Thailand Remains Major Centre For Human Trafficking

[webfact]

SPECIAL REPORT

Thailand remains major centre for human trafficking

CHAIYAKORN BAI-NGERN,

THACHAYAN WAHARAK

SPECIAL TO THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- Many locals and job-seekers from neighbouring countries continue to be ensnared in the sex industry or trapped in slave labour despite the enactment of the Anti-Human-Trafficking Act in 2008, "Thailand is still a source, transit and destination in human trade," Yanee Lertkrai, inspector-general of the Social Development and Human Security Ministry, said yesterday.

Several border provinces in the North and Northeast are the starting points. "The victims are sent from there to other provinces in Thailand and often to a third country," she said.

Today, the victims also come from nearby countries such as Laos, Myanmar and even China. Nukool Chinfuk of Hat Yai University's Political Science Faculty has conducted research on the problem and found that it is getting very serious in the South.

"Some gangs have brought Myanmar people to Ranong, from where some are sent to Samut Sakhon, while some others are sent to Thailand's lower Southern region, Malaysia and Singapore," he said.

More than 120 establishments are offering sex services in Songkhla's Sadao district alone, he said. Most of the sex workers there come from Thailand's northern and northeastern regions as well as China and Laos.

"The longer the problem persists, the younger the victims become," he said.

Many sources put the ages of the youngest victims of prostitution at 11-15. They enter the flesh trade in the hope of providing financial support to their impoverished families.

Pol Lt-Colonel Jatuporn Arun-rerkthawin from the Department of Special Investigation said Chinese-speaking women were now much in demand among customers of brothels in the South.

"Those places serve many Chinese-Malaysians," he said. "Women from countries north of Thailand have nice skin and good |figures."

Pol Captain Yin Yin Ae, head of anti-human-trafficking in Myan-mar's Tachilek, said late last year that joint operations with Thai officials had rescued 36 Myanmar girls younger than 18 from a human-smuggling gang.

"These girls left their home towns without knowing that they would be forced into prostitution," he said. "After they crossed the border, they were sold to a Thai agent who locked them up and beat them in a bid to force them into the flesh trade."

Another source said many Myanmar girls were brought into Thailand via Tak's Mae Sot district or Chiang Rai and sent to a holding centre for training in sex services. "The good-looking ones will be taken to Bangkok and the rest to the southern border provinces," the source said.

Since Thailand clearly has many human-trafficking routes, it still appeared in Tier 2 of the Watch List of the US State Department's report on human trafficking this year.

Boys and men are not exempt, because many of them are forced into backbreaking work on fishing trawlers.

Yanee said her ministry was trying hard to suppress human trafficking and urged anyone with a tip-off to call her ministry's 1300 hotline.

Pol Lt-General Pongpat Chaya-phan, commissioner of the Central Investigation Bureau, said he hoped that the upcoming Asean Economic Community in 2015 would make |it easier to stamp out human traffickers.

"The loopholes in the different regulations and laws used by |each country will be reduced," he said. When the databases of various countries are linked, prevention of human trafficking will also get a big boost.

"Cooperation will help a lot. We have to do our best," he said.

The bureau has compiled criminal records and continues to try out new techniques and procedures to raise efficiency in its operations.

"We have sent some staff to Britain and Canada to improve our investigations. We have also worked with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in trying to solve the problem," he said.

-- The Nation 2012-06-28

[webfact]

SPECIAL REPORT

Victims plumb depths of misery in quest of a better future in region

CHAIYAKORN BAI-NGERN,

THACHAYAN WAHARAK

SPECIAL TO THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- Statistics, both official and from relief organisations, reflect the widespread activities of vicious human-trafficking rings in this region and the countries most involved in their operations.

They list Vietnam as the biggest source in the Mekong region as a transit point and destination for human trafficking, both for sex and labour exploitation.

More than 500,000 Vietnamese work in foreign countries and some 180,000 Laotians work illegally in Thailand, according to the Thai government.

World Vision says 44 per cent of Laotian families have no idea where their children go to for work. Of those who return home, 13 per cent claimed they were raped.

Singapore - one of many destinations for human traffickers - has no effective anti-human-trafficking laws.

Few Malaysians are trafficked to countries such as Singapore, China and Japan, but trafficking of foreigners within Malaysia is rife.

Human-trafficking sources reported there are more than 100,000 immigrants working in the Thai fishing industry. Job placement agencies estimate that illegal workers generate more than Bt50 billion in revenue for the sector.

Migrant workers have left their countries either voluntarily or by being duped to escape a life without hope. Many decided to leave home in quest of a better future, meaning a more comfortable and successful life, often described as possessing as many materials as friends or others do.

For instance, Ni, a 20-year-old Laotian woman, recalled how she started life in Thailand as a domestic maid and ended up as a prostitute at a karaoke shop in a central province of Thailand.

She said she paid Bt30,000 to an agency in Sawannaket province of Laos to work as a maid in Bangkok tending to children for a monthly salary of Bt5,000, but her life was a misery. "I had to send money home every month and had only B500 left for my own upkeep. Work was awfully exhausting so I called up my friend," she said.

The friend led her to work as a waitress in a Nonthaburi restaurant at the same salary as a maid, but she got lots of tips from clients. "Life was a bit better because what I had to do was just dress up and talk to customers and I had to learn to drink liquor," she said.

Ni's earnings could not match her spending after having lived beyond her means. Clothes, mobile phones, even plastic surgery plunged her deep into debt. When she could not send money home, she decided to enter the sex industry.

"In the beginning having sex with five men per day was an ordeal. I needed drugs and alcohol to give me the guts," she said.

She receives about Bt800 from each client she sleeps with, which means over Bt4,000 per day, excluding what the shop earns.

While Ni may be endangering her life by exposing herself to risk of contracting Aids, Molui Sengko, a 20-year-old Burmese, risks being killed and dumped into the sea working in the fishing industry.

He was duped by an agency that promised him a construction job in Thailand. After having paid them Bt15,000, he was forced to work for nine months on a fishing boat before being rescued by police.

"I and 13 others thought we would never have the chance to see land again. Life in the boat was a living hell. We were beaten to work non-stop. No time even to eat. They threatened to throw us into the sea if we stopped working," he said.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is opening a battlefront against human traffickers in the Mekong region.

In Thailand, the UNODC signed an agreement with the Central Investigation Bureau to suppress sexual-related crimes before the Asean Economic Community takes effect in 2015.

The UNODC has supported the Thai police to adopt the concept of community policing, which has proved a success.

-- The Nation 2012-06-28

[theblether]

This is the most diabolical of crimes, enslaving people in any way, and worse, enslaving people into sexual slavery.

Slavery in the 21st Century........truly the most horrific crime against humanity outside of genocide. Shameful and repulsive.

[theblether]

Of all the criticisms that could be made against the BiB, this one would represent the worst. These people are operating right below the nose of the Bib, and even if the slave traders manage to secret them into the country, the whereabouts of the Brothels will be known to the BiB.

To allow slavery to take place below your nose is an abrogation of your responsibility as a member of the human race. To be in the position that the BiB are to potentially profit from the tea money paid by slave traders make's you worse than them.

It's not human trafficking...............it's slave trading, and the BiB have a high responsibility for it.

[Jessi]

Of all the criticisms that could be made against the BiB, this one would represent the worst. These people are operating right below the nose of the Bib, and even if the slave traders manage to secret them into the country, the whereabouts of the Brothels will be known to the BiB.

To allow slavery to take place below your nose is an abrogation of your responsibility as a member of the human race. To be in the position that the BiB are to potentially profit from the tea money paid by slave traders make's you worse than them.

It's not human trafficking...............it's slave trading, and the BiB have a high responsibility for it.

+1 Plus the BiB are also involved at a high level.

[osiboy]

This is the most diabolical of crimes, enslaving people in any way, and worse, enslaving people into sexual slavery.

Slavery in the 21st Century........truly the most horrific crime against humanity outside of genocide. Shameful and repulsive.

TIT AMAZING ?........yes!, ......SAD , ?.......YES!,........MIRACLE ?, ............NO !, just the Thailand we are all learing about in the time of global communications,......... can they sweep everything under the carpet ? , ......NO!......we can seeeeeeee youuuu !!,..sooo.sad for a country that COULD be so great , brilliant, fantastic , amazing,.................<deleted> thailand,do you want to be like korea or japan ? ..YES !... I thought so , ....so get your act together before its too late , your looking more like a banana republic everytime i come to this site.......give us a positive for a change ..........PLEASE !!,.....it's like watching a suicide !

[nurofiend]

something something hub of something

[JurgenG]

Of all the criticisms that could be made against the BiB, this one would represent the worst. These people are operating right below the nose of the Bib, and even if the slave traders manage to secret them into the country, the whereabouts of the Brothels will be known to the BiB.

To allow slavery to take place below your nose is an abrogation of your responsibility as a member of the human race. To be in the position that the BiB are to potentially profit from the tea money paid by slave traders make's you worse than them.

It's not human trafficking...............it's slave trading, and the BiB have a high responsibility for it.

+1 Plus the BiB are also involved at a high level.

Of all the criticisms that could be made against the BiB, this one would represent the worst. These people are operating right below the nose of the Bib, and even if the slave traders manage to secret them into the country, the whereabouts of the Brothels will be known to the BiB.

To allow slavery to take place below your nose is an abrogation of your responsibility as a member of the human race. To be in the position that the BiB are to potentially profit from the tea money paid by slave traders make's you worse than them.

It's not human trafficking...............it's slave trading, and the BiB have a high responsibility for it.

+1 Plus the BiB are also involved at a high level.

And what about the customers ?

IYHO what is the percentage of readers/posters of this forum who patronize whorehouses ? Or employ undocumented workers ?

If you know a fellow farang who run a whorehouse or is involved in human trafficking, will you, as you seem to believe the Bibs are inefficents, inform your or his embassy ?

It will take a very long time to clean the world but a bit of cleaning among ourselves wouldn't hurt.

What do you think ?

[noitom]

Thailand thinks that the world doesn't see them as the sex capital of the world. They are delusional. They will have to address reforms in the sex trade business both domestic and foreign. The local Thai sex trade dwarfs the farang business. Too many Thais make too much money from the sex trade. They turn their backs on recognizing things like human trafficking then they scream to world organizations and the US to remove them from "lists."

[tomross46]

People talk about Thailand, but it is possible that one of the countries most involved in traficking of humans in USA. The USA has millions of alians that were brought across the sothern border, and the government is doing nothing. When states try to slow the flow of illigals the federal government punishes them.

[chrisinth]

I have marked JurgenG's post (#8) as an I Like because he is addressing the other side of the coin. Because a bar or a go-go is "Falang" managed, doesn't mean it is run properly (if operating in the sex trade can be deemed as proper in the first place).

If the girl (or boy or in-betwwen for that matter) is wearing a number, they are fair game as far as the customer is concerned. We don't know the girl's/boy's story, don't know if they were coerced into the situation they find themselves in or if it is a voluntary decision.

The above statement doesn't mean I condone these places, what I am trying to say is think before you comment on this subject as you may be unknowingly contributing to it.

EDIT: It is a far more complicated issue than it first appears, and an even harder one to stop!

Edited June 28, 2012 by chrisinth

[mrtoad]

They don't seem to keen to announce a Hub Status on this one

[me313]

People talk about Thailand, but it is possible that one of the countries most involved in traficking of humans in USA. The USA has millions of alians that were brought across the sothern border, and the government is doing nothing. When states try to slow the flow of illigals the federal government punishes them.

and Europe "employs" East European sex slaves, and Russia imports them, and it's not just the USA and Thailand as the main culprits. The main culprits are the police and governments but most of all, the complacent civilians who see it but turn the other way, and reject the victims but support the victimizers. I would like to export a few fat, disgusting rotten white Farang who run to whorehouses here and everywhere as patrons, especially in 3rd world countries, as slaves themselves if there were a market for them, who would want them?

[upena]

"it still appeared in Tier 2 of the Watch List of the US State Department's report"

This is completely incorrect. There are 4 levels/tiers - Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 2 Watch List, Tier 3. Thailand is on Tier 2 Watch List for the 3rd consecutive year and would have been dropped to Tier 3 if they hadn't submitted a plan to do something to improve human trafficking in Thailand. But, like most plans in Thailand, it will not be acted upon, and Thailand should drop to Tier 3 next year - with major sanctions imposed.

[MikeThaison]

I remember going out on a fishing trip 2 years ago and ended up snatching a little burmese guy out of the water. He said he had been there 18 hours or so, no shirt, just holding on to a jug of water. All he wanted was to go home. Sad story, I'll never forget his face.

He was on a fishing trawler and couldn't stand the beatings anymore and the lack of food so he decided to jump and risk his life.

EDIT: Added the last sentence.

Edited June 28, 2012 by MikeThaison

[theblether]

I have marked JurgenG's post (#8) as an I Like because he is addressing the other side of the coin. Because a bar or a go-go is "Falang" managed, doesn't mean it is run properly (if operating in the sex trade can be deemed as proper in the first place).

If the girl (or boy or in-betwwen for that matter) is wearing a number, they are fair game as far as the customer is concerned. We don't know the girl's/boy's story, don't know if they were coerced into the situation they find themselves in or if it is a voluntary decision.

The above statement doesn't mean I condone these places, what I am trying to say is think before you comment on this subject as you may be unknowingly contributing to it.

EDIT: It is a far more complicated issue than it first appears, and an even harder one to stop!

Your totally right, ( I've ran out of likes by the way ), it is highly complicated, but at the root of it is a cohort of people who are at the extreme end of exploitation. This is not a Thai only issue, we have the same slave like conditions being perpetrated on people in the UK, seriously shameful.

Edited June 28, 2012 by theblether

[blueshark]

Amazing Thailand...

Thats what the ad says on the BBC every time i watch a video.

I wonder if they did their home work on that one.

No wait sorry they paid them first, asked questions later.

Thats it.

Edited June 28, 2012 by blueshark

[IanBungy]

Human Trafficking and Slavery means a person is Forced to do things and/or Held against their Will. In the case of the Prostitution Industry I think many People would be surprised just how many of them are doing so Willingly! Of Course once they are caught they Claim They were forced into it!!! Take a look around all the Bars and massage parlours, Do they look like they are Unhappy or being forced to do it??? I think not! Don't believe everything (or anything) We are told!

[theblether]

Human Trafficking and Slavery means a person is Forced to do things and/or Held against their Will. In the case of the Prostitution Industry I think many People would be surprised just how many of them are doing so Willingly! Of Course once they are caught they Claim They were forced into it!!! Take a look around all the Bars and massage parlours, Do they look like they are Unhappy or being forced to do it??? I think not! Don't believe everything (or anything) We are told!

We're quite aware of that......have a read at ChrisinTh post #11

You don't know who is being coerced, who is working willingly, or as is commonly the case, who is being forced to repay an extraordinary debt to the traffickers for getting them into the country.

So don't you go believing that every woman involved in prostitution in Thailand is a willing volunteer who keeps all the profits. That would just be.......naive.

[canuckamuck]

It would help if the citizens here would be concerned and protest, but they save there protests for meaningless regime changes.

[Bagwan]

Human Trafficking and Slavery means a person is Forced to do things and/or Held against their Will. In the case of the Prostitution Industry I think many People would be surprised just how many of them are doing so Willingly! Of Course once they are caught they Claim They were forced into it!!! Take a look around all the Bars and massage parlours, Do they look like they are Unhappy or being forced to do it??? I think not! Don't believe everything (or anything) We are told!

They are forced into prostitution by economic circumstances beyond their control. They are being paid to create a party atmosphere (amongst other things) and if they fall down on it they are told to hit the road. Many of those 'happy ladies' cry themselves to sleep after another exhausting shift. Don't be fooled by what is on the surface, nothing is what it seems in Thailand.

[Arkady]

The law to repatriate pregnant migrant workers, which the Labour Ministry has been proposing for some years, is now repackaged as something to reduce human trafficking. Horrible. Of course it only makes things worse. Cruel, racist and sexist to boot. What revolting apologies for human beings are in support of this disgusting idea?

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

No one took particular notice of this little nugget in the OP article...

Another source said many Myanmar girls were brought into Thailand via Tak's Mae Sot district or Chiang Rai and sent to a holding centre for training in sex services.

Presumably operating with at least the knowledge of the local BiB.

[kiniyow]

The 20 Year old Lao girl had a Job as a Maid for 5000 Baht a month then went to a restaurant for a salary of 5000 THB Plus tips but this was not enough so she chose Prostitution to get the Big Money..This led to new Cell Phones--Expensive Booze--Plastic surgery ETC BUT it was a Choice she made...Just not happy to work for a 5000 THB Salary Plus tips....

The choices many young people make often have bad consequence...

[ttelise]

Yep, blame young people for their choices. A sign of ignorant society refusing to accept responsibility for serious cultural issues.

Screw the crimes against foreign tourist and murders, trafficking of young children between 11 - 15 years if age is perhaps the lowest form of human existence. Does not get any lower than pedophilia and sex industry involving young trafficked children.

Edited June 28, 2012 by ttelise

[Aurer]

Where do the majority of pattaya parlours customers come from?

[gbswales]

Policing any trade that is itself illegal is always close to impossible.

We (the world) need to wake up to the fact that sex is a basic human need and some people are only able find sex, with someone they are attraced to, by paying for it. It may be sad but it is an undeniable fact and has been right through history. There are a lot of women and men willing to provide sexual services to get themselves a lifestyle they cant achieve in other ways So if the starting point is to make prostitution legal for people over the age of 18 with the ability to advertise their services etc then much of the need can be met. Prostitutes will also become normal citizens, paying tax and being protected by such labour laws as exist. The need exists for both male and female workers to cater to people of both genders so it is not about demeaning women.

Brothels will no longer need to be secret hidden places and would be open to inspection. The very legality of the business would make it a less attractive area for criminals to operate in and both workers and clients would be much better protected and over time it could become a respected occupation instead of being treated as some kind of plague!

We all sell our bodies one way or another - the man digging holes in the road is selling his muscle, the managing director is selling his brain - so why do we see only sex as somethign different to other bodily functions. Each persons body belongs to them and they are entitled to use is in any way they wish to their best advantage.

Any sane minded person is against the idea of people being forced into doing anything against their will and in a legal trade this would be much easier to prevent.

Why is Thailand (and some other asian countries) the centre of the sex trade - I will explain it by stating what everyone knows, but no one wants to admit. Younger attractive people of either sex are more likely to be what most people desore. You dont stop appreciating youth and beauty no matter what age you become. The majority of adult Thai and asian people look considerably younger than their years when compared to Western countries, and so are able to help fulfill people fantasies without any harm being caused. Also the attitude towards older people as romantic and sexual partners is quite different in Thailand compared to most of the West.

If you move on and allow legitmate sex business to take place then the time and effort of the authorities can be put into eradicating enforced sex trafficing and the abuse of underage people which is the area that most people are concerned with.

[simple1]

Where do the majority of pattaya parlours customers come from?

Sure, but the largest users by far of the sex industry in Thailand is Thais. For background info go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostitution_in_Thailand

[Sktoo]

Sad but true.. Previously I was working at Bukit Kayu Hitam, Malaysia just beside Danok, Thailand..

Almost everyday I saw human trafficking activities there, you can see all kind of method they use to bring these "victim" out into malaysia..

Some are purely victim of human trafficking while some do it for the sake of money...

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

[ttelise]

Policing any trade that is itself illegal is always close to impossible.

We (the world) need to wake up to the fact that sex is a basic human need and some people are only able find sex, with someone they are attraced to, by paying for it. It may be sad but it is an undeniable fact and has been right through history. There are a lot of women and men willing to provide sexual services to get themselves a lifestyle they cant achieve in other ways So if the starting point is to make prostitution legal for people over the age of 18 with the ability to advertise their services etc then much of the need can be met. Prostitutes will also become normal citizens, paying tax and being protected by such labour laws as exist. The need exists for both male and female workers to cater to people of both genders so it is not about demeaning women.

Brothels will no longer need to be secret hidden places and would be open to inspection. The very legality of the business would make it a less attractive area for criminals to operate in and both workers and clients would be much better protected and over time it could become a respected occupation instead of being treated as some kind of plague!

We all sell our bodies one way or another - the man digging holes in the road is selling his muscle, the managing director is selling his brain - so why do we see only sex as somethign different to other bodily functions. Each persons body belongs to them and they are entitled to use is in any way they wish to their best advantage.

Any sane minded person is against the idea of people being forced into doing anything against their will and in a legal trade this would be much easier to prevent.

Why is Thailand (and some other asian countries) the centre of the sex trade - I will explain it by stating what everyone knows, but no one wants to admit. Younger attractive people of either sex are more likely to be what most people desore. You dont stop appreciating youth and beauty no matter what age you become. The majority of adult Thai and asian people look considerably younger than their years when compared to Western countries, and so are able to help fulfill people fantasies without any harm being caused. Also the attitude towards older people as romantic and sexual partners is quite different in Thailand compared to most of the West.

If you move on and allow legitmate sex business to take place then the time and effort of the authorities can be put into eradicating enforced sex trafficing and the abuse of underage people which is the area that most people are concerned with.

Sorry, this attitude is chicken <deleted> way out and sticking head in sand. There should be zero tolerance for human trafficking, especially young or children. Legalizing prostitution not going to stop problem particularly as it relates to young girls and young boys for the perverted pedophiles that travel and seek. Prostitution is for all intents and purposes legal in a lot of places yet trafficking exists to increase supply to meet demand or offer more desirables.

Maybe zero tolerance like casterization of the perverts and shooting human traffickers on site would better protect children and those vulnerable to this unacceptable bs.