My time in Thailand opened my eyes to a number of things, which I will attempt to write about over the weeks ahead. One of the issues I really couldn't get my mind around is the connection between human trafficking & prostitution. Where, exactly, is the line between them drawn? Or is there a line?
Some of the items we sell are made by women who have left the Commercial Sex Industry in Thailand. These women were not locked up, not chained to a bed in a brothel. They were free to walk away from what they were doing, so by definition, they were not "slaves". People have asked me why I sell these things... and questioned the connection between these organizations and those working with survivors of trafficking. After all, these girls were clearly not victims, since they had "chosen" their vocation. I often struggled in my attempts to find an answer to these honest concerns.
Now, I can't wait until the next person asks me, because I think I have some answers for them...
Thailand is a Source, Transit & Destination country for Human Trafficking, with Thai girls ending up all over the world. A majority of the women & children trafficked into Thailand are from Burma, Laos & Vietnam, and these are clearly victims. But what about the Thai girls who have CHOSEN to work in the bars?
Thailand has an estimated 2 million prostitutes. Pattaya alone has a multi-billion dollar sex industry, street after street is lined with bars & massage parlors. Everywhere you look, there are older American & European men walking hand in hand with young, beautiful Thai girls. These girls could walk away from their profession if they chose to, and you can't help but ask yourself why they don't?
Most of the girls we met were from Northern Thailand. They come from rural areas, where there is much poverty, little education & very few opportunities for young women. And without exception they work to send money back home to their families. In Thailand, a daughter is expected to provide for her parents, and it is often the family who sends their daughter to the city, to Bangkok or Pattaya or Phuket, to sell themselves in the flesh trade. I personally cannot understand how a mother or father could do this, but that doesn't change the fact that it happens everyday.
These girls will tell you that they chose what they are doing. But if you ask them what their other options were, about the other things they could have chosen... they will tell you they had none, that the Sex Industry WAS their only option.
I do not believe any little girl dreams of being a Prostitute when she grows up. I also do not believe any of these women really CHOSE what they are doing... it's more like prostitution chose them. Yes they can walk away, but to what? Poverty. Hunger, for themselves & their families. The shame of not providing for their parents.
I am so proud to sell jewelry made by the beautiful women at NightLight Designs in Bangkok & SHE Thailand in Phuket, as well as the greeting cards made by the girls at the Tamar Center in Pattaya. I am so blessed to be able to stand with these organizations, as they work to offer the women a CHOICE! Because when they are offered a real choice, perhaps for the first time in their lives, they are finally able to walk away. They actually DO have a choice now, and I applaud those who are choosing FREEDOM!
Well written and communicated! I admire what you are doing supporting the women, creating an awareness of this horrible existence, and educating all of us. It can be so overwhelming, but we can "be the change." One step at a time, one person at a time; even if we, as individuals, only help one person, we are helping!
ReplyDeleteI recently found out about women in Nicaragua who have become prostitutes. Again, they "chose" this profession, so to speak, but they have children with severe disabilities and cannot support their family any other way. So, as you communicated so clearly, how can we call this a "choice," especially in such impoverished environments.