The Charity Rescuing Child Sex Slaves

[churchill]

Going undercover to rescue child-sex slaves from southeast Asian brothels sounds like something out of thriller fiction, but not to a group of dedicated ex-soldiers and former police.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimates that as many as 1.2 million children are trafficked for sex every year.

The figure makes the 100-odd high-risk rescues of woman and child sex slaves by the Brisbane-based charity The Grey Man seem like a drop in the ocean.

But try telling that to the organisation's president and founder, who goes by the pseudonym of John Curtis.

"Some people come up with the argument that rescues don't do any good," the 50-year-old said.

"People say we should be developing policy and dealing with the causes of the problem.

"Well, how about you tell that to a 10-year-old girl in a brothel."

Curtis, a former Australian special forces commando, set up Grey Man in 2004 after watching his five-year-old daughter, who now lives with her mum, asleep one night.

"I was thinking that (bad) things were happening to kids her age in South-East Asia, so I decided to do something about it," he said.

By the end of 2004, Curtis had assembled a team and was preparing for the first mission into Thailand.

"We were nothing then - basically me and a few hangers on," he said.

The Grey Man now has a support base of between 1200 and 1400 people, a website, is listed as an incorporated charity, and has formed strong links with Rotary.

"We are aiming to have a pool of about 50 to 60 operatives. If we had 50 people who had skills, then we could send them all over the place," he said.

When Curtis says "people with skills" he means former police or ex-military - those with experience in high risk environments.

This is due to the dangerous places in which they sometimes operate, Curtis says, like a beach at the Thai-Laos border in March 2009.

"When we met the traffickers the first time they were carrying weapons, pistols," he said.

"The second meeting was where they were going to be arrested, so the Thai police authorised us to carry (pistols), which is very rare."

He attributes the strong rapport with the Thai authorities as a key factor in the group's success, and says he hopes to build an equally good relationship with Cambodian authorities, where the charity made its breakthrough arrest.

The group's director of operations - a former Sydney policeman who goes under the name Tony to protect his identity - was in Cambodia on a fact-finding tour when a motorbike driver offered to arrange some young girls for him.

The driver then took Tony to a hotel where a pimp showed him two Vietnamese girls, aged 14 and 10 - the youngest the charity has ever rescued.

"He (Tony) asked for both girls and on the pretext of going to an ATM to get the US$600 ($NZD845) to pay for them, he briefed police," Curtis said.

Police then accompanied The Grey Man director back to the room to arrest the pimp and the motorbike driver.

The girls, who'd been trafficked from Vietnam, have been placed in the care of a British aid agency.

Curtis says the charity also assists in supporting the children they save, as well as funding preventative schemes.

These include paying for the education of about 100 hill-tribe children, and also helping villages generate steady incomes so there is no need to sell their children.

The not-for-profit organisation has just three people on the payroll - a Thailand investigator, his assistant, and a part-time administration officer in Brisbane.

Otherwise, it relies on its army of volunteers and donations from the public.

Curtis had to sell his Brisbane unit last year just to keep funding the project.

And he's so deeply involved that shortly after his wedding, he ran off to Thailand "to sort some stuff out".

"She (his bride) couldn't believe it, it was meant to be our honeymoon," he said.

His new wife joined him on a subsequent mission.

"After spending three months in Thailand with me and going on raids with me, she loved it," he said.

Grey Man is a military term for a soldier who goes under the radar and blends into the surrounds

http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/charity-rescu...-slaves-3344743

[WeeGB]

Good to read that this organisation has a strong rapport with the Thai authorities. Hopefully the perpetrators will receive the maximum sentence available.

Having been a member of this forum for a couple of years, it is my considered opinion that the vast majority of members would agree with my sentiments on this subject. There are many more good folks than bad here, as can be seen by the daily help given to what are often total strangers.

[garyh]

I am happy there are people out there taking some notice of the OP, I had made mention of it a few times before with no response. Sorry I did not mean to offend anyone, Grey Nab does a very good job and I support them 100 percent.

Here is the link to some information about operations in Chiang Mai, Mae Sai and Pattaya website http://thegreyman.org/blog/

[phetaroi]

I am happy there are people out there taking some notice of the OP, I had made mention of it a few times before with no response. Sorry I did not mean to offend anyone, Grey Nab does a very good job and I support them 100 percent.

Here is the link to some information about operations in Chiang Mai, Mae Sai and Pattaya website http://thegreyman.org/blog/

What do you mean -- you support them 100%. What exactly do you do?

[jubby]

Thanks for bringing it to our attention. I wasn't aware of the Organisation. I'll definately look at making a donation. I have the time but sadly don't have the necessary skills .

I don't think its a subject we should be argueing the toss about.

[Boo]

multiple posts in response to an offensive one deleted & warning issued.

Please keep this very relevant topic on track.

[samuibeachcomber]

multiple posts in response to an offensive one deleted & warning issued.

Please keep this very relevant topic on track.

I'd like to know why my reply to garyH has been scrubbed,nothing offensive in my reply,but a valid suggestion.

[Boo]

because it contained his original post.

[geriatrickid]

Who watches the vigilantes?

For all the heartwarming stories that makes it to the press, there are the nightmares that are hushed up. These self appointed saviours have a habit of jumping to conclusions and assuming that everyone is a pervert. Put yourself in the position of the accused. You have no right to a fair hearing or an investigation but are instead deemed guilty. Cops have a habit of thinking everyone is guilty and will sometimes do whatever it takes to make sure their view prevails.

It is a laudable effort, but covert activities without oversight are a recipe for the destruction of innocent people's lives and rarely achieve the results they say they do. Sorry, but I've seen these types of efforts in action and they end up with people trying to do good making alot of bad.

[Mario2008]

While I think that observation is not without merit, they do operate with the Thai police and offenders are arrested and prosecuted. In the end it is the courts who offer protection. They are not vigilantes in the sense that they take the law in their own hands and they are open to prosecution themselves if they step out of line.

[Andrew Hicks]

While I think that observation is not without merit, they do operate with the Thai police and offenders are arrested and prosecuted. In the end it is the courts who offer protection. They are not vigilantes in the sense that they take the law in their own hands and they are open to prosecution themselves if they step out of line.

The objectives are of immense importance but that does not necessary justify the methods.

It is very surprising if a government authorises non-nationals with guns implementing social policy without work permits or regulation.

Apart from the fact that it is hard to apprehend traffickers on a beach on the Thai/Lao border, Laos being a land locked country, I am not sure that this is the best approach to the problem. A more neutral role would be rehabilitating trafficked children who have been found by the lawful authorites.

These particular individuals may be beyond reproach but what happens when they use their guns on somebody, whether traffickers or not?

Andrew

[jubby]

While I think that observation is not without merit, they do operate with the Thai police and offenders are arrested and prosecuted. In the end it is the courts who offer protection. They are not vigilantes in the sense that they take the law in their own hands and they are open to prosecution themselves if they step out of line.

The objectives are of immense importance but that does not necessary justify the methods.

It is very surprising if a government authorises non-nationals with guns implementing social policy without work permits or regulation.

Apart from the fact that it is hard to apprehend traffickers on a beach on the Thai/Lao border, Laos being a land locked country, I am not sure that this is the best approach to the problem. A more neutral role would be rehabilitating trafficked children who have been found by the lawful authorites.

These particular individuals may be beyond reproach but what happens when they use their guns on somebody, whether traffickers or not?

Andrew

Andrew, there are many areas on the Mekong which have the appearance of a beach this time of year. maybe the lawful authorities in some countries don't give it the attention it needs, I don't know. what do you think