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New Attitude Encouraged Towards Child Beggars in Thailand

Thailand needs a more effective law to tackle the problem of child beggars as the existing 65-year-old act is unable to cope with today's more complex situation.

The Beggar Control Act (1941) defines "begging" only as an act of asking for others' property without working or giving things in exchange, Pol Lt-Col Jenkamon Khamnuan, deputy commander of the Crime against Children, Juveniles and Women Suppression Division said.  "But the pattern of begging today is changing. Child beggars are forced to sell little things, such as candy and gum, flowers or tissue paper, and that's not covered by the law," he told a seminar organised by the Mirror Foundation.

The law also deals only with four groups of people - ageing, insane, disabled or people with diseases that obstructed them from working. "The law has no bearing on child beggars. So when there is a case, what police do is to turn to other related laws, such as the Child Protection Act, the labour law and the immigration law," he said. He also called for urgent endorsement of the draft bill against human trafficking, which could be an effective tool to cope with child beggar problems. The draft was finished but still awaiting the process of a public hearing.

Yanee Lerdkrai, director of the Bureau Against Trafficking in Women and Children, said a new law on begging had already been drafted by the Social Development and Human Security Ministry, but it would be a long process getting it endorsed. "While the existing law has no penalties, the amended bill will have quite harsh penalties as a deterrent," said Ms Yanee. Child-beggar problems were hard to tackle because there were so many factors involved. The poverty and hardship in countries like Cambodia was a major factor pushing Cambodians to Thailand, while the attraction factor is Thai people's kindness to beggars, which keeps the begging business alive.

Weak law enforcement by the authorities had made it easy for foreign child beggars to travel across the border and illegally enter Thailand. Pol Lt-Col Jenkamon said most police view child beggars as a minor problem and a clear policy was needed from top-level supervisors to emphasise the issue.

Since stopping child beggars at their origins was not easy, the Mirror Foundation insisted that its campaign urge the public to stop giving money out of pity.  Worachet Khieochan, head of the foundation's stop child-begging project, said it was also necessary to educate the public into understanding that giving money to beggars was not a merit but a sin. "Instead of helping the children, giving money only contributes to the problem," he said.  A foundation survey found that disabled children were more favoured by traffickers as they could earn as much as 1,000 baht a day, while a normal child earned only about 300 baht. The Mirror Foundation will campaign at Siam Square's Centre Point on 29 July 2006, urging people not to take pity on child beggars through distribution of postcards and booklets about the child-beggar problem. They will be briefed and then spend just five minutes distributing the campaign materials and talking to passersby.

Adapted from: 'New attitude urged to child beggars: Taking pity on them only encourages them.' Bangkok Post. 25 July 2006.

(Source: UNIAP Cambodia)