MALI: A village study

Presented to the Faculty of Colorado Christian University

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Bachelor's degree

by

Leona Karni

May 1994

[This thesis has been adapted for publication on this website.]

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CHAPTER ONE--PROBLEM AREA

The purpose of this study is to develop an understanding of the daily lives and backgrounds of villagers involved in the child slave market. There are four areas of major concern when studying this problem. First, the villager’s isolation from major towns and cities makes them vulnerable to recruiters. Secondly, the educational background of the parents makes them easy prey. Thirdly, the religious beliefs of parent and child aid in facilitating the exploitation of female children. Fourthly, the annual income of a parent compared to the price of a child.

This study is an effort to establish a correlation between isolation, education, religion and annual income to the selling of a child. An effective strategy in prevention could then be developed based on this research.

The phenomenon of selling children into prostitution exists in the north of Thailand. It is a growing market, due in part, to the influx of male tourists from around the world booked on sex tours to Thailand. Among these tourists are pedophiles: adults who engage in sex with children.

Shrewd businessmen who are owners and operators of travel agencies, and service related operations, such as bars, brothels, and massage parlors, seize the opportunity to tap into this foreign currency revenue. They promise to provide young beautiful Asian girls for a price.

Villagers trapped in poverty, and who are illiterate, and isolated are easy prey. Recruiters visit the villages in the north at the end of the school year. They contact families with girls who will graduate sixth grade (government only requires children to attend school until sixth grade) and offer them an advance on the salary their daughter can earn, if she comes to Bangkok with them. The parents and the child often believe there is a glamorous opportunity awaiting her in the city.

Thai culture and religious beliefs help to support this exploitation through basic beliefs in karma, status of women, and merit making. This makes it extremely difficult to combat the traffic of children.

The phenomenon of selling children into prostitution exists in the rural north of Thailand.

H1: A contributory factor in the child slave market is isolation.

H2: A factor in the exploitation of children is illiteracy.

H3: A contributory factor in the child slave market is Buddhism.

H4: A factor in the child slave market is poverty.

In order to clearly analyze the hypothesis, there are a series of terms which must be defined.

Buddhism is a non-Christian religion practiced in Thailand.

A child is anyone under the age of thirteen.

Illiteracy is the inability to read or write.

Isolation occurs when contact with major towns or cities limited to twice a year or less and there is no involvement in government.

Karma is the merit or demerit a Buddhist believes one accumulates as a result of one's actions.

Merit making is the act of doing good deeds which will increase one's merit.

Slave market is the practice of receiving a year’s advance on a child’s earning potential. Thereby, placing the child in an indentured servant relationship with the buyer and virtually his slave.

A questionnaire has been developed to measure these hypotheses on villagers involved in the slave market.

It is the purpose of this study to develop a village level understanding of the child slave market. There are various factors believed to influence a parents decision to sell their child. of interest in this study are, isolation, education, religion, and annual income. An effort to establish a correlation between these factors, and the child slave market, is the focus of this research. Based on these findings, an effective strategy which will prevent children from being sold, may be developed.

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CHAPTER TWO: PRECEDENCE IN RESEARCH

I.G. Edmonds, a newspaper reporter in Thailand, used his own personal experience, previously published research, periodicals and newspapers, to support his area study of Thailand. Edmonds' research was published under the title of Thailand the Golden Land. The purpose of the book was to give an accurate presentation of Thai society. In the chapters titled "Thailand Today" (135-150) and "Industry" (151-160), Edmonds offers insights into the isolation of rural villagers.

They are described as having "absolutely no role or voice in government" (138) and the government, likewise, does not interfere in village life. The Thai farmers’ contact with the government is through the village headman.

The U.S. Government Printing Office published research on Thailand, titled Thailand: A Country Study. which was completed in 1987. The chapter of interest here is Chapter 3: "The Economy".

The purpose of this research was to examine the many levels of Thai society to determine how the various systems are defined by the culture. The method of approach was: interviews with individuals from within Thai society, review of statistical information found in publications from agencies of the United States Government, the Thai Government, private organizations, previously published books on Thailand, and the files of Thai newspapers.

According to the article on agriculture, in the chapter on economy, between 1950 and 1980 agricultural holdings nearly doubled; employing three-fourths of the labor force (144). Farmers generally raised rice for subsistence and a secondary crop for the market. There are 50,000 villages in Thailand and only a few cities and towns (139); the great majority of these villages do not have access roads.

Forty percent of rural farmers lack a full title to their land. Historically, all land was owned by the King. In 1954 a land code enabled farmers, through a complicated process, to apply for a legal title (147).

An understanding of the bureaucracy of government offices, and the ability to read Thai are necessary to successfully complete the process required for legal title. The law making public education mandatory was enacted in 1921. However, according to, Thailand: A Country Study, in the section under "Education", rural schools have less qualified teachers, and the opportunities to continue secondary education existed only in major towns. Although the north and Northeast areas of Thailand represent 55% of the population, they only comprise 26% of the secondary students (110).

Perhaps at this point it would be helpful to present a composite of village life, and the part religion plays in the daily life of a villager. A.B. Griswold and Prasert NaNagara co-authored an essay titled, " Kingship and Society at Sukhodaya", which was published in Change and Persistence in Thai Society: Essays in Honor of Lauriston Sharp. In this essay, the authors give a historical account of the relationship Thai people had with their king and their social organizational behavior. The information was acquired from ancient inscriptions, annals and old laws. The data is presented chronologically from the twelfth century up to the sixteenth century.

The most significant leader of the Sukhodayan period was Rama Gamhen. He was known as a "father lord" and as the teacher who taught all the T'ai (ancient Thai) to understand merit (1975, 44) Thus, the concept of merit has been woven into the daily thought-life of the Thai as far back as the Sukhodayan period.

In the essay titled "Merit and Identity in Village Thailand", the focus is on the relationship between merit-making and the forming of an identity for the village Tahi. The hypothesis is that merit is a "central explicit cultural concept" for Thai villagers.

Thai villagers are culturally and socially homogeneous; therefore the formation of individual identity is based on behavioral characteristics. The data presented is on merit-making, an important element in Thai village behavior. A definition of merit was arrived at through extensive interviews with Thai villagers. The data indicates that villagers understanding of who he is, is directly related to his understanding of the status of his merit.

The interviews also strongly support the premise that the Thai villager’s identity as an individual is interrelated with the identity of the village, and the merit status of the community.

Referring again to Thailand: A country Study, chapter two, "The society and the environment" [in the section titled "The social system" an assessment of village life] is presented.

The village provides social identity, manages the affairs of communal property, and has as the focal point of daily life the temple. The temple is used for public worship, religious ceremonies, and as a community meeting place. The temple and activities in the temple are an integral part of every day life.

Richard L. Gorsuch and Esther F. Wakeman, of Fuller Theological Seminary, tested Fishbein's model of "reasoned action" and, expanded upon this model by testing a behavior that was well established. They also made an effort to distinguish between affective and valuative components of attitude. Their findings were published in an article titled, A test and expansion of the Fishbein model on religious attitudes and behavior in Thailand.

Questionnaires were developed to measure the reasoned action model and additional elements of concern. The participants were 110 Thai college students. The behavior being examined was merit making on the First Day of Buddhist Lent.

Questionnaires were completed by participants one week prior to the holiday and were followed up by a questionnaire one week following the holiday to measure the number of students which participated in merit making. The correlation was analyzed with the F test.

The Fishbien model was supported, and the study revealed a significant correlation to affect in mediating behavior. These findings were contrary to the expectations of the researchers, which were to see significant correlation to value and behavior.

Additional research published under the title of, Studying the "referability" of child clinical problems, suggests that culture and gender influence reasons why a child would be referred for clinical counseling. The parent or teacher's perception of the problem may also come into account. In this study of 182 male and female children in the U.S., and 198 male and female children in Thailand, the author intended to establish a method to study such differences.

Secondly, to develop a new statistic, the referability index (RI). The RI would measure the frequency of referral of a child problem, adjusted for prevalence in the general population. Problem types were used from the Child Behavior Checklist. The results of the study indicate that in the U.S. girls were referred more than boys for behavior problems. Also, the referrals related more to under-controlled behavior problems. In Thailand the opposite was found, the referrals related to over-controlled problems. The findings offer new insights into gender and culture and indicate the use of RI to be advantageous.

In Mother sold food; Daughter sells her body: The Cultural Continuity of Prostitution, the author explores the Buddhist beliefs that enable the rationalization and acceptance of prostitution in Thailand. The idea is presented that prostitution enables poor village girls to repay their parents for the gift of life, and meet their obligation to participate in the support of the family unit.

The data was collected through longitudinal anthropological study of 400 urban families, related research, women's organizations in Thailand, and master's theses on prostitution.

The data was analyzed through—the presentation of the history of prostitution in Thailand, prostitution in the context of modern Buddhism, and the rationalization of prostitution throughout Thai society.

The results indicate that there is a relationship between Buddhists’ concepts, such as, merit-making, karma, and the fate of women and their lower state in the evolutionary process which seems to support prostitution in Thai society.

Prostitution provides the financial resources for village girls to escape from poverty and increase their family’s standard of living. Her mother did this through selling food, but the same dynamics support both professions through the belief that a woman's status is low and worldly, and her fate is to suffer.

Edmonds' study of rural Thailand (1972) revealed that the Thai villagers’ involvement on the nation's politics was limited to their contact with the village headman, placing them in the dark concerning political issues and policies.

Limited access roads (Lepoer, 1987) leads to further isolation and a skewed perception of the social issues, crime, and general environment of the large cities. One apparent example of the effects of this type of isolation can be seen in the fact that 40 percent of the farmers lack full title to their land, (Lepoer, 1989) which in accordance to the land code of 1954 only involves the completion of government forms. The current study further examines the isolation of villagers. It is believed that isolation prevents the parents of village children from understanding the danger that exists for children in the large towns and cities of Thailand. In addition, they are ignorant of the labor laws which are intended to protect laborers and prevent the exploitation of children.

The rural schools of Thailand are staffed with less qualified teachers (Lepoer, 1989) and the secondary schools are located in major towns and cities. Students from the rural North and Northeast make up only 26 percent of the secondary school population (Lepoer), 1989). This deficit in education not only limits the villagers' understanding of the labor laws, as mentioned, but inhibits his ability to read the printed news.

The current study considers the education level of the average villager to be a limiting factor in his ability to be informed of the national news. An illiterate villager is dependent upon radio and T.V. broadcasts as his major source of information. All forms of news media in Thailand are censored by the government, and the news of the exploitation of children is not broadcast on radio and T. V. Therefore, the average villager is unaware of the child slave market.

The Thai Buddhists' concept of merit is a central and explicit cultural concept (Skinner and Kirsch, 1975). In Kasper Ingersoll's essay on merit and identity (1975), he states that the belief in merit 'molds and modifies behavior'. Ingersoll further states that a Thai commonly describes himself in terms of his merit.

According to Ingersoll a Thai Buddhist accepts responsibility for his fortunes and misfortunes as a result of previous deeds. In Buddhist belief one must accept one’s fate quietly. This is especially true of a woman.

In Muekes' article on the cultural continuity of prostitution, it is argued that a woman is believed to be on a lower scale in the karmic cycle, and that it is her fate to suffer. In this study the quiet acceptance of that fate is believed to facilitate the continued exploitation of young village girls.

A young village girl sold or tricked into prostitution accepts this circumstance as a result of her status as a female and as a result of her deeds in a previous lifetime. Having accepted this as her responsibility, her only hope is to make merit for future lifetimes.

Merit can be made by sending money home to parents. A Buddhist believes that one is indebted to one’s parents for having received life. Another means of making merit is by sending money to the temple.

This study will measure the prevalence of isolation, illiteracy, poverty and Buddhism in a village that is involved in selling their children in to the slave market.

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CHAPTER THREE--RESEARCH DESIGN

The phenomenon of selling children into prostitution exists in the rural north of Thailand.

H1: A contributory factor in the child slave market is isolation.

H2: A factor in the exploitation of children is illiteracy.

H3: A contributory factor in the child slave market is Buddhism.

H4: A factor in the child slave market is poverty.

The current research project utilizes the co relational and opinion poll methods. The data was gathered through the use of a combination of closed-ended and open-ended surveys. The questionnaire consisted of 22 questions, nine of which were open-ended questions. Support for the hypotheses is determined by the calculation of percentages that correlate. The independent variables rely on the self report of the respondents.

A self-developed survey was used to gather data (see Appendix B). The survey was developed with the help of a Thai to ensure that the questions were acceptable in Thai culture. The survey consists of 22 questions which are designed to gather information concerning village life.

On the survey, respondents were asked questions that related to their contact with the world outside their village, their education, their religious beliefs, and their annual income. The current research project was designed to measure correlations between the child slave market, isolation, education, religion, and poverty.

The surveys were completed by the respondents through the assistance of one of the two Thai volunteers. The volunteers read the questions to the respondents and wrote the respondent’s answers on the survey. The volunteers were accompanied by the wife of the village headman to the homes of the 77 villagers in the village of Mali.

Seventy-seven heads of households in the village of Mali located in the Dok Khamatai district were surveyed. The village is accessible only by a dirt country road, which is in poor condition, seventeen kilometers from the paved road. A regular mini-bus runs from the paved road twice daily, with one leaving from the village for the main road at 6:30 a.m. only. Mali is a typical farming village in the North of Thailand.

The contact with this village was made through a non-profit organization which is involved in a sponsorship program for elementary school children. The introduction was with the village headman who housed the volunteers and assisted in the selection of households to be surveyed.

Mali has 150 households. The volunteers interviewed 77 heads of households. The population was selected by convenience for two reasons. First, the volunteers were only in the village for one week. Since this is a farming village, heads of households left for their fields early in the morning and did not return until evening. The volunteers were only able to interview in the evenings. Second, each household is typical of the other in a homogenous farming village. Therefore, a sampling method was not used.

The planting season was the selected time to survey Mali. During this time all farmers are in their villages. This would guarantee the opportunity to interview each head of household, although time did not allow for this. The village headman informed the villagers a week in advance of the survey.

The village headman's wife accompanied the two volunteers and introduced them to the head of the household; the interview was conducted in the home of the villager being surveyed. The interviews took approximately one hour. The headman's wife first explained the survey; the volunteers then read the questions; the villager answered; the volunteer wrote in the answer; then reread the question and the answer. This was necessary because most heads of households were unable to read the survey, nor were they able to write their answers.

The volunteers offered to share the results with any participant and with the village headman upon their request. Explanations were given that the results were to be used to gain an understanding of the factors involved in children from rural Thailand being sent to the cities to work. It was also explained that the results of the survey would be shared with agencies interested in developing programs for children in the North.

The participants were assured that the name of the village and their names would be changed thereby making it unlikely that they could be identified. They were also informed that the results may be published.

The relationship between the slave market and isolation, illiteracy, poverty, and Buddhism, will be examined through the use of percentages in tabulating the responses to the survey.

Hypothesis one: A contributory factor in the child slave market is isolation was measured by the response of the 77 heads of households to the questions concerning how they acquired their home, how often they left the village, and how many times they had met with the recruiter prior to selling their daughter. How did you acquire your home was an open-ended question and the responses ranged from: renting, bought, was given by parents, and went in the forest chopped trees and built. There were four possible answers to the number of times they left the village ranging from never to more than twice a year. In addition to the open-ended question concerning number of times they met the recruiter, the participant was also asked if the recruiter was a friend or relative.

Analysis was completed by calculating the percentages for each response, based on 100% = 77.

Hypothesis two, a factor in the child slave market is illiteracy was measured through the direct question of the participants ability to read and write, and what is your level of education. The possible answers were, yes or no and levels 4 or 6. Percentages were calculated based on 100% = 77.

Hypothesis three, a factor in the child slave market is poverty was measured through the annual income of the participant and the amount of income received for the selling of a child. The annual income was compared with the income received for a child.

Hypothesis four, a contributory factor in the child slave market is Buddhism is a qualitative survey which involves basic concepts in Buddhism that supports the low position of females and the responsibility of a female child to participate in the support of the family.

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CHAPTER FOUR--FINDINGS

The phenomenon of selling children into prostitution exists in the north of Thailand. It is a growing market, due in part, to the influx of male tourists from around the world, booked on sex tours to Thailand. Among these tourists are pedophiles: adults who engage in sex with children.

Shrewd businessmen—who are owners and operators of travel agencies, and service related operations such as, bars, brothels, and massage parlors—seize the opportunity to tap into this foreign currency revenue. They promise to provide young beautiful Asian girls for a price.

Villagers trapped in poverty, and that are illiterate, and isolated, are easy prey. Recruiters visit the villages in the north at the end of the school year. They contact families with girls who will graduate sixth grade (government only requires children to attend school until sixth grade) and offer them an advance on the salary their daughter can earn, if she comes to Bangkok with him. The parents and the child often believe there is a glamorous opportunity awaiting her in the city.

Thai culture and religious beliefs help to support this exploitation through basic beliefs in karma, the status of women, and merit-making. This makes it extremely difficult to combat the traffic of children.

It was estimated that each of the 150 heads of households in the village of Mali would be interviewed. The planting season was chosen for the survey because every head of household would be in the village. The interviews could only be conducted in the evenings when the farmers returned from their fields. Each interview took approximately one hour. As a result, the survey team was only able to interview 77 heads of households. Of the 77 surveyed all 77 were used to calculate the results.

The village chief informed the villagers of the survey a week prior to the arrival of the team, the volunteers conducting the survey made appointments with the heads of households one night in advance.

The wife of the village chief introduced the volunteers, the volunteers then explained the survey and allowed the participant time to ask questions. The volunteer then read the question to the participant, wrote in the participant’s answer and then reread the question and the answer to the participant.

In addition to the questions directly related to this study, there were included in the survey questions concerning the villager’s exposure to Christianity and questions related to the continued contact of the child that was sold with the parents. These questions were of interest to mission organizations in Thailand.

There was no duplication in the interviewing process. Participants were obliged to answer all the questions honestly since the wife of the village chief was present and was fully aware of the correct information.

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The phenomenon of selling children into prostitution exists in the rural north of Thailand.

H1: A contributory factor in the child slave market is isolation.

H2: A factor in the exploitation of children is illiteracy.

H3: A contributory factor in the child slave market is Buddhism.

H4: A factor in the child slave market is poverty.

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H1: A contributory factor in the child slave market is isolation. Questions Five and Six on the survey asked if the participant owned their home and how it was acquired. Ninety-seven percent owned their homes. Of these 43% chopped trees in the forest and built; 29% were given their homes by their parents; and 25% purchased their homes.

Question One asked how often the participant left the village. Only 19% of those surveyed leave their village more than twice a year; 19% leave twice a year; 26% leave once a year; and 36% never leave their village.

Questions Eleven and Twelve asked the number of times the participant had met with the recruiter, and if the recruiter was a friend or relative. Thirteen percent answered that the recruiter was a friend or relative; 54% percent had met with them several times; 6% had met once; and 27% had not met the recruiter at all (see Table 1).

Questions Three and Four asked if the participant was a farmer, and if he farmed for himself. All were farmers except for three. Of these three, one rents his land to be farmed; one cares for his grandchildren; and one is a carpenter. Of the seventy-four who farmed, all but six farmed for themselves.

These percentages support the hypothesis that isolation is a factor in the child slave market.

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H2: A factor in the exploitation of children through the slave market is illiteracy. Questions Seven and Eight asked if the participant was able to read and write, and what level of education they had completed. Fifty-eight percent stated they could not read or write, and 42% completed up to six years of education. These answers support the hypothesis that illiteracy is a factor in the child slave market.

H3: A factor in the child slave market is poverty. Question Nine asked the annual income of the participant. The annual income range was from 0 to 10,000 baht: 64% earned an annual income under 2,000 baht.

Questions Thirteen and Fourteen asked the amount of money the participant had received from the sale of a child. The income ranged from 4,000 to 60,000 baht. The answers support the hypothesis (see Table 2).

64% annual income under 2000 Baht. 27.44 Baht to $1 U.S. (exchange rate in September 1985)

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H4: A contributory factor in the child slave market is Buddhism. This is qualitative and is supported by basic percepts of Buddhism such as the low position of females on the karmic cycle—the accepted belief that the life of a female is one of suffering and the concept that one’s past lives and deeds are carried over into the present.

Villagers in Mali, a village which is involved in the traffic of children, are isolated, illiterate, and report annual incomes that are below the poverty level. The religious system, Buddhism, supports the idea that females are on a lower karmic cycle and must suffer; and also the idea that one reaps in this lifetime the results of deeds in past lifetimes. All these factors contribute to the exploitation of children through the child slave market.

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CHAPTER FIVE-CONCLUSIONS

It is concluded that isolation, illiteracy, poverty and Buddhism are all contributory factors in the child slave market. The limited contact the villagers of Mali have with the world outside makes them vulnerable to anyone who appears to be successful and world-wise.

An example of the effect of such limited contact is seen in the acquisition of a home. This would normally involve one with government offices and possibly a bank. In Mali this acquisition remains at the village level. Furthermore, Mali residents farm on a local level. There may be a middle man involved if the farmer has a crop surplus, but this also is sold at a local market. These types of business dealings are not complex and generally are verbal agreements. On the rare occasions when a villager leaves Mali, he enters the outside world as a timid spectator.

This background does not prepare a parent to deal with a recruiter from the city that promises a successful future for their daughter and offers an advance on her salary that is possibly the equivalent of 20 years of annual income.

The average villager has little awareness of what is going on in the city of Bangkok. The news is filtered through his understanding of village life, and his major source of the news would be radio broadcasts. The villager’s naivety and ignorance set them up as easy prey for slick city recruiters.

The child who has been sold accepts this exploitation as the karma (demerit) from a past lifetime. There is nothing that can be done in this present lifetime except make merit for a future life. Merit is made by giving to the temple and supporting ones parents from whom one has received life. In this way the religious system supports the exploitation of young girls who are sold into prostitution.

In Thailand's development and economic growth, there were high returns on urban investments, and expansion was unevenly distributed. A growth stagnation pattern developed with Bangkok and the central Plains developing, and the countryside stagnating. There was little social development channeled to the countryside. In this structured economic system, the depressed rural sector had a ready supply of uneducated, unskilled girls who were graduating from sixth grade (12 years old) and entering the labor force.

Female members of the family are accustomed to participating as wage earners for the family. The ancient profession of prostitution offers an opportunity for families in the North to improve their position in society. The village girls and their families consider this a rational decision based on the needs of the family and the limited earning potential available in any other sector.

The survey upon which this study is based was conducted in only one village in the Dok Khamtai district. In the village surveyed there are 150 households the survey team only interviewed 77 of these. There is no control group with which to compare these findings and no documentation on the generally accepted poverty level in the North.

The interviews focused on the heads of the households, there are no interviews with the girls involved in the slave market and no interviews with the recruiters.

Based on this research an effective strategy in the prevention of selling girls into prostitution can be developed and implemented in villages where this phenomena exists. Non-Government and Mission organizations may use this data to gain an understanding of the village life and circumstances from which these girls come. For mission organizations, in particular, this survey provides a clear picture of the need to address the value system which accepts prostitution as an acceptable profession. If this trend is to be reversed, it can be only accomplished through the changing of the villagers value system.

Christian Mission Organizations whose goal it is to evangelize may be confident that a village in the North is a prime target area.

In a recent interview conducted in Bangkok on December 10, 1994 with LayBee Yeoh, the Director of Barn Sukniran, a Christian rehabilitation project for girls rescued from prostitution, it was reported that the information from this survey was helpful when presenting the work of Barn Sukniran to churches. The survey data made it possible for LayBee Yeoh to share facts when presenting the phenomena.

Future research should include interviews with girls involved in the slave market, recruiters, and agencies in Bangkok which traffic in children. This would present a clearer picture of all those involved.

LayBee Yeoh suggested that future research include the churches in Thailand and their perceived role in the prevention of selling children.

Also, a study concerning the government policies on child labor and prostitution and government plans to implement policies related to these issues would be beneficial.

The Thai government requires a child to complete six years of formal education. At twelve years old children, whose families are unable to pay school fees, books, transportation and other related expenses, enter the work force. A twelve year old child is vulnerable and naive. It is therefore recommended that the Thai government raise the level of mandatory education.

In addition, it is recommended that the Thai government eliminate the school fees and provide the required text books, thereby reducing the burden of educating a child.

Furthermore it is recommended that mission organizations develop a policy which would target villages involved in the slave market for evangelism and church planting.

There are a significant number of non-government organizations and mission organizations in Thailand concerned with the welfare of children. These organizations should coordinate their efforts with each other and the Thai government.

For example, Christian organizations which pay school expenses for children through a sponsorship program have thus far focused on primary school children. It is mandatory for children of this age to attend school. Perhaps they could focus on children that would be entering secondary level, and coordinate this effort with a mission organization.

Non-government organizations involved in development have undertaken projects such as fish farming. This could be coordinated with secondary schools and provide a learning experience as well as an income base for children whose families are destitute.

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Sharp,L. (1975). Cultural continuities and discontinuities in Southeast Asia. (1947). In Skinner, G.W. & Kirsch,
       A.T. (Ed.) Change and persistence in Thai society: Essays in honor of Lauriston Sharp. (pp.15-22).
       Ithaca, New York. Cornell University press.

Skinner,G. W. & Kirsch,A.T. (1975). Ithaca, New York. Cornell University Press. Change and persistence· in
       Thai society: Essays in honor of Lauriston Sharp.

Weisz,J.R. & Weiss,B. (1991). Studying the "referability" of child clinical problems. American Psychological
       Association Inc. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. Vol. 59 No. 2,266-273 266-273.

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Women With A Vision

P.O. Box 58

Burirum, Thailand

Dear Participant,

Women With A Vision (WWAV) is a non-profit organization whose interest lie with exploited women and children. In an effort to understand the background of girls working in prostitution, WWAV is conducting a survey. You are asked to participate in this study.

All data gathered through this survey, will be held in strict confidence. Your name will not be used. The name of your village will be changed to protect you from possible identification. The results of this project may be formally published. Other agencies will have access to read it or use it as reference text for other research.

If you would like results of this survey, please send a self addressed envelope to the above address. Results will be mailed to you as soon as the project is completed. The anticipated date of completion is March 15, 1994.

Thank you for your cooperation.

             Sincerely,

                 Leona Karni

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QUESTIONNAIRE

1. How often do you leave the village?

2. What religion are you?

3. Are you a farmer?

4. Do you farm for yourself?

5. Do you own your home?

6. How did you acquire your home?

7. Are you able to read and write?

8. To what grade-level did you study?

9. What is your annual income?

10. Do you have a daughter who is working as a prostitute?

11. How many times did you meet with the recruiter before allowing your daughter to leave the village
     with him?

12. What the recruiter a friend or relative?

13. What advance on your daughter’s salary did you receive?

14. What amount has your daughter sent home?

15. Does your daughter write?

16. Does your daughter give money to the temple?

17. What is your opinion of prostitution?

18. Have you ever heard of Jesus Christ?

19. Who do you understand Him to be?

20. Have you ever had contact with a missionary?

21. What do you consider the village’s greatest need to be?

22. What do you consider your greatest need to be?

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