COMMENTARY

It is a heart-rending sight: a 9-year-old boy chasing after Japanese tourists, showing them a photograph of his Japanese father, hoping someone knows the man and can help reunite them. One can imagine the boy's agony; he lost his mother just last month. When Keigo Zato's story made the headlines early this week, the media raced to find who and where his father is. The Foreign Minister joined the media fanfare and quickly reported that the man lives in Tokyo.

Will there be a happy ending?

Keigo Zato

Ask SEPOM, a self-help organisation run by a group of women who had been trafficked to work in the sex industry in Japan, and the coordinator's answer is preceded by a long sigh. "It's good to know that people want to help, that money is pouring in to support the boy's education. But I'm not sure about his hopes regarding his father," she said, herself a former victim of human trafficking in Japan. Let's call her Nong, since she requested anonymity, so as to protect her teenage daughter.

The information from the news raised many questions, said Nong. Why did the mother still have to continue working in a job which the media described through the euphemism of "that which exposed her to the risks of sexually transmitted diseases"? Why did the couple leave the boy with her family in Phichit, visiting him only a few times throughout the whole nine years?

And when the mother finally returned home, sick and dying, why was the Japanese father nowhere in sight?

Nong's questions are grounded in a reality which she deals with every day, because there are a lot of children like Keigo Zato in her hometown.

Based in Mae Sai, Chiang Rai which is home to a large number of Thai sex workers in Japan, SEPOM is working with some 90 returnees who are now facing a hand-to-mouth struggle to support their children, born of their relations with former boyfriends or husbands in Japan.

Like Keigo Zato, these Mae Sai children yearn to get loving care from their fathers, who never show up. Many suffer from anxiety and depression which affect their school grades. Others do not even have Thai citizenship papers, which robs them of education and other life opportunities.

As for the mothers, many feel lost and depressed. Some are alcoholic and suicidal. Some are struggling with HIV/Aids.

"We believed we were good daughters, giving ourselves up to support our poor parents and to give an education to our younger brothers and sisters. Often, the money was splashed around wastefully," said Nong.

But when the Japanese boyfriend or husband left for home and did not return as promised, the money soon ran out and the women shockingly found themselves treated as social outcasts.

Any money left was soon exhausted by the endless "tea money" paid to get their children their rightful citizenship papers. "That happened to me and many in our groups," said Nong.

Knowing that "bad girls" cannot expect help from mainstream society, they formed a self-help group to share problems and help one another. "We also encourage each other to develop work skills, to save, to be self-reliant, and to be aware of our rights instead of regretting the past and blaming ourselves."

The human trafficking tactics have now changed because of stricter Japanese immigration laws. From simply offering lucrative jobs, the human traffickers now offer marriage for easier passage. "We want to inform our youngsters of the risks involved, but we don't have the resources," said Nong anxiously.

The techniques change, but she said the goal is the same - to lure women into the sex industry. "Because society still sees women as sex objects," said Nong.

How true! The sad story of Keigo Zato should raise public awareness and support for other innocent children in the same situation. But if we really want to tackle the problem of human trafficking and the subsequent problems of orphans and child abandonment, we must confront our cultural values that treat women as sexual merchandise.

• Sanitsuda Ekachai is Assistant Editor (Outlook), Bangkok Post.

Email: sanitsudae@bangkokpost.co.th