Human Trafficking in [Thailand] [other countries]Street Children in [Thailand Child Prostitution in [Thailand] [other countries] |
Prevalence, Abuse & Exploitation of Street Children In the early
years of the 21st Century - 2000 to 2010 gvnet.com/streetchildren/Thailand.htm
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CAUTION: The following links and accompanying text have been culled
from the web to illuminate the situation in ***
FEATURED ARTICLE *** The Bangkok attraction Jeremy P. Meyer, www.denverpost.com/jonbenet/ci_4244063 [accessed 30 July 2011] A portion of the estimated 200,000
to 300,000 sex workers in At an underpass in central One boy, 10-year-old
"Ice," said three times a month someone offers to pay him for sex.
He always declines. But social workers fear the lure of money will someday
change his mind. Ice and his brother sleep on the floor in his grandmother's
one-room shack in a shantytown. She makes money by scavenging for scraps of
metal while he begs. A birthday party for kids who don't know their age Craig and Marc Kielburger, www.thestar.com/GTA/GlobalVoices/article/184096 [accessed 30 July 2011] Many of the street children at the
centre had never met their parents because they were left at the door as
babies. So once a year, one lucky kid picks a day for "everybody's
birthday," which they all celebrate together. We were honoured to attend this party for all the children. It was organized by the kids
themselves – kids who couldn't afford shoes of their own but shined shoes for
mere pennies. They saved those pennies one by one to buy simple things, like
watermelon, for their celebration. ***
ARCHIVES *** UNICEF – www.unicef.org/infobycountry/Thailand.html [accessed 30 July 2011] The Department of Labor’s 2004 Findings on the Worst Forms
of Child Labor www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/tda2004/thailand.htm [accessed 29 December 2010] CURRENT
GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND PROGRAMS TO ELIMINATE THE WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR - The government maintains a child labor reporting hotline,
facilitates the participation of communities in anti-child labor activities,
and has initiated a public awareness campaign that includes information about
child labor laws. The Department of
Social Development and Welfare (DSDW) has established shelters for street
children and provides child victims legal assistance, including counseling
and rehabilitation services. The
Department also provides vocational training to improve children’s skills and
prevent them from entering work prematurely. Human Rights Reports » 2005
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61628.htm [accessed 29 December 2010] CHILDREN - There were believed to be
approximately 20 thousand street children
in major urban centers. The government implemented new guidelines to improve
the processing of child trafficking victims from Street children were often left out
of national reports on child labor issues and national statistics on street children often included only
citizens, although the majority were non-citizens. Street children were often exploited
by organized gangs as beggars or to sell flowers or other items. Many of
these children were forced to turn over their daily earnings to the gang and were
paid less than a dollar a day. There were reports of street children who were bought,
rented, or forcibly "borrowed" from their parents or guardians in
order to beg alongside women on sidewalks and overpasses. This was
particularly true in areas of the capital frequented by tourists. Working
conditions for these children were poor, leaving them exposed to the elements
for long periods of time and open to further exploitation Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of
the Child (CRC) UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, 9 October 1998 www1.umn.edu/humanrts/crc/thailand1998.html [accessed 29 December 2010] [22] The Committee notes the
establishment by the State party of a program to encourage the reinforcement
of the family environment and to strengthen parenting skills among both
parents. The Committee remains concerned, however, at the high rate of
abandonment of children, especially children born out of wedlock and children
of poor families. In this regard, the Committee also expresses concern at the
lack of adequate alternative care facilities and qualified personnel in this
field. [27] While the Committee notes the
high rate of school enrolment, particularly at the primary level, and the
recent initiative to establish additional schools in rural communities, it is
still concerned that some children, particularly those living in poverty and
in nomadic and hill tribe communities, do not have access to education. In the
light of the recent economic constraints, the Committee is also concerned at
the number of children, particularly girls, leaving school prematurely to
engage in labor. [29] While welcoming the recent
adoption of the Labor Protection Act of 1998, in which the minimum legal age
for access to work has been increased from 13 to 15 years, the Committee
remains concerned at the high rate of economic exploitation, as well as at
the increasing number of children leaving school, sometimes at an early age,
to work to support themselves and their families. Abolitionists tell story of Michele Willer-Allred, www.vcstar.com/news/2010/oct/13/abolitionists-tell-story-of-thailands-child-sex/ [accessed 2 October 2011] In 2006, Batstone
met Most had been kidnapped or sold by
their parents, and all ended up in the child-sex brothels of Chiang Mai. Some had escaped from the brothels but
feared they would be recaptured. Once in The Forgotten Class - Makeshift weekend schools in Pichaya Svasti,
Sep 3, 2008 -- Photos by Yingyong Un-Anongrak zinesye.multiply.com/journal/item/11?&item_id=11&view:replies=reverse [accessed 30 July 2011] The problems of the students often
stem from their own parents. "Many of the parents are homeless and do
not think about the future of their kids," said Naphat.
"Some children are called by their mothers to leave class and go
begging." The children are eager to have an
education, however. According to Naphat, there are
20 children from the Sanam Luang
area and more than 10 others under the Ramon Gonzalez, Western Catholic Reporter WCR, wcr.ab.ca/old-site/news/2008/0616/west061608.shtml [accessed 30 July 2011] MASSIVE BIRTHDAY PARTY - Kielburger
learned that street children who didn't know their
parents, let alone their ages or birth dates, pooled their meagre resources and held one massive birthday party
every year. Kielburger cancelled his plans to
return to After the party he postponed his
trip back to Begging some difficult questions Nattha Keenapan,
www.unicef.org/thailand/reallives_6619.html [accessed 31 July 2011] Cambodians make up the largest
group of non-Thai beggars in While earlier studies on begging
in Bangkok focused on the fact that many child beggars are forced to beg, a
survey published in October last year by the NGO Friends International and
the United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking in the Greater
Mekong Sub-region, entitled The Nature and Scope of the Foreign Child Beggar
Issue in Bangkok, suggests that most Cambodian child beggars come voluntarily
with their mothers or relatives. According to Friends
International, which works with street children in A birthday party for kids who don't know their age Craig and Marc Kielburger, www.thestar.com/GTA/GlobalVoices/article/184096 [accessed 31 July 2011] Many of the street children at the
centre had never met their parents because they were left at the door as
babies. So once a year, one lucky kid picks a day for "everybody's
birthday," which they all celebrate together. We were honoured to attend this party for all the children. It was organized by the kids
themselves – kids who couldn't afford shoes of their own but shined shoes for
mere pennies. They saved those pennies one by one to buy simple things, like
watermelon, for their celebration. Academic
says ‘open houses’ needed to help street children Anjira Assavanonda,
This article has been archived by World Street Children
News and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 31 July 2011] Thailand needs to set
up ‘’open houses'’ in border areas to assist street children who have entered
Thailand from neighbouring countries, an academic
said yesterday. Sompong Chitradub,
an education lecturer at The Jeremy P. Meyer, www.denverpost.com/jonbenet/ci_4244063 [accessed 31 July 2011] A portion of the estimated 200,000
to 300,000 sex workers in At an underpass in central One boy, 10-year-old
"Ice," said three times a month someone offers to pay him for sex.
He always declines. But social workers fear the lure of money will someday
change his mind. Ice and his brother sleep on the floor in his grandmother's
one-room shack in a shantytown. She makes money by scavenging for scraps of
metal while he begs. Tourism enterprises bring hope to the street children of Phuket Michael Verikios, traveldailynews, July 27, 2006 This article has been archived by World Street Children
News and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 31 July 2011] A new shelter for homeless
children was officially opened in Patong, Phuket district. The aim of the new shelter is to
provide a safe environment for homeless children as they commence a new life
away from the streets. It houses up to 30 street children between the ages of
11 – 16 in dormitory style accommodation as well as housing the staff on
site. The Home is accessible 24 hours a day to innocent victims of abuse,
neglect, abandonment and homelessness, as well as runaways and those facing
family crisis. Equipped with modern facilities and run by staff trained in
the rehabilitation and counseling of street children, the home will offer a
happy environment for children to play, learn and relax in safety. From thief to “foster father of 50,000 street children” AsiaNews/Ucan, At one time this article had been archived and may
possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 31 July 2011] Dr Amporn
Wathanavongs, “the foster father of 50,000
children” is one of Migrant Children in Especially Difficult Circumstances [DOC] Asian Research Centre for Migration (ARCM), Institute of
Asian Studies, At one time this article had been archived and may
possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 31 July 2011] CHAPTER FOUR: MEANS OF ENTERING Stories
From The Field [access information unavailable] Many street children live in the
area around Information about Street Children - This report is taken from “A Civil Society Forum for East
and South East Asia on Promoting and Protecting the Rights of Street
Children”, 12-14 March 2003, At one time this article had been archived and may
possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 31 July 2011] Key push factors: family economic
pressures / income instability impacting on increasingly fragmented family
support structures; inability to support basic needs and education; conflict
and violence; children’s search for independence, Personal characteristics /
psychology of adolescence,- vulnerability of
children aged 12-18 to influences in the environment such as video games and
night life; attempted runaway behavior at the age of 13-15 may lead to permanent
separation at a later stage. Education
- inappropriate discipline, especially involving humiliation, and lack of
understanding by teachers along with lack of family support contributes to
dropout. Youth
Camp Hopes To acr.hrschool.org/mainfile.php/0124/119/ [accessed 31 July 2011] The idea of the camp is to give
the children enough time to look at themselves, what they want to do in the
future and then guide them with a road map to get there. Facts and Statistics Foundation for Children At one time this article had been archived and may
possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 31 July 2011] HOMELESS CHILDREN - A survey of Childlife-A
Future For Street Children Childlife www.kinderleben.org/index_eng.htm [accessed 31 July 2011] The purpose of Childlife
is to provide the street children in Mae Sai with a
safe refuge, shelter and home, food, health and non-formal education. All material used herein
reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107 for noncommercial,
nonprofit, and educational use. PLEASE
RESPECT COPYRIGHTS OF COMPONENT ARTICLES.
Cite this webpage as: Patt, Prof. Martin, "Street Children - |
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