Talk and film on child prostitutes

The 291st meeting of the Informal Northern Thai Group will be held in Chiang Mai on 14 August 2007. The details are:

Tuesday, August 14th 2007

At the Alliance Fran├зaise – Chiang Mai – 7:30 pm

“Sacrifice” – The Story of Child Prostitutes from Burma

A talk and film presentation by Laurie Maund and members of the Shan Women’s Action Network (SWAN)

“Sacrifice” is a 50-minute documentary produced and directed by Ellen Bruno.

Synopsis: “Each year thousands of girls are recruited from rural Burmese villages to work in brothels in Thailand. Held for years in debt bondage, they suffer extreme abuse by pimps, clients, and the police. The trafficking of Burmese girls has soared in recent years as a direct result of political repression in Burma. Human rights abuses, war, and ethnic discrimination have displaced thousands of villagers, leaving families with no means of livelihood. An offer of employment in Thailand is a rare chance for many families to escape extreme poverty.

“Sacrifice” examines the social, cultural, and economic forces at work in the trafficking of Burmese girls into prostitution. It is the story of the valuation and sale of human beings, and the efforts of teenage girls to survive a crisis born of economic and political repression.”

The film will be introduced by Laurie Maund, and post-showing discussion will be led by Mrs. Lintner, Bertil Lintner’s wife, and a young woman who spent an hour talking with George Bush in the White House, both of whom are members of the Shan Women’s Action Network.

More information on the Informal Northern Thai Group is available from their website.