Difficult Lives of Child Beggars alive

What brings these children to a different country to beg.  1
The sight of children in dirty clothes sitting on roadsides, on the flyovers, with a small cup, begging for money, appeals to the emotions of every passerby. Some drop coins in the cup and some ignore them. How many passerby realize the reason that brings these child beggars to Thailand?

Mr.Worachet Khieochan and Mr.Ekaluk Loomchomkae from Missing Persons Center, the Mirror Art Foundation, are the authors of a new book that tells the true story of five child beggars in Thailand. They spent almost four months collecting and processing the data. Emerging from the research was the shocking discovery that some of the children were sold by their parents for the brokers for only 2,000-2,500 baht (US $50-62). These children are from Cambodia and Myanmar.

Thueng (not real name), whose story is featured in the book, is a 12-year-old boy from Cambodia. He was brought from his grandma’s house to Bangkok by his mother. In his mother’s home he was beaten by his stepfather. After running away from home, he was tricked into becoming a beggar. With the help of the Poipet Transit Center he returned to Cambodia with the authors of the book after being rescued. The authors discover that children were brought to Thailand to beg by both Cambodian brokers and their parents. How can their lives be traded for such a small sum of money?

In Mae Sod, Tak Province, some children are treated as second class citizen. Because they are undocumented, they are not regarded as Thai even though every morning children sing Thai national anthem to show respect to the country. The ‘unregistered’ status of these children severely limits their educational opportunities and makes them vulnerable to being sold into begging.

Mr.Sombat Boonngan-anong, Head of the Mirror Art Foundation, noted that all children must be protected under the Thai Child Protection Law. They should not be brought or forced to be beggars whether or not they come with their parents or strangers. He believes that giving money to beggars will not help them but instead, will increase the number of beggars coming from neighboring countries to Thailand. The public should be aware of this issue.

Other stories in the book include that of an 8-year-old girl from Mae Sod who was taken to Bangkok by a broker. She had to walk 100 kilometers through the forest to Bangkok, and was drugged to keep her awake while begging. Another story tells of a boy who was taken from his father by his mother to beg in the city. As a result his father became an alcoholic due to depression. A fourth story is about two boys who are brothers and the stark contrast between their lives begging on the streets and the life they should have in school. Anyone who read the book will no longer wonder whether they should drop the coins in the cup or call the appropriate authorities to rescue them. yes of course the I don't know..