Warunya Thongrod
Denounced internationally for the past two years for
their inability to combat human trafficking, Thai officials are hoping
the media can educate people about the dangers of the slavery rings.
Ministry of Social
Development and Human Security Secretary Phanita Kamphu na Ayuthaya says
her ministry makes combating traffickers a priority.
Speaking during an April 27 media tour in Pattaya,
Ministry of Social Development and Human Security Secretary Phanita
Kamphu na Ayuthaya tried to persuade reporters that Thailand’s
blacklisting on a U.S. human-trafficking watch list in 2010 and 2011 was
unwarranted. The ministry, she maintained, makes combating traffickers a
priority and has worked to combat it by educating people about the risks
and repercussions of trafficking, as well as partnering with neighboring
countries.
However, Phanita admitted, incidents of trafficking
of women and children have increased in frequency and severity. That is
due, she maintained, to changes in tactics by traffickers.
Taking reporters on a tour of Sunee Plaza and Walking
Street, Phanita and Department of Special Investigations Chonburi
representative Somchai Siroroj pointed out the sex workers, beggars and
street peddlers, claiming traffickers brought many to the nightlife
districts.
Phanita explained to reporters that trafficking goes
beyond bringing Cambodians and Burmese into Thailand. Aggressive
traffickers are also targeting Thais; using boys to fraudulently solicit
alms, tricking women into marriages with foreigners and enslaving men in
overseas labor. The biggest increase in trafficking is coming from Japan
and Korea, she said.
Phanita admitted Thai officials fear the blacklisting
will cost them international aid, so they’ve turned to the media for
help. Using television, radio, the Internet and mobile devices, the
ministry will step up its publicity campaign and hope that people
understand the message that Thais are at risk of being trafficked and
not to contribute to street people.
Pattaya Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome also took advantage
of the camera spotlights to tout his own achievements over his first
term, saying arrests of trafficked street vendors fell from 600 in 2005
to 200 in 2011.
Arresting actual traffickers, however, is more
difficult because they are hard to find, the mayor said. So beggars and
urchins are simply deported which, he admits, only contributes to a
“vicious circle.”
