The Kids of Myanmar

The 12-year old Burmese girl was glued to the television set. Being from a rural village in Myanmar, she was spellbound by the Thai equivalent of an MTV rave broadcast. I’ve seen that absorbed fascination from a child, a TV-induced trance. In this instance, the young girl finds it a comforting escape until someone taps her on the shoulder and directs her to take an adult client into the backroom.

This scene from a child brothel in Myanmar will be etched in my memory for some time. Three of us from Not For Sale passed into Myanmar today to observe the trafficking of young children for forced labor. We visited two brothels and frankly did not see one “worker” over the age of 18 years old. A boy who looked about eight years old was dangled in the doorway of yet another brothel in a dilapidated karaoke bar strip. Most of the kids come from impoverished hill tribe villages – some sold, others abducted.

This area of Myanmar is awash in opium – intel has it that the Myanmar generals deal directly in opium sales to fund their illegitimate government. In a cynical effort at face saving, the government has posted signs in the district for the people to stay “drug free.” I suppose they look at opium as a cash export crop not to be consumed by the general population. Unfortunately, locals do imbibe, and many of the trafficked children we encounter had served as chattel to barter for money for opium.

We pass through the border in Mae Sai and do not encounter any resistance. The cyclone-affected area of Myanmar is far to the south. Stories are awash of refugees on the move, though very few would seek to enter into Thailand from this border. They head to a more desolate stretch of mountainous border on Myanmar’s eastern flank. But the destitution we witness in this northern region confirms that the Burmese live on the edge of existence without the cyclone’s destruction. In terms of supply and demand, the Burmese peasants offer traffickers a glut of potential targets. And the demand for free labor in global markets, be it illicit or licit commerce, at this point faces few restrictions. We need to alter the supply-demand equation, even if in small increments. For each increment translates into tens of thousands of lives.

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Peter Paul
Posts: 1

slave trade from eastern europe
Reply #1 on : Sat May 31, 2008, 03:07:45

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I became aware of the slave trade after watching a CBS movie called sex slaves.
It is a must see

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=456480507747515257

A website about slavery should have versions in the languages of the people that are more in danger of becoming slaves.
What are the chances of a US college student becoming a slave ?
Not many.
I have never heard a case about an american ending up as a slave in India.
What are the chances of a Romanian becoming a slave ?
A lot.
Not for sale movement should have pages in romanian , Ukranian.., and other east european languages.


These are the people who primarily should be the target of not for sale campaigns since they are the ones at risk of being sold.