Imagine ... ...

you would have never been to school, or have had only four years of basic education. You are qualified only for those jobs that pay the lowest wage. What if you or your family suddenly needed a lot of money; what then would you do?

There are a variety of possible answers for different people. But now imagine further you are also very young, and that you are female. You have seen some girls of your village, some relatives, some neighbours, return from that famous far-away city, Bangkok. They wear elegant dresses, beautiful ornaments, and some even build plush modern houses. They were your playmates, but now they have become so much more beautiful than before.

Nothing bad has ever been said to you about working in that city. You believe that perhaps Bangkok is the answer to earning a living and providing immediate support for your family. Even in the times when Thailand's economy was still booming, many people of the poorest villages in the North were becoming even poorer. The current economic downturn made things even worse. To many, the prospect of quick money has become more important than even the basic human rights. Some parents sell their daughters into the flesh trade, while some of the young girls have said they were willing to go as a token of gratitude to their parents.

Many of these girls in the North may know exactly what their friends and relatives do in Bangkok. But as they have few alternatives, they hardly question such an occupation, focusing solely on its profitability. Rarely will they consider the disadvantages that the job may bring. But who could blame these young girls, when they have not been offered any reasonable alternatives?

The Daughters' Education Programme (Depdc) is a non-governmental organization which supports the Government's commitment to ending child prostitution by providing educational opportunities for young women in the North.

The centre believes these girls do not want to sell their bodies, that the girls would rather go to school, but they do not know how to help their families survive their poverty.

"Girls in the North have been exploited by society, by irresponsible adults and the people they trust - including their own parents," said Sompop Jantraka, founder and project coordinator of the Daughters' Education Programme.

Depdc's main projects is a centre located in the North of Thailand, in Mae Sai District, Chiang Rai. Depdc members identify girls who are at risk of being sold into the profitable prostitution business, some of whom may be as young as seven years old. The Daughters' centre tries to be one step ahead of the agents, who come to the villages laden with money to tempt parents into selling their daughters.

One these young girls was Ramjai, now a young woman in of twenty years. She and her sister could sucessfully complete their secondary school education with the help of a DEPDC scholarship.

Both the girls are daughters of rice farmers who have only four rai of land. Their family makes only 40 tang (20 litres of rice) per rai, which is an extremely low level of productivity. Ramjai's parents did not share the belief of others in the area who regard daughters as commodities to be sold. Many village people have looked down on them because their daughters do not work as prostitutes like other girls in the village.

"They say my parents have two daughters, but the roof of our house is still made of grass. Look! That family has only one daughter, but they have a beautiful modern house!" said Ramjai. "My parents work hard to face their scorn. During the rainy seasons they get up very early to find bamboo shoots and mushrooms. After the harvest, my father takes his camera from village to village, taking photographs to earn more money," said Ramjai in a serious voice."But in 1989 they could not support us any longer. I was in Mor 2 (Grade 2) then, and my sister was in Por 6 (Primary 6)." Fortunately for the young girls the Daughters' had just started to identify young girls at risk in her village, and they were both accepted in the programme.

Ramjai wants to continue her education so that she can come back and help Acharn Sompop and the Daughters. Ramjai once tried to organise a local group to stop the sex trade in her village, but the people, including two of her aunts who work in the trade, wanted nothing to do with her.

Wilaiporn is 13 year-old in Mor 1 (grade 1) at Mae Sai Prasitsart School. She is a Thai-Akkha girl, who expresses herself clearly and confidently.

Mr. Sompop Chantraka

"Many of my friends are lured to work in brothels," she told us. "One of my friends injured her knee and couldn't move. Still they forced her to have sex with many customers until her knee became swollen. Then they just sent her back to the village."Wilaiporn knows the reason why Daughters are supporting her. "They don't want me to be a prostitute," she said simply. She was especially at risk: "Wilaiporn's father is addicted to drugs and doesn't work. Wilaiporn is a nice-looking girl. Several people in her village, including her relatives, have become prostitutes," said Sompop. "That's why we believed she was especially at risk. ".

"We will send our staff to different areas, principally now in the Mae Sai District, to conduct research and identify the young girls at risk. However, we are not the ones who decide who are at risk, rather this is done by key leaders in the villages, such as teachers or monks. The people in the areas know these things better than we do,"said Sompop.

"So far the biggest problem I have is our limited budget, as we hope to be able to expand our project areas. Also I am also worried about the safety of our staff. Although we did not launch a direct programme to crack down on prostitution, somehow many agencies believe that we are the ones who are making their work more difficult since we are trying to prevent and protect those young girls from being sold by their family and relatives," said Sompop.

thailife.de thanks Supala Chanchitfah for this article