Aranya

This account of a young woman in Southeast Asia is loosely based on a true story.

Aranya (named changed to protect identity) was born into a minority tribe that lived in the hills of rugged mountain country within the Golden Triangle. Faced with a lifetime of hardship and uncertainty, she entered into a ‘marriage’ with a man whom she thought would give her a better life. Somchai (named changed to protect identity) was a man of means. He had links with local gangs that were feared in the villages. He controlled activities that generated profit and took an interest in this pretty young tribal girl who quivered with fear and trepidation whenever his gangs came by.

Within a few months, Aranya found herself pregnant. Somchai soon dispensed with the niceties. His power and influence came from the violence he could wield. Aranya faced the reality as best she could, given the circumstances she was in. After about 2 years, driven by desperation and poverty, she insisted that he keep his word and look after her and her child. Such platitudes did not work. Somchai become so enraged, he threatened to kill both mother and child. Fearing for her life and her child’s life, she fled and went into hiding across the border to North Thailand.

Without skills, basic education or employment, stateless and minority tribe women from rural areas are all too often commodified and absorbed into the commercial sex industry. According to agencies such as Global Slavery Index, there are about 610,000 people in Thailand who are victims of modern-day slavery, whether they work in factories, in plantations, onboard fishing boats or in brothels and bars. The prevalence is about 9 victims per 1,000 people. A large proportion of these people are those like Aranya and her child. The common thread in exploitation is the total lack of governance and the widespread, manipulation and abuse of the victims. The prevalence and normalisation of such an ecosystem creates the façade of consent and tolerance in the societies that perpetuate this.

The many organisations and agencies that promote the protection, welfare and empowerment of vulnerable people in the Golden Triangle have already taken the crucial first steps by drawing attention to what is going on. Many have some means of mitigating the harm by providing advice, shelter and various forms of practical help. Some are secular. Some are religious. They deserve support from those of us who can help.

If you have read this far, you can help. Rather than just tell a story to evoke pity, we hope that we have told a story that will help fuel the many commendable missions that these organisations have taken on. They need our help and support to succeed. This can only happen if our hearts have been touched. Numbers and facts alone will not move us. A nun told me recently: “We came with nothing. And we will leave with nothing. We should and must give what we can give, to help those who need to be helped”.

We may not know any of these people who are facing exploitation and abuse, but our awareness and philanthropy (big or small) is what will make a difference.