Let's see the world!

July 3, 2015

This was my last day in Bangkok and it also held a very important meeting that was scheduled not long after everyone had arrived for the program. This meeting was with the Department of Special Investigations Anti-Human Trafficking Center. This office is basically the equivalent to our FBI in America. They are the people that investigate the cases that human trafficking is suspected to have taken place, and have special circumstances involved in them. This meeting was very interesting and it was eye opening to see the connections that this center had with many different agencies and prosecutors. After this meeting I went back to the hotel and then grabbed lunch with some of the other people in the program. This was my last lunch in Bangkok, and I sat there thinking about all of the people I had met in meetings and within the program.

July 2, 2015

July 1, 2015

This morning we all loaded up in a van to prepare for a 5 hour van ride to Buriram, Thailand, where The Mechai Viravaidya Bamboo School was located. After arriving to the school, we were assigned to our rooms for the overnight stay. We went to the dining hall and had dinner with the students. Afterwards we went to the communal meeting area where all of the kids were sitting and talking. When we introduced ourselves we were all welcomed by the ukulele group that the bamboo school helped teach. These students amazed all of us with their renditions of some very popular songs. After their performance we played games and talked until it was time for them to go to bed.

June 30, 2015

We had an all-day outing and had so much fun. We all got ready at the hotel and then left for the day. One of our first stops was at the White Temple, formally known as Wat Rong Khun. This temple was so majestic and so stark against the hundreds of people that came to visit it. There were so many different funny looking faces and scary looking faces too. There were many little mirrors covering the temple in a mosaic kind of way, and the way the sun reflected over it was majestic. On the other side of the temple there was a wishing well and a wishing tree. The trees had little ornaments that people could write their wishes and goals on and hang it on the tree for it to be fulfilled. We met with a tour guide who then took us to an area outside of town and along a river. This is where we got into 2 long skinny boats that took us down river. The ride was kind of scary because these boats were going fast and whenever there was another boat that went by the ripples it created made the boat jump a little every time it went over the ripples in the water. The landscape during this boat ride was amazing, I had never seen anything like it. There were so many fisherman trying to get food to feed their families or sell at a market nearby. I also saw little huts and homes close to the river and was amazed at the ingenuity of the people living so close to the river. The man that was operating our boat seemed very familiar with the river and weaved through it with great ease. We hit a little bit of a rough patch and it sounded like the boat was skidding over something that it probably shouldn’t have, and it was actually just some rocks that were hitting the bottom, we quickly passed that area though. After getting to the intended dock, we all wobbly got out of the boats and walked up to the little shacks where we were greeted by some very large snakes and a few large lizards too. We all took a liking to the giant snakes and decided to take a group picture with one of the snakes. After leaving this area our guide led us to the area where we were going to ride elephants. When we arrived many of us bought a sack of bananas to feed to the elephants, and we all enjoyed that because they were so funny to watch and some of them even made noises at us, almost as if they were talking to us. During the ride through the mountainside I saw some more of the amazing land throughout the mountainside and saw some farms as well. We then went through the river and walked downstream for a bit, and even passed by the place that we took pictures with the snake at. After a long hot, but very fun day we returned to the hotel to grab our things and then head to the airport to go to Bangkok for some of our last meetings.

June 29, 2015

This day was reserved for meeting with Sompop Jantraka, the founder and shelter of Development and Education Programme for Daughters and Communities (DEPDC). The meeting took place in one of the upstairs meeting rooms of his building. It was here that we talked about the risk factors that many of the people of Thailand fall victim to. Sompop was also the man who created the readable chart called Process of trafficking aka Blood Sucker Cycle. This cycle showed how one action can lead to the next within the trafficking world. After this visit we went to see his daughter’s center that helped with rehabilitation through aquatic help, called the Swimming Home. These kids were residents of this center and learned different coping mechanisms by swimming through them. The kids were amazing, they greeted us with signs welcoming us and were very interested in getting to know us. When it was time for us to leave, the kids took our hands and walked us all back to the van that we arrived in. After leaving the center all of us were so touched by the kids and we all wanted to stay with them, but knew that we couldn’t. That night we went to a night market and had some free time to roam around and get gifts and souvenirs.

June 28, 2015

June 27, 2015

This day we had the morning off and we all had the greatest breakfast and went to the beach and swam for a little bit. And then I went exploring on the beach and picked up a lot of shells and rocks because they looked awesome. I still cannot believe that I have been here for a week and have been able to be in this country, doing the things we have been able to. After meeting up in the lobby of the resort we all piled into the back of a truck and went to the Anti-Trafficking and Child Abuse Center (ATCC) that Khun Ja has set up. This center is for children who have been rescued from that life or are vulnerable to falling into that life. Some of the kids were hesitant of all of us coming into the center, but as soon as introductions were made, it was easier for the kids to mingle with us. We played many different games, like duck duck goose, a modified memory game of animals and the sounds they make. The sounds that Americans associate with animals from all around the world are not always the same sounds that the people of Thailand have for recognizable animals that they have. The joy that these kids had on their faces was infectious. They were very excited to show off different dance routines that they had practiced and then we returned the favor and showed them an easy popular dance that all of us could do together. After hanging out with the kids for a bit, we went into a conference room and talked with Khun Ja, the director of the shelter. He informed us about the different cases that they have come across and informed us about some of the men who were arrested. He talked about an area in Pattaya called Walking Street where many of the victims have been found. That night we went to walking street and saw firsthand a street that had go-go clubs, bars, and other shops. One of the most surprising sights I saw was the hotel ads that were advertising room specials for 1 hour or 1 day. It was here that we were told that around 2 in the morning children and adults can be found wandering around. During our visit with Khun Ja, he also informed us that he had teams of people that would go around during these early morning times and help rescue these kids and bring them to the safety of the shelter.

June 26, 2015

Today, was the day we took vans Pattaya where the Birds and Bees Resort was located. This day is where we had the rest of the day off and we all just went swimming in the ocean and the pool and it was awesome. We all relaxed so much and even had massages at the beach. We saw Khun Mechai and the rest of the people in parliament with him that are working to change the Thai constitution. This night I went to go play pool, and the pool table was at a go-go dance club and is was interesting and the security guard and I were having a lot of fun playing pool. Everyone there was a lot of fun and they were very inviting of me to come in and hang out. The owner of the bar and I even got into a conversation about me playing pool and about his bar.

June 25, 2015

This morning we went to the United Nations building to meet with a member of the agency team on trafficking, Sebastian. He was a researcher for the team and was very informed about the agency and the different levels of the program they were working on: UN Action for cooperation against trafficking in persons (UNACT). He had much to say about each component to the program they were working on, and was able to tell us keys points to each. After the meeting with Sebastian and eating lunch all together, the group went on to a meeting with Professor Pisawat at the Ministry of Social Development and Human Development. She is a prosecutor who works on prosecuting the offenders of the human trafficking laws and tries to help the victims once rescued. Professor Pisawat was also a huge supporter of teaching the first-responders, law enforcement and members of the court systems on what to look for in victims, how to talk with them, and how to proceed in helping them get through the trials that they are involved in.

June 24, 2015

This day we had some time off in the morning, so all of us just relaxed at the hotel until we were scheduled to get into the van and go to Bahn Kred Trakarn, a government run shelter for girls and women who have been trafficked and/or sold into illegal professions. This place was amazing and the girls there were all so welcoming of us and willing to show us all what projects they were working on. These girls are residents of this shelter and are able to learn different skillsets and create different sellable gifts that create a profit that most of the profit goes back to that individual who created the gift. This was a great way to show the girls that they could make money this way and not by selling their bodies or anything like that. These girls were all so cute and giggly and loved to show us what they had created or were learning in their class. The location of the shelter also helped in the protection of the girls in the shelter. We took a van to get to a pier, but then had to take a specific chartered boat to get to the shelter that was built on an island.

June 23, 2015

This morning we had a meeting with Dr. Saisuree at the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security. Dr. Saisuree is a colleague of Khun Mechai and Khun Sudarat and has also been instrumental in all the laws and procedures surrounding anti-human trafficking. She is a sweet older lady who is still traveling around and trying to change things for the better. She informed us all about the Human Trafficking laws that she helped create. She was also able to tell us about the hierarchy type of work that happens when dealing with cases involving human trafficking. Like the police who investigate the case, then the case workers who talk with the victims, then the organizations that get involved, and then the courts and other governmental officials. Dr. Saisuree then had lunch with us and had her staff bring is an assortment of fruit and snacks, and a Pad Thai dish and then a traditional Thai dessert of banana and coconut milk. After our meeting ended at the Ministry we headed over to the International Organization of Migration offices to meet with Sally James. Sally worked on labor migration and is a counter trafficking project officer. She was very informative about the movements that traffickers use to get into Thailand and from what areas of Southeast Asia as well. Sally was also very well versed in the effort made in the voluntary reintegration efforts that the Counter Trafficking Unit had done. I really enjoyed listening to her presentation.

June 22, 2015

This morning was harder than the previous ones to get up, but after I did it was fine. Everyone in the group went to go see the reclining Buddha at the temple of Wat Po today and he was absolutely huge. He was in this very elaborately made temple and Buddha himself was covered in gold leaf and the bottoms of his feet were inlayed with mother of pearl. This temple was also the place that many orphans called home, and because of the population of them at the temple rising a massage school was created to help these children learn a profitable skill. I got a back massage from a woman who focused on my lower back because of an injury that I had there. She pushed many pressure points and used a warming cream on that area and it felt a lot better after leaving her area and rejoining the group outside of the massage building. Straight from the temple we went to go see Simon Baker, who works a lot on the labor issues in the Southeast Asia. He was controversial when it came to talking about the effectiveness any organization is in helping prevent HT or trying to create a definition for it. He ultimately said that the organizations that are trying to help are almost causing more undoing and harm that they are good. They are putting different people in the spotlight that may not want to be. In regards to the construction and fishing industries the people who are taken out of the situations that were deemed as smuggling or trafficking then those jobs did not get finished and then caused problems in future markets. One of his biggest notes to us was to always check where the figures and information are coming from. After the meeting with Simon we all rushed back to the hotel where we all changed with only time to wash our faces and then rushed to our next scheduled meeting across town. When we arrived at Cabbages and Condoms we were taken to an upstairs meeting room to await the founder and creator of the restaurant Khun Mechai, the Condom King and Thai Constitution re-writer. Khun Mechai left his Parliament meeting early to meet with us this night. His meetings in parliament are about working on rewriting and creating a new Thai constitution. He taught us a lot about the Bamboo School that he had created for kids from the poorest regions of Thailand to come and learn skills that they could use to better their education, themselves, and then go back to their communities and help teach and grow their community. The school is a safe haven for all the students who come to live and learn at the school. The goal of the school is the social betterment of the students and anyone and everyone involved in the school and his other programs. We will be visiting the school closer to the end of the program and staying a night there too.

June 21, 2015

Our morning was free to do with as we pleased, so many of us all went to go sight-seeing at Wat Arun, also known as the Temple of Dawn. We took trains and water ferries to get to that part of the city. When we got there we went straight to the temple area and went exploring. We climbed up and down many of the steps and looked at all of the different architectural feats that the temple had to offer. There were so many different colors on the temple and I saw many rooster like sculptures too. When our morning was winding down we all got some ice cream and took the boats and trains back to the hotel to meet with our director and then go onto our meeting with Khun Sudarat Sereewat. (FYI- Khun is formal for sir or ma’am) The meeting with Khun Sudarat was full of recollections about her past involvement with cases about human trafficking and her efforts on making this crime known to Thai authorities and the rest of the country. She was also a key person to help create the anti-human trafficking laws in the constitution in Thailand. Later that night the group members and I went to a bar/ restaurant called the Moon Bar. This bar was located in the Banyan Tree Hotel, on the 68th floor, in other words the rooftop. Upon arriving to the top of the hotel, we walked the length of the rooftop and had a chance to sit and talk about our hopes for the program and talk about who we are and where we come from. We also had the opportunity to do all of this while looking over-top all of the other buildings of Thailand that were not near as tall as the rooftop bar that we were at. (This is the 2nd tallest rooftop bar in Thailand, the 1st was the bar that Hangover 2 was filmed at) The bar had no enclosure at the top so we were all out in the open watching everything happen below us.

June 20,2015

Orientation was this morning and this meeting was at Cabbages and Condoms restaurant. This restaurant is a place that much of the proceeds made from the restaurant and gift shop are put back into the development of the programs that Khun Mechai, the creator of the restaurant, has created. For instance they go back into the school, the community projects, and the overall development of the students at his school. After Orientation some of the group went to go explore, but I wanted to get a Thai massage. The group that I went with to go get massages with all went to this little store front that led us upstairs and one of the other girls in the program and I got massages next to each other and tried not to laugh at the obviously relaxed snoring guy in the next curtained room. The masseuses bent us in different ways and stretched us as well, and afterwards we felt a little sore, but ultimately relaxed. Later that night we all took a ferry boat to the Asiatique night market on the river. This area was very colorful, loud, and swarming with people from all over. Many of the shops were specifically geared towards tourist and the souvenir shopping that they were all wanting to do. Some of the group members and I saw a little shop that advertised these little fish that eat the calloused dead skin off of your feet. The sensation that was felt when the fish swarm around your feet made all of us squirm, laugh, shriek, and fidget.

June 19, 2015

These flowers (I don’t know their name) are everywhere in Bangkok!! They are gorgeous and smell wonderful. I found them yesterday, while walking around Kumphini Park and did take one to put in my hair so I could press them later in a spiral. I had a good first day here in Bangkok and even met another person that is in the same program as I am. D (the 1 other person I met so far) and I went exploring for a little while and talked about the upcoming events of the program we will be participating in. 

The program that I am in while in Thailand focuses on the prevention of human trafficking. I will be in Thailand for about 20 days traveling and meeting with many different people and organizations and discussing the various efforts being put forth to prevent human trafficking. This theme has been the primary focus of what I have been focusing on throughout my undergraduate years at college, and is what I want to be involved in for the rest of my life. I have recently graduated and found this program and thought ti would be a great way to learn even more about this subject and see what another country is doing to combat it, prevent it, and promote awareness. I hope to use what I learn here, and the connections I make as stepping stones into furthering my involvement in spreading awareness and helping to teach prevention measures.