Thai society and environment have changed from a close
agricultural society to a more materialistic society. This has forced people
to speed up their lives. Children are affected by this change in society
which can disrupt their lives immensely. Street children even more so.
This
globe depicts the rather sad statistical facts of street children in Asia
and all over the world (marked on separate papers attached to the specific
countries). You will find it at Chiangmai University’s Art Museum where
the exhibition “HeArt of the Street” is being held.
Street children face a life of uncertainty, every day, as
they struggle to earn a living for themselves and for their family. A
substantial number of these children are trafficked within national and
international borders by their relatives or by crime syndicates, to be
exploited in the commercial sex trade or in other economically oppressed
situations.
Those street children who sell flowers around sex
entertainment areas in Chiangmai are especially vulnerable to sexual
exploitation as they are frequently approached by men in search of sexual
favors. They are also vulnerable to forced prostitution, forced labor,
HIV/AIDS, sexual diseases, drugs and alcohol. Situations are even more
complicated and volatile for those children who do not speak Thai since the
local authorities treat them as illegal immigrants as they do not have the
necessary documents.
The cruel fact is that many of these children are unable
to change their lives because as children, they lack the knowledge that is
only gained through experience and opportunity. Sadly, for too many children
the constant exposure to abuse and neglect creates traumatic experiences.
They are the ones who have to silently bear the brunt of our global
society’s perversions, prejudices and intolerance, indifference and lack
of human compassion.
Here are some shocking statistical updates on the
situation in our region. The United Nation’s Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
which works for children’s rights, their survival, development and
protection, reported in 2004 that three million children from Africa, Asia,
Central Europe and Latin America are victims of sex tourists from rich
countries such as America, Europe, Japan and Australia.
Of the 600-800,000 people believed to be trafficked
across the borders every year, 250,000 victims, mostly women and children,
are trafficked in S.E. Asia.
According to the Center for Protection of children, there
were two million women and children involved in sex work in Thailand with
close to 200,000 foreign child workers. There are 27,500 to 35,000
under-aged children engaged in the sex-trade during the course of one year
(2002 statistics) and 55 percent of female sex workers in Thailand begin
work before the age of 18. A surprising 70 percent, or 136,000 foreign child
workers are boys, mainly from Myanmar, Lao PDR and Cambodia, every day
exposed to very hazardous working conditions on construction sites or small
shop factories.
An estimated 80,000 women and children from Myanmar
(Burma) are active in sex work in Northern Thailand and this number is
likely to grow. In Cambodia, close to Phnom Penh, the average age for
entering into the commercial sex trade is 12.9 years for girls (2002
report).
What can we do? Please visit the HeArt exhibition currently showing at
the Chiang Mai University’s Art Museum on Nimmanhaemin Road and make a
donation to support the Volunteer Group for Children’s Development (VGCD)
art program. VGCD is a non-governmental organization working to improve the
lives of street children in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai through information,
counseling, life skills training and emergency assistance. For more
information, please contact, VGCD, 63/1 Changmoi Kao Road, Tambon Changmoi,
Chiangmai 50300; mobile: 071740919, email: jan dan@cscoms.com
Follow
me! Cha, Cha, Cha! Dance teacher Peerapong Pongpaiboon had his hands full
during the Salsa crash course.
Deborah
and Doris (background) admire ML Preeyapun’s steps. Now that’s a true
professional.