In This Issue:

I. Editor's Note

II. Featured Essay:
"Child Sex Tourism in Thailand: A Solution"
Amanda Conroy, Alex Manter, Damiano Marchetti, Katy McCarthy, Kara Shurmantine
River Middle School (Napa Valley, CA, USA)

III. G-Maverick:
Jeremy Hockenstein
Digital Divide Data

IV. Global Spotlight: International Forum on Globalization

V. Sidebar: Avega "love baskets"

VI. Global Wire by Keith Porter

VII. Coda: Too young for prostitution?

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================
I. EDITOR'S NOTE
================

Project Spera (http://www.projectspera.org) recently hosted the World Affairs Challenge in San Francisco, a nation-wide international relations competition for middle and high school students. I was fortunate enough to be asked by Madiha Murshed and Dana Curran, the co-founders of Project Spera, to act as a judge. Included in this issue of Global Degree is an essay from the group that won Best Overall Middle School Team in the entire competition.

These teenagers greatly impressed me with their mature approach to global subjects and creativity in proposing solutions, so I wanted to give them the opportunity to showcase their hard work in Global Degree. When I started Global Degree, I set out to highlight the intricacies of globalization from voices and perspectives that aren't necessarily mainstream or typically found in the many other foreign affairs/international policy journals in circulation. There is no better example of this than a group of 13-year-old students tackling such a grown-up issue as child sex tourism. I am constantly amazed at the level of global citizenship held by today’s youth.

In the Autumn 2003 issue I called for the nomination of "Global Mavericks" -- a special award that reinforces the belief that one person can make a difference on a global level. You can read the story of our first G-Maverick recipient, Jeremy Hockenstein, in this issue. Also included within this issue is a map depicting the negative impacts of economic globalization on indigenous people, as well as an overview of Avega "love baskets."

Finally, a special addition makes its debut under Global Wire. Keith Porter, the globalization editor at About.com, has agreed to provide links to relevant and interesting globalization headlines from publications throughout the world found in his weekly column at http://globalization.about.com. Thank you, Keith, for appearing in this and future issues of Global Degree.

Remember, Global Degree is a journal that you'll want to read and digest over time. Don't skim through it and miss something enlightening. Print it out and take it with you.

--Mel Ochoa

==================
II. FEATURED ESSAY
==================

EDITOR'S NOTE: This essay appears in its original form with minimal editing in order to maintain the true intention of the authors' thoughts.

"Child Sex Tourism in Thailand: A Solution"
Amanda Conroy, Alex Manter, Damiano Marchetti, Katy McCarthy, Kara Shurmantine
River Middle School (Napa Valley, CA, USA)

Child sex tourism has plagued Thailand ever since the Vietnam War. Thailand, being a U.S. ally, helped the U.S. in the war by housing soldiers and keeping them entertained while they were out of combat. These soldiers were far away from home for several years at a time and therefore had a longing for their loved ones back in the U.S. A major prostitution business developed in Thailand in order to satisfy these soldiers. The bi-racial children of the soldiers and prostitutes were regarded as filth and kicked out of every establishment in Thailand. They were forced to sell their bodies to the pedophile population of Thailand in order to live. The child sex business has now evolved from several hundred children to more than 300,000 kids. The children are no longer just homeless kids either. Most of them are sold into the prostitution ring under poverty-induced circumstances. The family may need money to buy food or to fund a drug habit. Children with AIDs may have no other choice as they are outcast from society. Sometimes the parents are unaware that their child will be forced into prostitution at all. When this happens, a "buyer" will confront the parents asking to buy the kid to work at a nearby factory or as a maid in a home when in reality the child will be forced into a prostitution ring.

Now, due to the hundreds of thousands of kids being forced into prostitution, more than 800,000 pedophiles travel to Thailand for the purpose of child sex tourism each year. Child sex tourism is when a person travels specifically for the purpose of having sex with a minor. With somewhat increased awareness and high demand in Thailand, children are occasionally bought or kidnapped and smuggled in from surrounding countries, sometimes as far as China. But no matter what the circumstances, this is atrocious. It is a definitive violation of childrens' rights, especially the right to not be physically, sexually, or mentally abused. These children are forced to sleep with as many as 20 men a day, all the while being beaten and deprived of food and comfortable living arrangements by both their masters and "clients." (Prostitution Reports, Jubilee.co/uk/reports, July 18, 2002; ECPAT International, www.ecpat.com, February 12, 2004; Child Prostitution, www.thaiembdc.org/socials, October 18, 2003)

Our solution is a several-part system that incorporates different methods of dealing with the problem of child prostitution and sex tourism, focusing on Bangkok and Pattaya, Thailand. We will be focusing here because this is where child sex-tourism is most prominent. The solution consists of two parts: What our group wants the government to do in order to end child prostitution and child sex tourism, and in the future prevent this problem, and how to assure that they follow through with these measures.

In order to get these child prostitutes off the streets we are going to create a government founded/funded foundation that takes in child prostitutes from off the street primarily from police busts. There will be different methods of finding the child prostitutes whether it is buying them from their pimps, or taking them in after a brothel has been raided. After the child has been removed from their brothel they will be put into one of the many homes created by this foundation. They will be fed, given clothes, and a roof to sleep under. The child will be educated along with the others in the home. When they reach the age of 15 or 16, the foundation will help them find a job so that they can learn to support themselves. Finally at the age of 18, the home will release them, hopefully, with a better education and a job. When they are released, they will be assigned someone similar to a probation officer who will check up on them to make sure they are not forced back into prostitution. We believe that most of the children that have become child prostitutes have become so because they are not able to feed and clothe themselves and probably have no place to live. That is why we do not believe they require another incentive in order to stay at the home, other than the things already provided. This foundation is going to be focused solely on Bangkok and Pattaya for the time being, but if this program succeeds than it will be able to be expand into surrounding regions. Many of the child prostitutes are being shipped out of Thailand and into other parts of Asia and the U.S.A. This means that other countries might have an incentive to help fund this foundation because it keeps child prostitutes off the street in their country. With the help of foreign aid from these countries and the use of some of the Thai government’s own money we believe that this project can be fully funded. Also, all fines paid by pimps and child sex offenders would be given to help support the foundation. (Protect Children from Sexual Exploitation, http://www.world-tourism.org/protect_children/, March 1, 2004)

What we are proposing is not going to cost an unreasonable amount of money. If the government is as determined to eradicate child prostitution as they say they are, (an official representing the Thai government once said in an interview, "The royal Thai government is determined to eradicate the huge problem of prostitution.") we believe they will gladly pay a minimal sum in order to do so. So using this money and money from other governments and organizations, we propose they implement the following measures: (www.thaiembdc.org/socials, October 18, 2003)

In the Napa Valley, as well as other places, certain neighborhoods have created something called Citizen's Watch. Citizen's Watch is a program where signs are put up encouraging people around the neighborhood to call into the police to report any suspicious acts or people. This greatly helps keep the streets clean from thieves, among other things. If we did the same thing in Thailand people could call in to report any brothels or sex tourists. This would help the police greatly because they do not have time to stake out neighborhoods. Then, all the police would have to do is show up and arrest the wrongdoers. Also, it would be easy to see which police were corrupt by seeing if they did anything. This is an excellent solution because it costs very little and can be very effective. Hopefully, the crooks would eventually realize to stay out of these places because of the likelihood of being caught. Volunteers from anti-child prostitution organizations would probably be willing to put up the signs and if neither city workers or police did.

Next, the Thai government will make it legal to be able to prosecute sex offenders from another country in Thailand as opposed to sending them to their home country and (possibly) being acquitted of their crimes. We believe that when the sex offender is caught they should be required to pay a fine as well as serving the appropriate jail time. This same method was started in Canada and is now used in 27 different countries.
(Penelope Saunders, December 7, 1998)

The Royal Thai Government will put up signs and hand out pamphlets around airports and the rest of the city, concentrating on areas where tourists frequent, such as hotels, restaurants, etc. These brochures and signs will carry a slogan such as the one the Brazilian Government used to combat this same problem, which was, "Beware: Brazil is watching you." The flyers can be printed out and then distributed to police stations around Thailand, which can then be distributed to policemen to put up.

The Thai government needs to participate in more international cooperation by exchanging the names of known pedophiles/child sex offenders in order to track them and further their knowledge of each perpetrator's history. They could do this by accessing INTERPOL's (Interpol is similar to an international police organization) pedophile database and when the passport of a known sex offender is scanned a red flag will go up on the computer and the person will not be allowed into Thailand. Since these lists have already been created it will be an easy task to insert them into the computers at airports.

The Royal Thai government needs to change their laws to include a penalty for the sexual exploitation of boy prostitutes as well as girls. At this point only the use of girl child prostitutes is considered a felony. Thailand needs to raise the fine maximum from 50,000 baht to 300,000 baht, which is roughly $7,500 U.S. dollars, and make that per charge of sex offense. This would be for the man/woman found to be guilty. The fine for repeat offenders would increase per conviction. Pimps, brothel owners, and proprietors of places that promote child prostitutes (such as hotels) should have to pay a higher fine. In order to make sure that the Thai government is following through, we will send representatives from ECPAT (End Child Prostitution in Asian Tourism) to make sure they are not falling back to old habits. We believe the Royal Thai Government would be highly supportive of this because so far they have been adamant in criticizing child sex tourism and have been making some effort to shut it down. Our measures would only help them further their efforts and in the long run the riddance of child sex tourism would be greatly beneficial to them. (http://www.interpol.int/Public/Children/SexualAbuse/NationalLaws/csaThailand.asp, 22 Feb. 2004; http://www.findet.de/exchange.html, NA)

The solution to our project-based question has a controversial/complicated answer but what we found is the following: the child prostitute industry gains much from the flood of incoming tourists many of which come specifically to have sex with underage children. It is said that child prostitution is a $500 billion business - much of this money comes from child sex tourists. Approximately 800,000 tourists a year come to Thailand for the sole purpose of having sex with minors. The Thai economy may be dependant on those 800,000 tourists but Thailand is also a very beautiful exotic country. We believe that in creating this cleaner, healthier environment Thailand will attract a different type of tourist dollar and hopefully bigger companies and jobs as well. (Donald Wilson and David Henley,1994 )

Most of this solution is governmental and therefore would have to be carried out by the government of Thailand. The handing out of flyers and such can be done by policemen or city workers considering that it is not an arduous task and will most likely not take much time. The laws above will probably need more time in order to be put into effect by King Phumiphon. We believe that overall all of these actions combined will take about 10 to 15 years to carry out, perfect, and to see drastic changes.

All of our solutions are practical and feasible. Most of our solutions have been used in other parts of the world and been very successful, such as the "Brazil Is Watching" signs in Brazil and dozens of nations making it illegal to sleep with an underage boy such as the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Brazil and others. Many parts of the world exchange names of known pedophiles with other countries and approximately 27 countries have joined with Canada in creating a pact/law where they are able to prosecute a pedophile in the country that they committed the offences.
(http://www.ecpat.org, NA; Penelope Saunders, December 7, 1998)

Our solution is economically feasible in Thailand. Most of our measures cost very little money or none at all and the ones that do cost a lot are possible because they will start out small and grow to cover more land. There are a lot of organizations and governments willing to help and provide money. The extra money Thailand makes in increased fines along with donations or loans from other resources will be able to help pay for the education centers for former prostitutes. Also, the elimination of child prostitution will really help Thailand out in the long run. It will be able to be advertised as a family friendly country with happy children and clean streets. This will also probably attract more companies to Thailand, creating thousands of jobs for hardworking Thais. The money made from increased family tourism will undoubtedly make up for the lost sex tourism and be able to keep all the children off the streets forever.

Bibliography
Child Prostitution. 15 Jan. 1997. Thailand Embassy. 18 Feb. 2004
http://www.thaiembdc.org/socials/childprs.htm

Currency Converter. 26 Feb. 2004
http://www.findet.de/exchange.html

Child Prostitution Reports. 31 May 2002. Jubilee. 27 Feb. 2004
http://jubileeaction.co.uk/reports

ECPAT International. European Union.13 Nov.2003 23 Feb. 2004
http://www.ecpat.org

Henley, David , and Donald Wilson. "Facing the Hard Facts." The Bangkok Post 25 Dec. 1994. 23 Feb. 2004
http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/54/072.html

Protect Children From Sexual Exploitation. 1 Mar. 2004. World Tourism Organization. 28 Feb. 2004
http://www.world-tourism.org/protect_children/

Saunders, Penelope. Sexual Trafficking and Forced Prostitution of Children. 7 Dec. 1998. 26 Feb. 2004 http://www.walnet.org/csis/papers/saunders-childpro.html

Sexual Abuse Laws. 22 Feb. 2004. 25 Jan. 2004
http://www.interpol.int/Public/Children/SexualAbuse/NationalLaws/csa-Thailand.asp

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[Table of Contents]

===============
III. G-MAVERICK
===============

This award reinforces the belief that one person can make a difference on a global level. Whether it is advancing the benefits of globalization, or stopping globalization's harmful wake, Global Mavericks define the power of one with their bold ideas and actions.

Jeremy Hockenstein, CEO of Digital Divide Data, has achieved G-Maverick status in the business category.

Digital Divide Data provides digitization services to universities, libraries and corporations. Cambodians who are physically disabled, orphaned, or victims of sex trafficking or land mines handle the digitization work. It employs 110 people in Phnom Penh, 10 people in Battambang, and 20 people in Vientianne, Laos. Employees earn about $900 a year ($300 is the average annual salary in Cambodia) and are given matching scholarships for ongoing education.

The organization was founded in 2001 and has landed $25,000 from Global Catalyst (Redwood City, Calif., USA), with another $25,000 from Hockenstein and the other founders. DDD earned $178,974 in client revenue in 2003, which covers operating costs.

Hockenstein is a strategy consultant for non-profit and profit entities with training as a strategy consultant at McKinsey and Company. He also served as the chief operating officer at a non-profit, Harvard Hillel, where he helped catalyze and lead an organizational transformation to implement a new strategic program plan. Hockenstein earned his BA from Harvard and his MBA from MIT.

Global Degree: Jeremy, where and how did this idea originate?

Jeremy Hockenstein: I visited Cambodia while in Asia in November 2000 for the first time. I was just there three days but was struck by the Internet cafes and English schools on almost every corner. Talking to people, I realized there weren't many IT-related jobs for people. I went back to Boston and told a few friends about it. In February 2001, a number of us went back for the month to think together about what we could do to help. This project emerged from there. We hired local managers, opened up the office in July 2001 with 20 employees, and now employ 140 people in Cambodia (Phnom Penh and Battambang) and Laos.

GD: Can you give a tangible example of the impact Digital Divide Data has had on the community?

JH: Eng Naleak is a disabled person with three fingers on each of her hands. Before DDD, she stayed at home and her family did not think she would be able to support herself. Now, she is one of DDD's fastest typists, has been promoted to a manager and is providing money to her family.

GD: What would you say to those who think this is exploiting cheap labor?

JH: Come visit the office. The longer answer is that they should talk to employees about the impact these jobs have had on their lives. They are now able to spend half a day going to school which they couldn't afford before. Their self-confidence has grown from being able to provide money to help support their parents and also themselves. They have many more opportunities than they did before. And yes, this has happened because a living wage in Cambodia is much less than a living wage in the US; no reason why the citizens of Cambodia shouldn't benefit from this.

GD: What is next in the growth of DDD?

JH: We are looking to expand our services to higher level IT skills (such as GIS, CAD, and other IT services), as well as hire more people. We are looking to grow our offices in Cambodia and Laos and potentially open others as we have enough work.

GD: What is your opinion of globalization?

JH: Like most changes, it has had both positive and negative impacts on people. We are becoming more connected, not less, so the challenge is to work together to make sure that as many of the world's poorest citizens benefit as possible.

Learn more about Digital Divide Data at:

http://www.digitaldividedata.com

--Global Mavericks 2004--

Business: Jeremy Hockenstein, Digital Divide Data
Politics/Foreign Policy: TBA
Education/Academics: TBA
Technology: TBA
Economics: TBA
Activism: TBA
Journalism: TBA
Celebrity: TBA
NGO: TBA

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====================
IV. GLOBAL SPOTLIGHT
====================

Global Spotlight highlights an organization that is interacting with globalization in some way.

The International Forum on Globalization's Peoples and Globalization program has completed a map depicting the negative impacts of economic globalization on indigenous peoples. The map provides a striking visual image of the totality of the problem. It offers a unique visual representation of globalization across the many sectors impacting native communities: oil, dams, biopiracy, logging, militarization, and industrial agriculture, to name a handful. The map also includes text describing the various impacts.

To view or download the map as a PDF (or to order copies), please visit:

http://www.ifg.org/programs/indig.htm

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========================
V. SIDEBAR: Love Baskets
========================

Sidebar is a section devoted to an interesting -- or devastating -- outcome of globalization, a unique tidbit relevant to the global economy or a thought-provoking quote from an individual within the audiences served by Global Degree.

Over the last few months, hardly a publication has been produced without an article on the 10-year anniversary of the genocide within Rwanda (Hutu vs. Tutsi tribes, over 800,000 people died in 100 days). I recently came across an interesting association called Avega comprised of widows (and orphans) from both tribes who produce "love baskets" as symbols of healing and to support their families through the online sale of the beautiful woven masterpieces.

I cannot think of a better purchase that makes a real and significant difference in the world. You will notice other items on this site that directly benefit not-for-profit organizations (Women for Women International, Heifer International, and more). These make great gifts for yourself or others.

http://www.eziba.com/gifts_that_give_back.asp

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===============
VI. Global Wire
===============

Globalization news and findings from leading publications throughout the world.

+++ Courtesy of Keith Porter (http://globalization.about.com) +++

Globalization is Good for Small Business (USA Today):
http://globalization.about.com/b/a/2004_05_20.htm

Full Coverage of the G-8 Summit (Atlanta Journal-Constitution):
http://globalization.about.com/b/a/2004_05_19.htm

The Gap Confronts Anti-Globalization Criticism (Toronto Globe and Mail):
http://globalization.about.com/b/a/2004_05_12.htm

Seize the Day With Globalization (Philippine Daily Inquirer):
http://globalization.about.com/b/a/076867.htm

A Keith Porter article:

World On Fire
http://globalization.about.com/cs/greatarticles/a/worldonfire.htm

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VII. Coda
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Too young for prostitution?

Sometimes global issues aren't 10,000 miles away. Sometimes they are right within the home. For example, when is the appropriate age to teach children about certain global topics? As you read in this issue, middle school children are studying child prostitution. A day after the World Affairs Challenge, I was talking with a few friends about my experience. One of my friends, Scott Bonds, surfaced this question of age-appropriate learning. He saw the importance of teaching young people difficult subjects like child prostitution, but would hesitate when faced with this when it came to his own hypothetical son or daughter.

I must admit, I am left pondering this same question when it comes to my future children. Should I sit my son or daughter down and discuss the "birds and the bees," along with global genocide, slavery, starvation and prostitution that involves children of their age? I'm not sure I'll even be able to get through the birds and the bees part.

The underlying issue at hand is giving our children a little perspective in their lives so that a new CD or cool ring tone might not be so important after all. There are bigger things in life. However, although it is important for a 13-year-old girl to know that someone her age was sold into prostitution by her family for $100 so they could buy a television, I'm still not comfortable in an approach.

I had this discussion with another group of friends and two of which, Rebekah Berkov and Rick Roth, brought up a few interesting points. First, geography greatly plays into this issue. In the United States, children are - for the most part - sheltered from issues that are more commonplace in other countries. A child living in Rwanda probably has had to deal with the repercussions of genocide, whereas the average U.S. suburb cannot substitute this experience. Children living in different parts of the world receive different global educations, some harsher and faster than others.

Second, age-appropriate learning coincides with the development of the brain. A young child cannot conceptualize genocide. Instead, they develop motor skills and grasp simple concepts like colors, shapes and sounds. It might be easier at an early age to teach concepts that are tangible - like saving the environment by cleaning up trash or recycling. Things that kids can do in a hands-on way. This teaches the concept of "a larger world" that can then be leveraged to introduce more difficult issues, like child prostitution, over the span of a few years into their tweens.

Since I am not a parent, hopefully this will all make sense when the time is right. I'd be interested to hear what readers suggest who have their own children. Email me.

Above all else, the power of youth is highly underestimated. Besides giving them a little perspective, a global education can potentially provide solutions to some of these issues (as proven by River Middle School). Nicole Sanchez, a fellow judge at the World Affairs Challenge and the executive director of Youth Philanthropy Worldwide (http://www.ypworldwide.org), brought to light the story of Iqbal Masih. At the age of 4, Iqbal was sold into slavery in Pakistan for $200. After six years of horrid conditions working for a carpet manufacturer he was freed by Ehsan Ulla Khan, founder of the Bonded Labor Liberation Front, and became an advocate for Pakistan's 12 million bonded child laborers. In this role, Iqbal traveled the world speaking out against bonded child labor and freed more than 3000 children. His work eventually made an impact with carpet exports dropping in 1992, 1993 and 1994. Sadly, Iqbal was assassinated in 1995 to silence his criticism.

What else can a child do if given knowledge and an outlet? Iqbal's story proves to me that children should know as much about the world as possible. At the World Affairs Challenge, Nicole mentioned she works with youth because they are still idealistic and have the ability to present fresh and creative solutions. I must agree.

Here are organizations I believe are on the right path in bringing a global awareness to our youth. I encourage you to visit their Web sites and get involved. They are always seeking support in many different forms, financial or otherwise.

Project Spera
http://www.projectspera.org

Youth Philanthropy Worldwide
http://www.ypworldwide.org

TakingITGlobal
http://www.takingitglobal.org

WireTap Magazine
http://www.wiretapmag.org

YouthNoise
http://www.youthnoise.com

===================
About Global Degree
===================

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With an increased global interdependence, Global Degree presents the many facets of globalization in a fresh and interesting manner to the widest possible audience. Global Degree is a medium for CEOs to exchange ideas with activists, for filmmakers to interact with politicians, and so forth. Each issue offers a timely, open and multidisciplinary discussion of globalization and its impact from different perspectives including, but not limited to, business, politics, academics, technology, economics, activism and foreign policy. Essays and interviews touch upon ideas, opinions and concepts related to trade, investment, technology, labor, governance, law, political and/or social unrest, the environment, and culture.