These are two very difficult areas to tackle.
We are welcoming any strategies that we might examine, especially when already successful with a similar minority group say in another country.
Both of these problems are doing great damage within the Akha community.
We don't think methadone is a good alternative.
In the area of prostitution, the number of Akha girls ending up in that trade is very large, and growing. The solutions are not simple and the spread of AIDS is not slowing. Road development in the area will force many Akha from one economic model rapidly into another and prostitution will be one way that far to many of them will cope with that dilema. As well, for the young men, forced to go far from home to work, there is little hope of supporting a family within the village, leaving less men available for marriage. The whole scenario is really quite horrible.
Most programs are only a drop in the bucket compared to the size of the problem.
Much to be done in this area.
Unfortunately many address this as a single gender based issue or simplisticly, far removed from all the causes swirling about, mugging the facts to fit particular agendas.
For example, many glibly say that girls go into prostitution because of no other choices. We find on this end however, that there are plenty who don't go into prostitution who are very poor. On the other hand not many jobs pay so well. Here in Thailand or in the West. We have made great effort at understanding why some girls are inclined to do so while others are not. In the Maesai area there are many who make a cognitive choice to go into this business. On the other hand there are many who got forced into the business, but these cases are harder to locate and document.
One must be very careful when offering sympathy while collecting such
information. In numerous cases after having filmed or listened at great
length to all the horrible events that befell this or that young woman we
concluded our interview only to be asked by her then if we could help her
get back into the business by providing money for a bus ticket or air
ticket to some choicer location where she could gain greater benefit at the
trade. Sort of shocking the first time we encountered it. But to assume
that all the these young woman are duped into this trade would be quite
condescending, as though if they were like us westerners they would know
better. One would also be quite misjudging of their calculating qualities.
Even many of the girls whom we talked with who were in what is sometimes
regarded as "debt bondage" situations, seemed to have known full well what
all the associated hazards were when they entered because of the many who
have quite publiclly gone through the process before them, including
sisters, and chose to do so anyway. They seemed bent on gaining as much
money from it as possible and shrugged off the hazard of AIDS, noting that
they got tested often, a sad kind of precaution.
So one must be very careful in quickly putting all of these women in the "victim" classification. The girls grow up quickly here, get what they can get when they can get it, and that includes getting something from you if they happen to think that you have a simpathetic ear to how bad they have it.
We have even seen in the past where an individual girl had her debt paid off only to borrow again and be back in the "house" three days later, old enough to be making decisions for herself but ambitious about just how far she could take it.
One of our conclusions, was that however small, there were often choices made by the individual that had to be taken into consideration, no matter how misguided, and these same choices are confronted when trying to get the individual out of the situation into a safer lifestyle.
Very complex.
And the individual situations vary widely.
Matthew McDaniel
The Akha Heritage Foundation
Akha University - Maesai
386/3 Sailom Joi Rd
Maesai, Chiangrai, Thailand
57130
E-Mail akha@loxinfo.co.th
Money can be sent to:
Via Money Wire:
Matthew Duncan McDaniel
Acc.# 3980240778
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Maesai Branch
Thailand
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Matthew McDaniel
386/3 Sailom Joi Rd.
Maesai, Chiangrai, Thailand
57130
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