October 4 1999

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An estimated 2 million women around the world are victimized by sexual trafficking each year. But in Southeast Asia, a global hub for the sex trade, three Christian missionaries have created model programs to liberate prostitutes and keep young women out of the sex tourism industry.

One of world's largest recruiting grounds for prostitutes is in the mountains of northern Thailand. As many as 35,000 girls currently are enslaved in prostitution, according to Kevin Bales, author of the newly published Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy (University of California Press). From Thailand, the girls are conveyed to Thai cities, Hong Kong, or elsewhere overseas. In New York, 30 Thai girls were released from their prisonlike bordello after one of them telephoned police for help.

Although local authorities have the legal power to curtail indigenous prostitution, they are ill-equipped to fight the underground network of sexual traffickers.

ESCAPING THE CYCLE: In the far northern mountains of Thailand, American Baptist missionary Zothan Siami Ralte, 39, battles the sexual traffickers with wooden loom, Bible, and chalkboard. Under her slogan, "Prevention is better than cure," Ralte has launched half a dozen enterprises to provide work, spiritual strength, and education to mountain-tribe girls who are at risk of falling prey to sexual traffickers.

Lasu is a typical example. As an orphan, she had little hope to marry or to learn enough to earn a living. Likely, she would have drifted into a coastal city where procurers scour the streets to "befriend" the lost and lonely. Ralte sprang into action when some relatives contacted her about Lasu. Ralte took her into her home, enrolled her in school, and started teaching her how to ...