Tuesday June 13, 2006
Authorities are finally starting to take appropriate action against 21st century slave traders and owners. It has been a long, slow and often frustrating battle to get police, immigration officials and the courts to tackle even the most shocking cases. But an Australian judge and jury indicated last week that citizens have had more than enough of human trafficking. They locked away a Chinese-Australian brothel operator for at least six, and perhaps 10, years for exploiting five Thai women. The Australians neither used a technicality such as pimping, nor took into account that the women were never beaten. The charge was keeping slaves, and the verdict was guilty.
It was Australia's first slavery conviction ever. Until recently, the country had no modern laws against such a practice.
Lawmakers and law enforcement agents have become proficient in recent years in talking about human trafficking. When it comes time to take action, however, little takes place. In 1984, Thailand was shocked when a fire in a Phuket brothel killed five young women who had been shackled to beds. Since then, Thai authorities have pressed precisely one case of modern-day slavery to a court conviction.
Fifteen months ago, prosecutors succeeded in charging a Cambodian woman for trafficking eight teenagers to Thailand like dogs, for actual sale to brothels. The court sentenced her to 85 years in prison. And there was a small ray of light last week, when Pattaya police arrested a convicted human trafficker, for extradition back to Britain. Onjira Jitprasert, 50, holds dual nationality and thought she would be safe in her native Thailand from the British system that sentenced her to three-and-a-half years' imprisonment. It appears she may actually serve the term.
The Australian brother owner, Wei Tang, apparently was confused that she even had to face charges. She testified that the Thai women were not physically abused, never struck or tied up. She fed them well, on first-class food. On top of that, Wei, who is 44, testified that she had suffered a harsh background before she was able to flee to Australia, the land of opportunity. In effect, she was doing the Thai women a favour, taking them in and giving them a chance to get a good start at new lives.
Judge Michael McInerney bought none of this, and neither did the jury. As he said, Wei's own background of struggle should have made her know about disadvantage. Instead, she seized the Thai women's passports, threatened to call immigration officers if they fled. The women had no contacts in Australia, little English, and not a shred of a guarantee that after they fulfilled Wei's ''contract'' they had any chance of advancement in Australia, or to return to Thailand.
Wei said that she charged brothel patrons $110, and ''credited'' the women with $50 per sex session. The Thais had to work six days a week for her, in order to pay off what she insisted was a $45,000 contract, or just under 1.3 million baht. Instead of a day off, the women had the privilege of working on the seventh day, and actually receiving $50. After servicing 900 patrons each, the women would be free to leave. If this isn't slavery, the word has lost its meaning.
The worm is beginning to turn, in cases like that in Australia. The chief of Australian immigration police has finally appealed to the public to report suspected slavery cases. In Bahrain, of all places, the government is about to start enforcing anti-slavery laws for exploitation of workers, specifically Thais. A spokesman said Bahrain employers seize workers' documents, withhold pay for so-called services, pay less than agreed, and abuse or force women to enter the sex trade. Bahrain is to open a shelter for abused immigrants.
One wonders why Thailand cannot do the same. Much work remains to be done, including some education. Top officials patronise brothels here in Thailand which literally enslave their workers. Corrupt police and immigration officials are involved in human trafficking from China, Burma, Cambodia and elsewhere. The crime can no longer be swept under the rug. Those involved must be exposed and punished strongly.
It was Australia's first slavery conviction ever. Until recently, the country had no modern laws against such a practice.
Lawmakers and law enforcement agents have become proficient in recent years in talking about human trafficking. When it comes time to take action, however, little takes place. In 1984, Thailand was shocked when a fire in a Phuket brothel killed five young women who had been shackled to beds. Since then, Thai authorities have pressed precisely one case of modern-day slavery to a court conviction.
Fifteen months ago, prosecutors succeeded in charging a Cambodian woman for trafficking eight teenagers to Thailand like dogs, for actual sale to brothels. The court sentenced her to 85 years in prison. And there was a small ray of light last week, when Pattaya police arrested a convicted human trafficker, for extradition back to Britain. Onjira Jitprasert, 50, holds dual nationality and thought she would be safe in her native Thailand from the British system that sentenced her to three-and-a-half years' imprisonment. It appears she may actually serve the term.
The Australian brother owner, Wei Tang, apparently was confused that she even had to face charges. She testified that the Thai women were not physically abused, never struck or tied up. She fed them well, on first-class food. On top of that, Wei, who is 44, testified that she had suffered a harsh background before she was able to flee to Australia, the land of opportunity. In effect, she was doing the Thai women a favour, taking them in and giving them a chance to get a good start at new lives.
Judge Michael McInerney bought none of this, and neither did the jury. As he said, Wei's own background of struggle should have made her know about disadvantage. Instead, she seized the Thai women's passports, threatened to call immigration officers if they fled. The women had no contacts in Australia, little English, and not a shred of a guarantee that after they fulfilled Wei's ''contract'' they had any chance of advancement in Australia, or to return to Thailand.
Wei said that she charged brothel patrons $110, and ''credited'' the women with $50 per sex session. The Thais had to work six days a week for her, in order to pay off what she insisted was a $45,000 contract, or just under 1.3 million baht. Instead of a day off, the women had the privilege of working on the seventh day, and actually receiving $50. After servicing 900 patrons each, the women would be free to leave. If this isn't slavery, the word has lost its meaning.
The worm is beginning to turn, in cases like that in Australia. The chief of Australian immigration police has finally appealed to the public to report suspected slavery cases. In Bahrain, of all places, the government is about to start enforcing anti-slavery laws for exploitation of workers, specifically Thais. A spokesman said Bahrain employers seize workers' documents, withhold pay for so-called services, pay less than agreed, and abuse or force women to enter the sex trade. Bahrain is to open a shelter for abused immigrants.
One wonders why Thailand cannot do the same. Much work remains to be done, including some education. Top officials patronise brothels here in Thailand which literally enslave their workers. Corrupt police and immigration officials are involved in human trafficking from China, Burma, Cambodia and elsewhere. The crime can no longer be swept under the rug. Those involved must be exposed and punished strongly.
1 comment:
Moder-day killing field!!!!!!!!!!!
Can any body see it???????????????
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