Overseas volunteers help abused victims regain control of their lives
BANGKOK — In a rural area about 400 kilometers north of Bangkok, Hiromi Nakamoto was cheerfully greeted by the young inhabitants of a women’s shelter as each of them walked past her.
While the young women seemed bashful, the expressions on their faces were bright.
Yet such residents of the Bansongkhawe Protection and Occupation Development Center have undergone horrifying experiences. Many of them, including girls, have been victims of human trafficking, domestic violence and other crimes.
Founded to protect women who were forced to work as prostitutes due to poverty or abuse, the center offers mental health care, job training and assistance to help victims lead normal lives.
Nakamoto, 28, has been working as a volunteer in the center since February last year. The native of Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture, became interested in international affairs after studying abroad in Thailand as a university student.
She was shocked to witness street children living in poverty. After graduation, she engaged in such activities as helping provide education opportunities for children from Thai mountain tribes.
At the center, Nakamoto was put in charge of taking care of newcomers. She looks after 10 residents aged from 12 to 25. The women were taken into police protection after crackdowns on brothels and other efforts. Such victims are often mentally unstable and unaccustomed to living in groups.
Therefore, Nakamoto constantly converses with the shelter’s residents, which aids the process of psychological healing. She also encourages them to participate in various activities such as painting and playing sports.
“Some girls are here because of delinquent behavior — sometimes the center’s staff struggle to help them cope with their problems,” Nakamoto said.
Though Nakamoto is able to speak in Thai for daily affairs, she finds it difficult to truly express herself to the shelter’s inhabitants.
Among the 33 staff members, including the head of the center, Nakamoto is the only Japanese. For the protection of the women living there, the shelter is isolated from the outside. Nakamoto also lives on the premises.
Nakamoto’s days are hectic. But she feel that her work is rewarding whenever such girls, whose hearts were once closed, gradually learn to be happy again.
Her chief aim is to eliminate human trafficking, but as reality has shown, that goal will be hard to achieve.
“Right now my job is to help victims get back on their feet and return to living normal lives,” she said. “In the meantime, I’ll do everything I can.”
Nishijima is chief of the General Asian Bureau in Bangkok.Speech
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