Child Prostitution Among the Isan People of Northeastern Thailand
Uploaded by coolguyruben07 on Dec 11, 2013
An Anthropological Analysis of Child Prostitution in Northeastern Thailand
Among the Asian country of Thailand, there exists a region unlike the rest of the nation. This northeastern part of the country, known as the Isan culture, bares significant differentiation in many ways, sadly because it is the most impoverished and far behind in development when compared to the rest of the country. It is situated next to the neighboring country of Laos so many aspects of its culture are borrowed and incorporated into it. Among these adapted elements is their appreciation for spicy cuisine, their dress and festivities as well as the Buddhist ideals shared by much of Asian cultures. Languages vary among some of the small tribal populations in the region although an adaptation of the Lao language is the most prominent throughout the rest of the public. However standard Thai is spoken and understood by essentially everyone much like English is the default language in the United States.
Unfortunately, this region faces several harsh factors that inhibit it from reaching the development levels achieved by the rest of Thailand, the first being its economy. With slight above twenty percent of the region’s economy devoted to agriculture, natural factors are preventing the growth of the economy. Droughts, flooding, make up the harsh environment that makes agriculture non-profitable. Continual overuse of soil has rendered soil virtually unusable and as a result, the economy has hit rock bottom. Progress has slowly begun with the economy shifting from an agricultural emphasis to a more favorable and sustainable service and trade style, but the road that catches the Isan up with the rest of Thailand remains long.
The region’s unstable economy has in turn had its fair share of negative impact on the day to day lives of people of the Isan culture. A lack of money and resources affects the entire superstructure of this culture and prevent it from advancing so severely, that it actually almost borders around the point of regression. Underfunding has led to some the highest levels of illiteracy in all of Thailand as well as some of the smallest doctor per capita ratios. Much of the workforce has since had to move to central Thailand in search of better more stable employment. With much of the labor force working and spending outside of the parameters of the culture, the economy only suffers even more.
The Isan are roughly a ninety...