Firts steps in solving a problem

As has been explained, human trafficking functions in the same way as any other elicit product supply chain. To go beyond base line efforts at confronting the problem with by arresting the perpetrators and rescuing the victims, as important as this is, the beginning links in the chain must be addressed. As explained in the preceding story, these links go back to the hometowns and villages of people at risk of enslavement. However, this is not where they begin. They begin with the officials taking bribes to look the other way when brothels continue to illegally operate. They begin with the cost benefits analysis sheets that demonstrate it is more profitable to continue to ignore forced labor in the supply chains of everyday necessities than it is to do the ethical thing and intervene. They begin with bad economic policies that do not properly protect at risk populations. However, if evil really does exist because good people do nothing then this is not the true starting point. These chains begin in the government offices responsible for resource management and with the officials tasked with formulating plans for confronting poverty. They begin with local police officers too afraid to report how their superiors are taking bribes. They begin with people too compassion fatigued to move away from the assumption that the problems of the world are too large to really confront, and towards logical steps to begin that confrontation.
This is where the story really begins with those willing to take the first steps needed, not just to save the oppressed, but also to keep them from being oppressed in the first place. But what does this look like? What does it mean to stand up and confront such evil? Indeed it can take many forms. The falling story is a true account of one such form.

I was traveling in Thailand for much of 2008 trying to remain occupied until returning to the US to continue my education. With no concrete plan in mind other than to do what I could to help hill tribe minorities and survivors of the Burmese civil war, I traveled around the north of the country for quite some time becoming accounted with various ethnic groups in the region. On a visit to a Lahu village, I happened to meet a man how was taking care of a number of Burmese orphans. He was trustworthy as far as I could tell and was not asking for money, but rather for help in facilitation opportunities to make what he was doing, saving refugee children, sustainable. I jumped at the opportunity to do what I could and contacted my connections in the US as soon as possible. I found a lot of interest in the possibility and began to plan with my new friend how to set up a sustainable home, making us of social business models for the children in his care. The plans continued to grow and new possibilities continued to open. However, a critical element of protecting these children needed to be addressed sooner rather than later. This was their citizenship status. There are several levels of citizenship in Thailand, and being on the lower levels can be very limiting as it makes one more susceptible to not being protected by law enforcement and being forced into disadvantageous economic situations. These children had no status.

In order to begin confronting this issue, he proposed to move them to a district in which he was friends with a caring official who would do what he could to get citizenship papers for them. This cost much and put us in debt however, it was the only way open.
In Thailand, dealing with local government can be somewhat interesting to someone raised with western notions of respect for the written law and adherence to standards of due process. In the US, getting the government to do something can take months if not years. The bureaucratic maze must be respected. In Thailand knowing the rite people and getting on their good side can get citizenship papers over night.

I got invited to a gathering of the local officials to do just that. As mentioned, getting on an official’s good side can open a world of possibilities. At this gathering, getting on one’s good side consisted primarily of accepting as many drinks as possible in order to demonstrate gratitude and open the door for greater honesty. This is exactly what happened.

In a haze all the next day, I continued to wonder why I had so taxed my liver in the name of cultural recognition. That was until I was told that the officials decided to grant citizenship papers to all the children. I felt victorious in as my head continued to spin.

Perhaps it could have happened some other way, but in this way my caring friend, the ethical official who invited us and the sacrifice of my liver all contributed to securing the protection of several at risk children.
What remained to be dealt with was securing their economic protection and that of their brothers and sisters still at risk. How is they supply chain broken on the supply side?

Stay tuned for next time as we explore strategies for full spectrum human security.