Part 51, page 234

Transcript

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First lady applauds Thai anti-prostitution program

Hillary Clinton visits school in Thailand

By Grant Peck The Associated Press

MAE CHAN, Thailand – First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton visited a school Sunday that discourages poor families from selling their daughters into prostitution and said that girls must decide their own futures. The first lady is visiting the rugged hill country of northern Thailand before joining P [illegible]nt Clinton on the first state visit to the country by an American president since 1969. Her trip focused attention on Thailand's most tragic social problem – the sale of girls into the country's flourishing sex trade. Hillary Clinton was greeted at the airport in Chiang Rai, 500 miles north of Bangkok, by townspeople, school children and representatives of the province's 600,000 tribespeople waving paper Thai and U.S. flags. As she walked past umbrellas and colorful banners, young women threw flower petals in her path. A dozen silk-clad dancers and a traditional orchestra performed for her. The first lady toured the Mae Chan Wittaya Khom school, part of a program that has trained about 1,200 girls to become gem cutters, textile workers and nursing assistants. The training begins after their mandatory

purchased by middlemen and resold to the garish brothels of Bangkok and elsewhere. Many die of AIDS. The first lady then visited Chor Pa Kha, a

met seven girls from the project and sat down for a chat with villagers in a thatched-roof hut. [illegible] Thai Women of Tomorrow, [illegible]and why it is important for

young women to have the skills needed to find jobs and support themselves and their families," Clinton said. "This project is an example of how to help protect young girls and women against exploitation and abuse. You are examples and pioneers for young women around the world looking for the opportunity to decide for themselves what is best for themselves and their families." The project was founded in 1993 by Chakrapand Wongburanavart, dean of social sciences at Chiang Mai University. The U.S. Agency for International Development gave $300,000 to start the project. Chakrapand's counselors try to persuade parents to let their girls learn skills that will earn about $200 a month, a tenth of what some prostitutes make. Girls can be sold for $1,000 and send remittances home to their parents. Having a daughter as a prostitute can mean the difference between poverty and a new home, motorcycle and status. Though some parents are ashamed of having sold their girls, others celebrate the birth of daughters for their potential earning power. Some claim ignorance of the horrors awaiting the girls. The girls are often chained, beaten, drugged, denied food and raped by pimps before joining the ranks of Thailand's estimated 500,000 to 700,000 prostitutes. Boys are also sold, but the vast majority of victims are girls serving Thai men or foreigners on so-called "sex tours."

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Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press Hillary Rodham Clinton meets villagers in Chor Pa Kha, Thailand. She met with 7 girls from the Thai Women of Tomorrow project during her visit to the remote village Sunday.

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Boorda note cited medals

By James Risen Los Angeles Times

WASHINGTON – In a note written before his suicide in May, Adm. Jeremy Boorda, then the Navy's top officer, indicated that he was deeply concerned about recent criticism of the service and "couldn't bear to bring dishonor" to sailors over questions about whether he had improperly worn combat decorations. The suicide note, published for the first time in the December issue of Washingtonian magazine, is consistent with the official description of the contents provided by the Navy immediately after the 57-year-old chief of naval operations took his life. It suggests that Boorda felt he was under enormous pressure – in addition to the questions over the medals. "To my sailors," he wrote, "I couldn't bear to bring dishonor to you. For those who want to tear our Navy down, I guess I've given them plenty to write about for a while. But I will soon be forgotten." The Navy had declined to release the text of the note. It is included as part of a Washingtonian article by Nick Kotz, a free-lance writer. The article noted that the Navy faced intense scrutiny during Boorda's two years at the top, including scandals involving sexual harassment and wrongdoing at the U.S. Naval Academy.

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