A cute little play on words. A baht is Thai money. But there is nothing cute or playful about the meaning behind these words. Unfortunately the sad reality is that they are. Boys are bought.
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| 20 baht {just under $1 USD) |
Trafficking and prostitution of Thai boys is a thriving business. According to Wikipedia, prostitution is illegal. However it is tolerated, practiced openly, and partly regulated. Thailand has even gained international notoriety as a sex tourism destination. [1]
Thailand is a source, transit, and destination for sex trafficking.[2] Women and children from Thailand are trafficked within Thailand and sent to other countries. Many are also trafficked from other countries into Thailand. Recently women and children were brought in from Burma, Cambodia, and Laos to work in Thai brothels.
I had the opportunity to meet with the director/founder of a rescue home in Thailand. Due to the nature of her work, the nature of the abuses perpetuated against the children in her care, and safety concerns, I took no pictures of the rescue home and will not share the name or place. I have 8 pages of notes and the images in my mind that play over and over when I think of trafficking in Thailand.
I asked her about the children she has in her care. She and her husband care for boys between the ages of 8 and 18 who have been rescued from trafficking. They also have girls who were at-risk of being trafficked, but had not been yet.
According to the founder, there are 8 major tribes that live up in the mountains. Families often have 10-12 children and there typically isn’t enough income to feed them all. The parents sometimes choose a child, often a boy, to “sacrifice” in order to be able to feed others. The child is left or “dumped” at the vegetable market in town. There may be as many as 100 homeless boys between the ages of 8 and 15 at the market at a time. There are even some who are younger than 8. Many times the boys are young enough and traumatized enough that they do not remember from which village they came or what their parents’ names are.
Traffickers know that these boys are there, so they will go to the town markets and pick them up. Many of these boys are put to work in homosexual bars and are fed very little. The children are abused for a promise of a bowl of rice. Many are abused physically as well as sexually. Because of the nature of the sexual abuse, typically 8 or 9 out of 10 boys will end up with HIV, which is a higher rate than the girls.[3]
My heart breaks for these little boys. Boys who did not choose to be born into a family who could not feed them. Boys who are given up for the sake of others. Boys who are trafficked and abused by adults and whose lives are essentially ruined. It takes brave people to stand up to trafficking and care for these little ones. We need to make a stand as well. Sure, from here in the States we can't really make a difference personally, but there are things you can do.
- Please pray for these little fellas. They need rescuing, redemption, and restoration. There is only One who can fully and completely do these things. We can be intercessors for them with the One who can save.
- Please pray for those who daily work on this in Thailand (and every other country in the world). Please lift up those who are making a difference every day.
- Please pray that the demand for little boys (and little girls and women!!) will stop. Until there is no demand this crime will continue to be inflicted on innocent children.
- If you are not the praying kind (and even if you are!!) you can still help out by donating to agencies and organizations who are on the ground. One such place is Zoe Children's Homes. You can also follow them on the Zoe Children's Homes Facebook page. Zoe is in Thailand. There are others in Thailand as well. If you want to help by donating and want other options in Thailand or other countries, please contact me and I will get the information to you. Of course there is always my favorite - A21.
We are blessed abundantly in this country and honestly do we really need ALL those gifts? Please consider donating to an agency or organization who is helping rescue trafficked victims or helping them after they are rescued. Giving up one gift for ourselves or our loved ones can mean the world to a hurting child.
