We are Sheldon and Lauren Nest. We have just recently joined Relentless. Click here to read our bios. We arrived in Chiang Mai three months ago and have been taking it all in. One issue that has caught our attention is that of children begging and selling flowers and other small goods on the streets.

 Girls at Doi Suthep Temple by Julio Mestres

Shortly after arriving in Chiang Mai I (Lauren) visited Doi Suthep; one of the large temples and tourist attractions in Chiang Mai. I was struck by the young age of the girls selling flowers and dancing at the temple. These girls ranged from about 6 years of age to 12 years, wore beautiful traditional dress, and make up, their smiles forced, their eyes bored.  Tourists surrounded the dancers, taking pictures and applauding, many bought flowers or gave money. I left wanting to know more, saddened by the hopeless smiles.

A month or so later Sheldon was sitting with his visiting brother having a drink in the evening on the corner of a busy intersection in town. My (Sheldon) conversation was interrupted by a young boy, perhaps 5 or 6 years old selling flowers. He stood there and proceeded to recite his rehearsed pitch, all the while yawning, picking his nose and looking elsewhere. After a minute or two, he went to the other side of the table and tried again. Realizing we were not going to purchase flowers he walked over to a tree near by and began to cry. As he cried he seemed to maintain his gaze fixedly in one direction, leading us to believe he was looking at someone in particular, perhaps someone watching or controlling him. He then wiped his tears and continued on to more tables. Watching this situation play out I felt pain knowing that this is not what this child or any other his age should be doing.

Child begging is likely something most of you have observed, if not in Thailand, in other parts of the world. How do you respond?

Street children in Phnom Penh, the Cambodian capital.                                                            Agence France-PresseStreet children in Phnom Penh, the Cambodian capital. 

The Foundation for a Better Life of Children estimates over 30,000 begging children on the streets in Thailand.  Many of these children are in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. Children in Bangkok come primarily from Cambodia, sometimes arriving with desperate family members, sometimes having been sold by family into trafficking rings. Children in Chiang Mai are primarily from Burma, here due to similar circumstances.

There are clearly two options every time a child asks you for money, to give or to walk away. When you give a child money, the money will may go to help feed the child or their family that day, or prevent the child from receiving a beating as they have brought in “enough” income for the day. Unfortunately the more likely scenario is that all of the money collected is given over to a “controlling and abusive” elder force and very little benefit goes directly to the child. By paying a child you validate the business of kids begging and further the demand for this business and therefore the cycle of poverty and abuse for these children.  “Essentially, when you give money to street kids, you are paying them not to be in school”-from the New York Times Article “Don’t Give That Child a Dollar“.

The other option is to walk away, not just ignoring the situation however, but becoming involved in other ways; supporting the organizations that work directly with street kids and their families. Childsafetourism.org lists some concrete guidelines for tourists or short-term visitors in how to respond in a beneficial way to kids begging on the street.

We wanted to blog about this topic because we know that it is hard to see kids begging on the street and not do something about it. We also know that your response to these kids can make an impact for better or for worse. Hopefully this topic causes you to think a little more deeply about what to do when faced with this situation, and how your actions are affecting these kids and their families.

Regardless of whether you give to the child or not, you have the opportunity every time you meet a child begging to treat them as a human being, to smile, to love, to interact in a positive way.

Eight Points of Action on how to be a “Child Safe Traveller” http://childsafetourism.org/actions/
Action 1: If you see or suspect child abuse while travelling, report it immediately
Action 2: Seek out alternatives to giving money to children begging or selling things on the street
Action 3: Choose hotels, tour companies, and businesses that implement child protections standards
Action 4: Do your research before visiting or volunteering with vulnerable children abroad
Action 5: Avoid giving gifts directly to children or taking them anywhere alone
Action 6: Don’t engage in any sexual activity with any person under the age of 18 years
Action 7: Ask permission before taking photos of children
Action 8: Spread the word about Child Safe Tourism 

Children begging and selling things on the street is an issue close to the heart of Relentless’ work as these children, if not already being trafficked, are at very high risk of being trafficked, exploited and abused both for labor or sex.

A Washington Post article quotes Maher Tabarani (the Director of the Home of Hope, a government-funded shelter for abused and abandoned children in Lebanon) stating “One child at the home on a recent day was taken into care after a family member tried to sell his kidney, an act officials say is becoming more common as the population of desperately impoverished refugees grows. Another previous resident of the home, just 11 years old, had been sold by his father to a prostitution ring.”

Relentless partners with many organizations that have joined the fight against this issue and are working proactively to both prevent the abuse and exploitation of kids on the streets, as well as reach out to those that are working on the street and give them opportunities for a better future. Check out these organizations if you are interested in getting further involved: Village Focus International in Cambodia and Laos, Hug Project in Chiang Mai, Urban Light in Chiang Mai, the Hub in Bangkok, and Hope Home in Laos. There are many more organizations reaching out to children on the streets, do some research, and get involved!

 Mohammed Huzaifa, 10, sells flowers in Beirut. (Sam Tarling/For the Washington Post)

In light of the current refugee crisis, we share one more story taken from the Washington Post, you can read the full article here. Mohammed and his brother Allaa, aged 10 and 12 respectively, are living with their family as refugees in Beirut and have been sent out by their mother to sell flowers at night to help pay rent. If the boys don’t sell enough flowers they may not be able to pay rent. In this scenario, by buying flowers you are helping provide shelter for their family. But what are the long term consequences for these children, their family and their community as you buy into their business and pay them to stay out of school?

 

References

Yongcharoenchai, Chaiyot. ”Young Lives for Sale”. 6/29/2014. Bankok Post online article. Accessed 12/15/15.

 

Farrell, James Austin. “Street Children of Chiang Mai”. 2015. Citylife Chiangmai online article. Accessed 12/15/15.

 

McDonald,Mark. “Don’t Give That Child a Dollar”.10/10/2012. The New York Times online article. Accessed 12/15/15.

 

Jingjai N. “Real Lives”. Unicef online article. 2012. Accessed 12/15/15.

 

Morris, Loveday. “In Lebanon, Syrian children find safety from war but new dangers on the streets”.  4/3/2014. The Washington Post online article. Accessed 12/15/15.