Thailand: Learn More about the Issues: Child Trafficking
The past decade has seen significant growth in trafficking in people worldwide, a blatant abuse of human rights with devastating consequences for the millions of individuals, families, and communities affected by this crime. Victims of trafficking throughout Northern Thailand are comprised of both women and children from countries in the Mekong Sub-Region (Thailand, Burma, Laos, Cambodia, southern Yunnan province of China and Vietnam). Although women and children of Thai nationalities are still being trafficked; the majority of the victims come from the ethnic Hill Tribes who reside in Thailand without citizenship and from neighboring countries in the region.
Many come to Thailand seeking jobs and new opportunities but are quickly trapped in a system of abuse with nowhere to turn given that they have no rights of citizenship. Without citizenship or land tenure the majority of the Hill Tribe people residing in Northern Thailand live in poverty without access to education, health care, or legitimate work opportunities. At the same time, their way of life, traditions, and values are being rapidly eroded due to foreign influence, national development strategies, and the influx of consumer goods. In Hill Tribe villages across the region, drug addiction and sales as well as the prevalence of HIV/AIDS are insidious problems breaking down families and communities.
Brothel owners have networks of agents combing the villages seeking out troubled families caught in the cycle of debt with few options. These traffickers can appear to be an answer to the family's financial struggles and fears by offering to purchase their daughter’s for life-saving amounts of money. This system is a complicated web involving relatives, village elders, city authorities, police, government officials and business people, all benefiting from the girl's labor.
Endangered Elephants:
With a rapid population decline, there are less than 2,000 Asian elephants left in the wild in Thailand. Most of these elephants live in protected areas like the Khao Yai National Park. The major cause of decline is habitat loss as a result of increased forest clearance. With a rising population, a large proportion of the elephants’ natural habitats have been taken over for rice cultivation. In 1950, 60% of Thailand was forestland. Now, less than 15% of the country is forestland! Elephants, when driven out of their native habitats, cannot find enough food to survive.
Compared to the endangered wild elephants, there is a significant number of domesticated elephants. Elephants were frequently used in domestic logging until 1989, when the government enacted a legislation that banned the practice. In response, many owners abandoned their elephants to roam around the streets of Bangkok and other cities. Since then, most elephants in captivity have been used in the tourism industry for shows and forest treks.
Malaria:
Malaria is a deadly disease caused by blood parasites, which is transmitted through mosquitoes. Each day, 3,000 children worldwide die from malaria. In addition, there are 350-500 million malaria cases a year, and one million deaths caused by this preventable disease.
An insecticide-treated bed net, insecticide sprays, access to antimalarial drugs, and increased health awareness can easily protect people from this fatal disease. However, many families are unable to afford bed nets, which cost approximately $10 and can accommodate an adult and a few children. At the onset of malaria symptoms, these families are unable to access health facilities for diagnosis and to receive effective antimalarial medicines.
In Thailand, malaria is extremely common in the hills and forested areas along the Thai-Myanmar border and Thai-Cambodia border. People working in or near the forestland, are particularly susceptible to this disease. In addition, malaria-related deaths occur most frequently amongst pregnant women and young children.
In 2003, there were 37,355 malaria cases reported and 325 malaria-related deaths. But, malaria is a preventable and curable disease.