FBI Report from Thailand: Confronting the Child Sex Trade in Southeast Asia

[rooster59]

FBI Report from Thailand: Confronting the Child Sex Trade in Southeast Asia

 

 

BANGKOK:-- Thailand has long been a popular tourist destination for Westerners charmed by the country’s culture and cuisine, its storied beaches, and its ever-present markets. Unfortunately, a certain type of visitor is also drawn to the well-established sex trade, which too often victimizes children.

 

The dark side of Thailand’s tourism industry plays out nightly in Bangkok’s tawdry red-light districts, in Chiang Mai’s after-hours club scene, and along the neon-infested Walking Street in the coastal town of Pattaya. In these and other places less obvious, trafficked children can be bought and sold, reduced to the basest form of commerce.

 

Increasingly, the Thai government—with the assistance of the FBI and other partners—has taken significant steps to address the sexual exploitation of children and to focus more attention on victims, whose interests in the past have sometimes been overlooked. 

 

“The Thai government has adopted a new urgency when it comes to the issues of child exploitation, sexual abuse, and trafficking in persons,” noted U.S. Ambassador to Thailand Glyn T. Davies. “This new urgency is very welcome.”

 

Davies explained that trafficking is a “huge problem in Thailand, as it is in many countries.” But the Thai government has shown a “new eagerness” to address the problem and to seek help from the United States, the ambassador said. “That is terrific, because we’ve got the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and the State Department’s expertise and resources that we can bring to bear.”

 

Full story: https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/report-from-thailand-part-1

[GiantFan]

Benign sounding, but won't be happy campers in bangers.  Don't air your friends dirty laundry in public.  

 

A bit passive aggressive.  Saying that it's laudable that some efforts are being made, but if you want to really make some progress get the Feds and Homeland involved.  Let the Thai's handle themselves.

[metisdead]

Off topic posts have been removed. 

[elgordo38]

Well this comment should warm the cuckolds of the dear Generals heart. Methinks the good Ambassador is trying to make amends for previous faux pas i.e. 

Inquiry launched into U.S. ambassador's comments on Thai royal ...

www.reuters.com/article/us-thailand-politics-idUSKBN0TS0VB20151209

1.  

Dec 9, 2015 - Thai police launched an inquiry on Wednesday into criticism by the U.S. ambassador of a royal insult law, just a day after the junta rapped ...

[SaintLouisBlues]

3 minutes ago, elgordo38 said:

Well this comment should warm the cuckolds of the dear Generals heart. Methinks the good Ambassador is trying to make amends for previous faux pas i.e. 

Inquiry launched into U.S. ambassador's comments on Thai royal ...

www.reuters.com/article/us-thailand-politics-idUSKBN0TS0VB20151209

1.  

Dec 9, 2015 - Thai police launched an inquiry on Wednesday into criticism by the U.S. ambassador of a royal insult law, just a day after the junta rapped ...

The "cuckholds of the ... heart". I must remember that one

[dru2]

Chiang Mai's after hours club scene? Is this really the case, or just a "catch all". I'm unaware of it, and if I were aware of trafficked children in such circumstances, I would report it. And I'm sure most normal people would too. And where is Phuket and Soi Bangla in the list?

[phycokiller]

sad really, when democracy fails and the economy is crashing lets not mention that and move onto the important stuff...sex

 

but... alot of money to be made by the NGOs if they continue to portray Thailand and Cambodia as child sex havens

Edited September 18, 2016 by phycokiller

[candide]

18 minutes ago, dru2 said:

Chiang Mai's after hours club scene? Is this really the case, or just a "catch all". I'm unaware of it, and if I were aware of trafficked children in such circumstances, I would report it. And I'm sure most normal people would too. And where is Phuket and Soi Bangla in the list?

I don't think there is much child trafficking left since years in all these well-known and observable places such as Walking Street,  Nana,  club scene, etc....

My guess is that it happens in more hidden places where customers are not necessarily foreigners (it' an understatement, in case you did not get it ;)).

[oxo1947]

Every 109 seconds, an American is sexually assaulted.

And every 8 minutes, that victim is a child. Meanwhile, only 6 out of every 1,000 perpetrators will end up in prison.

 

But please don't let that stop you from telling all the other countries around the world ----just what they are doing wrong...................

https://www.rainn.org/statistics

[Lupatria]

He will need a lot of whitening cream for his nose now.

[davo2003]

I've been vacationing in Thailand mostly Pattaya since 2008. Up and down walking street, bars, beach road etc. Never seen a child for sale, never been offered. If it was a problem all the little kids selling trinkets in the bars would be seen disappearing to short time rooms now and then. Sometimes I think this is just made up to keep donations rolling in to NGOs. The occasional bloke arrested with a girl 17 yrs 11 months and 29 days old keeps this old tale alive though.  

[chrisinth]

5 hours ago, rooster59 said:

The dark side of Thailand’s tourism industry plays out nightly in Bangkok’s tawdry red-light districts, in Chiang Mai’s after-hours club scene, and along the neon-infested Walking Street in the coastal town of Pattaya. In these and other places less obvious, trafficked children can be bought and sold, reduced to the basest form of commerce.

 

If it wasn't for the source of the OP (  https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/report-from-thailand-part-1 ) I would have ignored this whole topic.

 

Unfortunately, the quoted insert above is what is being displayed around the world. It makes me sad.

 

Without doubt, there is trafficking happening, but not like this.

[Graham8888]

38 minutes ago, candide said:

I don't think there is much child trafficking left since years in all these well-known and observable places such as Walking Street,  Nana,  club scene, etc....

My guess is that it happens in more hidden places where customers are not necessarily foreigners (it' an understatement, in case you did not get it ;)).

 

This as always has gone further "underground" - Isan cities are considered safe for these disgusting scum. Confront and call them out when you see them.

[williamgeorgeallen]

20 minutes ago, davo2003 said:

I've been vacationing in Thailand mostly Pattaya since 2008. Up and down walking street, bars, beach road etc. Never seen a child for sale, never been offered. If it was a problem all the little kids selling trinkets in the bars would be seen disappearing to short time rooms now and then. Sometimes I think this is just made up to keep donations rolling in to NGOs. The occasional bloke arrested with a girl 17 yrs 11 months and 29 days old keeps this old tale alive though.  

yea, 10 years in and i have never seen anything other than 17 year olds getting an early start on the game. would have thought it would be fairly easy to get an undercover going around asking for under age boy/girls and offering big money. greed would weed out the guilty pretty quickly. would need to be done by straight thais though. have seen foreign groups coming in trying under cover hits on endangered wild life traders, cops always tip the crims off.

[nakhonandy]

In the 30+ years I have been coming here as a tourist and the last decade living here I have never seen this or even heard about it. BTW I live in Pattaya, that well known den of iniquity and I have seen many things but not involving the underaged, same goes for my friends. 

 

It may well be covered up but surely we would have heard/seen something. 

[hdkane]

5 hours ago, GiantFan said:

Benign sounding, but won't be happy campers in bangers.  Don't air your friends dirty laundry in public.  

 

A bit passive aggressive.  Saying that it's laudable that some efforts are being made, but if you want to really make some progress get the Feds and Homeland involved.  Let the Thai's handle themselves.

But don't you think the Thais won't do anything, unless it impacted their incomes?  The fact that Thailand is an established pedo destination suggests that Thailand simply doesn't care about its children and youth.  I would bet that if the USA/UK/Australia/EU advised its citizens not to visit a pedo playground, then Thais would really do something productive.  

[hdkane]

1 hour ago, dru2 said:

Chiang Mai's after hours club scene? Is this really the case, or just a "catch all". I'm unaware of it, and if I were aware of trafficked children in such circumstances, I would report it. And I'm sure most normal people would too. And where is Phuket and Soi Bangla in the list?

I don't think Thais consider this such a foul crime, as you and I do.  

[seajae]

from what I read in the papers it would seem that actual thai people are the biggest problem with child sex, family members raping babies, neighbours raping underage girls then buying them from the parents so they cant be charged, maybe if the govt actually tightened up the laws the majority of child sex cases would no longer happen. The fact that parents will sell their under age daughters in itself is disgusting, these kids need protecting more from family and neighbours than from western deviots/pedophiles but they also need to be made to pay as well as the ones that organize for it to happen. Problem is they would need a working police force to stop it which simply doesnt happen here and is the main reason the army has been involved in so many arrests etc lately, before any laws can be enforced they need the enforcers to actually do their job.

[AlQaholic]

2 hours ago, oxo1947 said:

Every 109 seconds, an American is sexually assaulted.

And every 8 minutes, that victim is a child. Meanwhile, only 6 out of every 1,000 perpetrators will end up in prison.

 

But please don't let that stop you from telling all the other countries around the world ----just what they are doing wrong...................

https://www.rainn.org/statistics

If all the perpetrators went to Jail they would have to convert Manhattan to a huge Jail colony......Or just contract Mexico to take care of them...

every hour 1.4 people are murdered in the USA......interesting...If all those murderers went to prison as well, maybe Greenland would have to be converted to a prison too. Makes it scary how many murderers are walking around free in the US.

And then the legal system to do the trials and convictions would have to be more than 100 times larger and costly..

Edited September 18, 2016 by AlQaholic

[jobin]

We find 'morality' rather culturally conditioned esp regarding sex, don't you think?  Western culture sees 'evil' but others see only tradition, normality and often, necessity. 

Yeah, i think kids ought to be protected, educated, loved and honored.

 

[Squeegee]

1 hour ago, oxo1947 said:

Every 109 seconds, an American is sexually assaulted.

And every 8 minutes, that victim is a child. Meanwhile, only 6 out of every 1,000 perpetrators will end up in prison.

 

But please don't let that stop you from telling all the other countries around the world ----just what they are doing wrong...................

https://www.rainn.org/statistics

 

Same old irrelevant, unoriginal lack of content.

 

 

 

2 minutes ago, seajae said:

it would seem that actual thai people are the biggest problem with child sex

 

Indeed.

 

It strikes me as very odd this is about the FBI, apparently, and not some NGOs talking about such places as mentioned in the OP.

 

 

To me, that's why numerous responses in the thread reflect surprise: "I never saw evidence of this in X years..." - which often is a sign of a short-sighted person who thinks the world extends as far as his own nose, a criticism that absolutely does not apply in this case.

 

If the US is doing its best to tackle this topic realistically then it must recognize the Global Village in ways that are clearly well beyond the reach of posters like oxo1947 quoted above.

 

But why stop at the end of Walking Street, and not venture into the depths where the real big fish lurk?

Are there vested interests or something?

It doesn't make sense unless it's maybe some kind of political maneuvering, such as in the example given earlier in the thread that it's related to the faux pas in the official statement from the other week.

[geisha]

So, a lot of posts stating they haven't seen proof of this after numerous years in Thailand. ( me neither, by the way, tho I don't go out very late, or to bars/ clubs). But , who has seen this terrible abuse of children in Thailand? No posts on this ?

[jadee]

15 minutes ago, geisha said:

So, a lot of posts stating they haven't seen proof of this after numerous years in Thailand. ( me neither, by the way, tho I don't go out very late, or to bars/ clubs). But , who has seen this terrible abuse of children in Thailand? No posts on this ?

I went to Soi Cowbow about 8 years ago and went into a gogo bar (probably not allowed to name it, defamation etc). The 'madame' explained that the girls wearing black skirts and silver tops were 16-17 and cost more. They didn't look particularly young so I've no idea whether it was true. It seemed dodgy that someone would claim that: either a sting to extort money from people who went with the girls or just BS to get more custom. I haven't been back so I don't know if the place is still there. 

[ScotBkk]

I went to Soi Cowbow about 8 years ago and went into a gogo bar (probably not allowed to name it, defamation etc). The 'madame' explained that the girls wearing black skirts and silver tops were 16-17 and cost more. They didn't look particularly young so I've no idea whether it was true. It seemed dodgy that someone would claim that: either a sting to extort money from people who went with the girls or just BS to get more custom. I haven't been back so I don't know if the place is still there. 

It's still there
So are those same girls still aged 16-17 years old


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[oxo1947]

48 minutes ago, Squeegee said:

Same old irrelevant, unoriginal lack of content.

.

Yes Squeegee, unlike your content which gave reference points to..... like most of your posts--absolutely nothing.

 

50 minutes ago, Squeegee said:

If the US is doing its best to tackle this topic realistically then it must recognize the Global Village in ways that are clearly well beyond the reach of posters like oxo1947 quoted above.

.

And they wonder why  people feel that some Americans come across as arrogant ----yes Squeegee it's well beyond the reach of posters like me to understand how America is Policing the "Global Village" on a crime that it leads many other countries on---I will just have to leave it to you to explain to everyone....sorry that we are all so stupid not to realise you are after the big fish of Thailand.....

 

Would a BBC news quote suit you....or is that also unoriginal lack of content ...........

The child maltreatment death rate in the US is triple Canada’s and 11 times that of Italy. Millions of children are reported as abused and neglected every year

  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15193530

 

[Squeegee]

19 minutes ago, oxo1947 said:

.

Yes Squeegee, unlike your content which gave reference points to..... like most of your posts--absolutely nothing.

 

.

And they wonder why  people feel that some Americans come across as arrogant ----yes Squeegee it's well beyond the reach of posters like me to understand how America is Policing the "Global Village" on a crime that it leads many other countries on---I will just have to leave it to you to explain to everyone....sorry that we are all so stupid not to realise you are after the big fish of Thailand.....

 

Would a BBC news quote suit you....or is that also unoriginal lack of content ...........

The child maltreatment death rate in the US is triple Canada’s and 11 times that of Italy. Millions of children are reported as abused and neglected every year

 

  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15193530

 

 

"It strikes me as very odd....

[...]

To me..."

 

Making observations, voicing an opinion and asking questions do not require references, so most of your latest blurb was just you in your own world again, which also explains your assumption I am an American, if I understand you correctly.

 

As to your attempt to derail the topic with paranoid anti-US bias, whilst I agree there is hypocrisy there I also think you are lacking range in your perspective: it matters not who the players are (that is not the same as them being insignificant!) but it does matter for every country to know it's in their own interest to play well with others, such as being smart enough to share "the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and the State Department’s expertise and resources..." irrespective of who might be policing the world.

[thaibeachlovers]

3 hours ago, davo2003 said:

I've been vacationing in Thailand mostly Pattaya since 2008. Up and down walking street, bars, beach road etc. Never seen a child for sale, never been offered. If it was a problem all the little kids selling trinkets in the bars would be seen disappearing to short time rooms now and then. Sometimes I think this is just made up to keep donations rolling in to NGOs. The occasional bloke arrested with a girl 17 yrs 11 months and 29 days old keeps this old tale alive though.

It's just the usual western PC brigade BS.  Bangkok’s tawdry red-light districts gives the author's game away.

Referring only to Bkk, Pattaya and Chiang Mai implies that only westerners are to blame and anyone that has been around the bar scene in LOS knows that is an outright lie. That they include nothing about the locals just reduces the entire article to toilet paper.

Yes it goes on in LOS, just like it goes on in the USA. Perhaps the FBI should clean up their own country first, before getting involved in other countries.

all the little kids selling trinkets in the bars

That is the real tragedy as far as western bar scene. It goes on right in front of the WESTERN wanabee cops on Walking Street, and they ignore it. SHAME ON THEM.

 

[sanuk711]

Yes OXO you are right Squeegee really does epitomise Burdick's The ugly American the way he talks down to people. "It's all so simple Just listen to me" If the FBI are there it must be true, Global village--guess who the village policeman is etc. One of the reasons I rarely come on here now. Reminds me a lot of the views of my country during their colonies reign. Happily enough the other 98% of Americans  are a lot more balanced.

 

 

[thaibeachlovers]

2 hours ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

Just because you haven't seen it doesn't mean it doesn't exist folks.

 

They keep arresting Westerners here and keep finding these underage girls in the massage parlours so the problem must still persist, no?

How many out of the millions of western tourists have been "caught"? Sod all, and "massage parlours" are a mainly Thai thing.

I bet it exists in your country too.

 

Long ago in a bar in Pattaya I was chatting with a western guy on holiday. He was complaing about all the western paedophiles openly riding around on m'bikes with very young children. I had to inform him that those were men married to Thai women and the so called victims were their children.

 

As long as western cops get to have a free trip to LOS to investigate the "westen paedos" ( and do some partying of their own ) I guess we will continue to see hypocritical articles like this on TV.

Edited September 18, 2016 by thaibeachlovers

[thaiman]

This is just a ruse that the US is using to strengthen its control over Thailand so they won't get closer to China.  Don't get caught up in the hyperbole.  Nothing is what it seems.