Human Trafficking is Alive and Well in Thailand

Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand. Bangkok. March 13, 2012. I was not aware that the US State Department issues a Trafficking in Persons (“TIP”) report in which it ranks countries based on their efforts and effectiveness in combating the trafficking of persons. The problem in Thailand is huge, involving 2-3 million people from neighboring Laos, Cambodia and Burma, who come, or are brought (some kidnapped), to Thailand to find work. In its most recent TIP report, the US ranked Thailand as a “tier-two watchlist” country because of Thailand’s failure to comply with even minimum standards to address trafficking in persons. If Thailand fails to improve, it will be downgraded to a “tier-three” country, where it will be in the company of such countries as North Korea. Last year, the UN's Special Rapporteur for Trafficking in Persons blasted Thailand for "weak and fragmented" policy and legal framework on trafficking, deep routed corruption in law enforcement, the brokerage network and poor victim identification. The current Thai government has not responded to the UN.

Knowledgeable panelists at the FCCT described various aspects of the trafficking problem in Thailand, citing examples of horrible abuse of persons in the shrimp fishing and construction industries, prostitution, and babies and children brought to the streets of Bangkok to beg. Although there are many levels of the Thai government and industry responsible for this cruel situation, Human Rights Watch Asia Deputy Director Phil Robertson advanced that the kernel of the problem was police corruption because, according to Robertson, the Thai police are involved at all levels of illegal human trafficking. This is one aspect of corruption that is impossible to excuse as a mere “cost of doing business,” which is how some commentators describe governmental corruption.

The 2012 TIP report is due out in June and it will be watched to see if Thailand has taken sufficient remedial steps so that it is not degraded to the category of the world’s worst offenders.


(Above photo left to right)

* Mr. Phil Robertson, Asia Deputy Director, Human Rights Watch

* Mr. Arthon Piboonthanapatana, Secretary General, Thai Frozen Foods Association

* Mr. Eaklak Loomchomkhae, Head of Trafficking, Mirror Foundation

Interpreter

* Mr. Chutintorn Gongsakdi, Deputy Director General, International Organisations, Thailand Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The Saxaphone Goes Orchestral

Thai saxophonist Wisuwat Pruksavanich

College of Music, Mahidol University. Nakhonpathom, Thailand. March 17, 2012. The saxophone is not an orchestral instrument, but that didn’t prevent contemporary Thai composer, Narong Prangcharoen, from creating a concerto for saxophone and full symphony orchestra, which had its initial (and probably final) performance by the TPO, with Thai saxophonist, Wisuwat Pruksavanich, as soloist. While I admire the dedication of the musicians in realizing this work, I would rather listen to the saxophone played with the Glenn Miller or Les Brown bands. Tchaikovsky’s Capriccio Italien and Sleeping Beauty Suite, ably conducted by Polish musician, Dariusz Mikulski, consumed the second half of the program, and provided welcomed relief from whatever it was we heard during the first half.

Makha Bucha Day in Bangkok

Bangkok, Thailand. March 7, 2011. Makha Bucha Day is an important celebration in the Buddhist liturgical year. I enjoy the colorful practice of circling the main temple three times (Wien Tien) holding a lighted candle, incense and a lotus flower.

Violin and Harp Recital

American harpist Elizabeth Jaxon and Thai violinist Sitthichai Pengcharoen

Goethe Institut. Bangkok, Thailand. March 11, 2012. What a pleasant surprise it was to find the Goethe Institut’s 150-seat auditorium nearly filled. The occasion was a piano and harp duo recital, an unusual combination, by Thai violinist, Sitthichai Pengcharoen, and American harpist Elizabeth Jaxon. Nicely played, mostly short, works by composers from Bach, to Tchaikovsky, Piazzolla and Goldmark, made for a very varied and pleasant musical evening.

2nd Asia-Pacific Climate Change Adaptation Forum

Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand. Bangkok. March 6, 2012. Since the collapse of the “last chance to do something about climate change” Copenhagen summit in 2009, if not before, it has been clear to me that there will be no global policy solution to mitigating climate change. International efforts to stop climate change will continue to consist of endless UN conferences, which will benefit only caterers, the travel industry, and the large number of professional delegates who go from conference to conference enjoying a luxurious life style and camaraderie with other professional delegates. Now, the real efforts of humanity, which, of necessity, will have to be local or, perhaps regional, need to focus on adaptation. Fortunately, there are many dedicated people who understand this reality and are working to minimize the impact of climate change on local communities, where much can be done.

A panel of experts, who are attending the 2nd Asia-Pacific Climate Change Adaptation Forum in Bangkok, assembled at the FCCT and reported on some of the hopeful projects that are being initiated. Examples of adaptation are the planting of mangroves along coastal areas which are being destroyed by rising water and tides in Thailand, Cambodia and Viet Nam, and the use of indigenous bamboo to construct barriers. While these efforts might seem “too little too late,” if successful, they will conserve and restore the natural ability of ecosystems to regenerate, which is the only hope that is left for this polluted planet.

Khon Dance Festival

Srinakarinwirot University. Bangkok, Thailand. February 19, 2012. When I first came to Thailand, I bought a khon mask (see photo) as a decorative item for my apartment. A khon performance is a masked-dance drama, an ancient Thai performance art, consisting of actors who wear masks but don’t talk, a traditional Thai orchestra, and a narrator. It is colorful and involves stylized movements and posture which are quite expressive, even to someone like me who does not understand the narration nor the story being told, which is from the Ramakien, the Thai version of India’s Ramayana. The khon performance I attended was by elementary school students ages 10-12, who study khon for years as part of their school’s regular curriculum. The large auditorium was packed with adoring parents and grandparents. I had no trouble beaming as much as they did. A goal of the school is to create an audience for khon so that it does not become extinct as has happened with other ancient art forms. With this wonderful performance as a guide, I think it is safe to predict success.

This is the khon mask I have in my condo.

ASEAN’S Secretary-General Reports on Burma

ASEAN Secretary-General addresses the FCCT in Bangkok

Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand. Bangkok. February 24, 2012. The Association of South East Asian Nations is this part of the world’s most important regional organization, and its current head, Dr Surin Pitsuwan, an experienced Thai diplomat, whose rotating five-year term as secretary-general ends at the end of this year, recently spent five days in Burma to assess the changes taking place in the world’s longest standing military dictatorship. Burma, under a new constitution put together by the military generals to assure continued military control, and following elections last year which are widely seen as controlled by the military, is, nonetheless, making steps towards reform on what the generals say is a road to democracy. Dr. Pitsuwan’s assessment of progress is optimistic.

Dr. Pitsuwan reports that the commitment for reform is real and that it is being done in a relatively open atmosphere. He does not believe that it is a mirage. He maintains that international confidence in the process is crucial, as is international recognition and legitimacy. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Burma in December of last year, a break-through visit which has been heralded as the beginning of the end of Burma’s isolation from the international community and, perhaps, the beginning of the end of its nearly total reliance on China. This nation of 60 million diverse people, rich in energy and natural resources, occupies a key geographic location between China and India. Dr. Pitsuwan urges patience, arguing that Burma must be allowed to implement democratic and economic reforms at its own pace. The world is watching.