ever heard of a Thai police setting up a sting operation? Neither have I. They're like bureaucrats, fixated upon not rocking the boat, just doing the minimum required to get through the required hours per week so they can get their paycheck (and maybe a few pay-offs).

Anytime a big-time cross-border criminal or terrorist is nabbed in Thailand, it's Euro or US investigators that give the Thai cops the tip-offs, the descriptions, the locations. Thai cops couldn't figure it out on their own.

The big news now is the triple murder. Yes, it's horrendous, but it's also very much a cut and dried case. In other words, it's quite easy to connect all the dots, and that's why many many cops are jumping on it. If the case was difficult and/or required lots of thinking and investigation, the Thai cops would be out doing what they usually do: pulling over the prettiest college girls for not wearing helmets while on their motobikes.

...or standing for hours along highways, waiting for those two minutes of action when they can wave cars over to let a VIP pass at 100 mph.

[Spee]

What a bunch of bullshit

where I live in the north it is completely commonplace for a 15 hill tribe year old girl to be sent to Chonburi and have her virginity sold to a dirty old thai man for 30,000 baht and then she will work in one of the massage palors, jacking guys off for 500 baht a pop and sometimes boom-booming for more-

this is until she is 17-18 and ready for the bright lights of BKK at which point she will goto work at one of the palours along ratchada

................................

to the thai authorities credit, last year a dirty Japanese man did come to our village and try to lure a 15 year old girl away with him - we ran him out of town - unfortunately a few months later the girl was taken by her sister to sell her pussy in chonburi - the japanese was just trying to beat them to the punch - going directly to the source

really no hope here

I agree with this poster. Here is a scenario.

1. Japanese man marries Thai woman, sometimes with less than honorable intent.

2. Thai wife gets Japanese visa.

3. Japanese man makes deal with mafia associates to "smuggle" a girl, only it's not really smuggling.

4. Mafia finds the girl, usually raised in poverty, flat broke or in debt with obligations to support family.

5. Mafia and/or Japanese man loan girl enough money to take care of debt and travel to Japan.

6. Girl uses Thai wife's passport to enter Japan "legally."

7. Girl is obligated to pay back mafia and/or Japanese man double the loan, within a certain period of time.

8. Contacts are pre-established in Japan to help the girl get settled, find out where to pay back the debt, etc.

9. If the girl is unable to find work to pay the debt within a reasonable period, or if the girl falls behind, then pressure is applied to get the girl into a higher paying line of work (namely porn and/or prostitution).

10. If or when the girl pays off the debt, then the girl uses the Thai wife's passport again to leave the country. Or so she is led to believe at the time the deal is done.

This is not to say that all Japanese men in Thailand are up to no good, or that no Japanese men marry Thai women for love and commitment. It is just a fact of life that some Japanese to participate in these activities. Again, this is not to suggest that it is only Japanese who participate in these activities. This is but one example from one nation.

This is a fact of life, not some pipedream. It is more common that people care to admit, acknowledge or face up to.

Trafficking of women to Japan for various services is not unique to Thailand and Thai women. There have been many stories of American, British, Eastern European and other women who have found their way to Japan and experienced brutal and abusive treatment and sometimes death.

[chownah]

How does the gov't know that there is an increase in human trafficing in the north?

Really, what do they base this on?

If they know who is doing it then why don't they stop it?

Seems like this is just fantasy.

There was an extremely damning article about this very same subject in The Nation last week. How can that be fantasy?......unless the whole story was a pack of lies!

Since you have seent he article in the Nation last week then please tell us what is the basis for their assertion that human trafficing in the north has increased. How did they learn this....what were the numbers before and what are the numbers now....and how were these numbers arrived at.

[hammered]

Northern girls being lured into porn: report

CHIANG MAI: -- The incidence of human tracking in the North provinces is worsening. And, it has emerged some women there are being lured to Japan and then into pornography.

The Anti-Trafficking Coordination Unit Northern Thailand, or Trafcord, revealed other young women had been lured to karaoke bars and restaurants in Malaysia and Taiwan.

Trafcord manager Suriya Kasemsirisawasdi said women from North villages are tricked into pornography and prostitution after marrying Japanese men and moving to their country.

"We found, too, that many girls aged just 12 or 13 are sent to work in Malaysia by their parents," said Suriya.

Trafcord recently completed an investigation into human trafficking in communities in Chiang Mai, Lampang and Phayao.

Suriya said the government needed to make human trafficking in the North a national-agenda item.

The unit discovered the culture of violence among juveniles was worsening and leading these teenagers into a life of crime.

Deputy director of Suanprung Psychiatric Hospital Dr Parithud Silpakij said teenagers were turning to violence as a way to solve problems because they saw it in the cinema and television.

He cited instances of girls brawling in public and senior students beating a first-year student.

Parithud said violence was a symptom of teenage neglect caused by economic factors that demanded parents work long hours outside the home.

Parithud blamed war and violence in movies or television, too.

Over the past few years, the Mental Health Department and the Education Ministry have established mechanisms to help students with mental-health problems.

Where signs of problems are found, teachers counsel the students and visit their homes.

The ministry hopes this will help teenagers and reduce their violent behaviour.

Parithud said all schools were not covered by this service yet and help was needed in areas without this care.

--The Nation 2007-10-07

If they seriously want to address the issue of human trafickining in the upper north, it may be an idea to start by dealing with the agents who set the trafficking up and the powerful families that control this trade. The names are well known although it is extremely dangerous to state them. Politically it may even be advantageous for the state to deal with these people right now although I hold little hope of this.

On top of this in the long term education is critical, in fact it is the most critical issue in Thailand right now for many reasons although those with power whoever they are seem to have little interest in educating people so they can take better care of themselves and their families and make better informed decisions.

In an ideal world the above issues would be dealt with instead of trying to blame everything on the poor exploited individuals, modern society or some cheap entertanment on TV. Iirc research into how TV affects action has found cartoons to be more damaging than even the most violent movies.

Sadly wewill probably see this exploitation continue for some time yet.

[drenoi]

How does the gov't know that there is an increase in human trafficing in the north?

Really, what do they base this on?

If they know who is doing it then why don't they stop it?

Seems like this is just fantasy.

There was an extremely damning article about this very same subject in The Nation last week. How can that be fantasy?......unless the whole story was a pack of lies!

Since you have seent he article in the Nation last week then please tell us what is the basis for their assertion that human trafficing in the north has increased. How did they learn this....what were the numbers before and what are the numbers now....and how were these numbers arrived at.

Chownah - Firstly the orginal article clearly says that it is Trafcord who is supplying the figures, Trafcord being a NGO - Non-Government Organization, you might take the time to read the article next time.

Trafcord work with the police in the north of Thailand to stop the traficking of women & children, they are defiently one of the more well known NGO's here. One would expect they have a detailed knowledge of the cases of people traficking (that are caught) due to their close links with the police. They possibly even keep a record of the cases they take up? It might even be on their website. You could contact them and get back to us with your discoveries!! http://www.trafcord.org/

Whether the figures are accurate or not I don't know, it's possible Trafcord are attempting to increase funding by making the problem seem bigger than it is however I fail to see how any attention to such an important matter could be bad attention.

Secondly it's proven fact (arrests & statements from victims) that in many cases it is the public servants who are assisting in the trafficking/exploiting of the said children.

On the topic of child trafficking and pornography, and it is mostly children/young women that are trafficked, I visited Pantip plaza the other day, after being hounded non-stop for the duration of my visit I finially agreed to take a look at some X movies. I was sickened to see a folder devoted entirely to pedophileia. How can this be? In the most famous computer plaza in Thailand they are openly displaying and selling no less than 50 VCD's featuring very young children! Where are all these NGO's? Where are the FBI agents? Interpol? Ha!

Not only that but everyone who has done their visa run to Mae Sai has likely been hounded by touts saying 'Hey mister, you want young girl? I have girl 13-14, you want?'

If I have children I will be locking them in chasity belts and moving to a nice village somewhere where they don't have TV or internet.