Asia This Week

Human trafficking, the dark side of ASEAN economic integration (2013x10)

: 21, 2013

This week's program includes the 2nd part of a series on the opportunities and challenges of economic integration in Southeast Asia. Coercive prostitution and human trafficking have been intractable problems for many years. Thailand's role as the ASEAN hub has also made it a relay point for the forced movement of people. The human trafficking route tracks that for the distribution of goods. As interaction increases and the gap widens between the affluent and the impoverished, human trafficking also is prone to expansion. Immigrants, women and children from poor families are the principal victims. At least in the short run, further integration with Cambodia and Myanmar may make the problem in Thailand even worse. Our report examines measures taken by Thai police to apprehend perpetrators and strategies used by NGOs to discourage human trafficking in the first place. RAISING THE PROFILE OF MT. FUJI