knowingzhuo爱

SEXSLAVERYASANATIONALTHREAT:ARESPONSETOLOUISEBROWN'SSEXSLAVERY:THETRAFFICKINGOFWOMENINASIAAYEMONHTUTMARYBALDWINCOLLEGE[AyeMonHtut,anativeofBurmaandarecentSocialWorkgraduateofMaryBaldwinCollege,spentSummer2006doinganinternshipinBangkok,ThailandworkingwithBurmese"sexslaves"broughttoacenterinBangkok.
ShewrotethisbriefessayasaresponsetoreadinganthropologistLouiseBrown'scontroversialbook,SexSlavery:TheTraffickingofWomeninAsia,reviewedinthe2006editionofthisjournal.
Ed.
]Sandar,fromBurma,promisedthatshewouldnotcomebacktoThailandagain,ifshewassentbackhomesafely.
ButthesocialworkerofFoundationforWomenknewthatshewould.
Thatwasduringaninformationsessiononimmigrationlaw,sexslaveryandhumanrightsataThaiimmigrationdetentioncentre.
Everyday,hundredsofillegalsexworkersarearrestedandsentthere,wheresocialworkersinterviewthem,counselthem,letthemknowtheconsequencesiftheyevercommitillegalmigrationagain,andsendthemhome.
Morethanhalfofthemwouldtryagaintocrosstheborder,hopingthattheywouldgetabetterjobthanprostitutes.
Havingknowntheriskofbeingjailedorfallenpreybyhumantraffickers,whowillturnthemintosexworkersagain,theywillmakethesecondorthirdattemptssimplybecausetheyhavefarworselivesbackhome.
InallAsiancountries,wemustfightagainstsexslaverymuchmoreaggressivelythannow.
Simplyput,SexSlaveryisnationalthreattoallofusinAsiancountries.
Sexslaveryisfarmorecomplicatedthanonecanimagine.
Asmuchasthisbusinessishumongousandthreatening,theattentionandconcernitgetstorectifyitisveryminimal.
Wehavetolookintomanyunderlyingcausesinordercorrectorevenreduceit.
Poverty,lackofeducation,notknowingevenbasichumanrights,lackofoptionsarejustafewcausesthatactivists,NGOsandconcernedcitizensalonecannotaddress.
Everyoneshouldrespondtothisproblemjustaswerespondtowar,terrorism,corruptedgovernment,economiccrisisanddeadlyepidemics.
SexslaveryinAsiaisnotanylessimportantnorcreateslesstragedythantheseissues.
InThailandalone,twomillionwomenandyoungchildrenfromBurmahavebecmesexslaves(Brown,2001)inrecentyears.
Morethan50%ofthemwilldiebetweentheageof20and30byHIV.
Thisfigureishigherthanthenumberofpeoplekilledin1988massacreinBurma,the9/11tragedyinU.
S,andtheTsunamitidalwaveincidentinThailandcombined.
Sexslaverydefinitelyneedsmoreattentionandaction.
Weallhavetotreatitasagenuinenationalthreat!
OneofthewaystofightagainstSexSlaveryisthatAsiancountriesshouldbetobemoreopentohelpandforcethepublictofacetherealityofwhatisgoingon.
.
Itisjustnotunderstandablehowwesoblithelyignoresuchacatastrophe.
WhileIcanunderstandthefactthatsolvingthisprobleminvolvesbigfinancialcommitmentandotherresponsibilities,itistotallyunacceptablethatmanyAsiangovernmentsdonothavemuchvisionandlongtermplans,attheveryleast.
Themosthopelessanddisappointingpartofitisthat,authoritiesareinvolvedinthesexindustryaccordingtoBrown.
Notsosurprisingly,thelawpunishestheprostitutes,butnotthebrothelowners,traffickersandagentsasmuch.
Itiscompletelydepressingthatthegovernmentsarekillingtheirowncitizensalthoughindirectlyandslowly.
Itisatotallyinhumanecrime.
Nomatterhowothersectorsofacountryflourish,itisneitheracceptablenornegotiabletokillitsowncitizens.
Assoonasthegovernmentsacceptandadmittheseissuesofficially,Ibelievetherearemanywaystoreducesexslavery.
Ihavenodoubtthatitisextremelychallengingtoresolvetheproblemthathasbeendamagingmanylivesoveracentury.
Nevertheless,wecanstarttakingsmallsteps,oneatatime.
Wecouldimplementworkshopsandinformationsessionsaboutdeadlydangerofsexslaveryatcommunitylevel.
Wecouldprovidepotentialvictimswithsomebasichumanrightsandsurvivalinformationsuchasnoonehastherighttosellthem.
Astheyhavenotmuchbetterchoices,wecannotentirelystopthemfromgoingtoothercountries.
However,onefeasibleandrealisticstepisthatwecaneducatethem,forexample,bytellingthemaboutwomen'sshelters,socialservices,andhelp-linesiftheyeverwanttoescapefromtheabusiveslaveryinforeigncountries.
Wecanpreparefortheminformationsheetssuchas"Thingsyouneedtoknowbeforeleavingyourtown",whichwillincludehotlinenumbersofNGOsinneighboringcountries,howtogethelp,howtogethintfrompossibletricksandetc.
Obviously,Asiangovernmentsshouldcreatemoreoptionsforpotentialvictims.
Onemajorapproachistolookintopovertymoreseriously,thenconstructingnewbuildings,bridges,shoppingcentersandroads.
It'stimeforustorealizethatstabilityandwelfareofciviliansarethemostimportantandbasicneedofanation.
Oncetheyfacethebittertruthanddevelopanattitudetoseriouslyaddressit,Ibelievewecandefinitelyreduceitbitbybit.
ItisnotonlyAsiangovernmentsthathavetochangetheirmindsettosavetheircitizens;thewholeworldshouldgetinvolvedinmakingthishappen.
Irememberhowwe,inBurma,obtainedfinancialhelp,technicalsupportsandmedicalassistanceduringtheDiarrheaepidemicin1987(UNICEFdatasheet,1988).
U.
S,Europeandmanypowerfulcountriesaroundtheglobecanexertconsiderablepressuretohurryassistancetosufferingnations.
Everyonehasgreatconcernandinvolvementabouttheseissues,whichisabsolutelywonderful;however,thecontributionandthecommitmentonsexslaveryproblemarecomparablylow.
IsitbecausethevictimsarethepoorestandtheleastimportantcitizensofthecountryIsitbecausenoonecangainpoliticalandeconomicalbenefitfromit,asmuchasbyinvolvinginthepoliticalsituationsOrisitbecausetheawarenessforsexslaveryisnotverywideyetcomparedtootherissuesOrisitbecausethesearethehiddenproblemsthegovernmentdoesnotwanttoadmittheexistenceofOrisitbecausetheseissuesareconsideredlessworthycomparedtootherpolitical,healthandeconomicrelatedissuesItistimenowthatweallhavetoaskthesequestionstoourselves,andnotonlyanalyzebutalsotakeactionsasaglobalissue.
Nowweareawarethatsexslaverykills.
Massively!
Weknowthatitkillsmoreeffectivelythanbombsandmachineguns.
Itistimethatwetakeitasaseriousnationalthreat,andsavemillionlivesofcivilians.
ItistimethatAsiangovernmentsshouldbemoreopen-mindedandworktobuildsaferandbetternationsfortheirpeople.
Itistimethatcountriesaroundtheworldshouldshowgreatconcernsandprovidenecessaryassistance.
Itistimethateveryoneofusisawareoftheimpactofsexslaveryandcontributesasmuchaswecantomakeournationsslavefree.
Together,wecanfightagainstsexslavery!
Reference:BrownLouise,SexSlaves:TheTraffickingofWomeninAsia.
London:ViragoPress,2001.
HumanDevelopmentReports1988-http://hdr.
undp.
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