This story is nothing new in Thailand but it has been immersed in my thought.  How come parents trade their own children to be prostitutes?  I try to understand but I couldn't understand.   My opinion, it's nothing about education, it's nothing about poverty.  You can't give such excuses for selling your kids..  They are human being, not your 'Things' especially they are from your blood. 

Read the story..

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?

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. (The Daughters' Education Programme)

When will this problem be faded out in this country?