By CAMERON LUCADOU-WELLS
YOU have a choice, anti human-trafficking campaigner David Cross says.
You can put your money towards ending the burgeoning sex-slave trade in Thailand or use it to perpetuate it.
Sadly, Australian tourists may be the biggest exploiters.
Last Wednesday, Mr Cross returned to his old school Maranatha Christian School in Endeavour Hills to thank students who put their money towards stopping the trade.
Last year, they raised $7000 to support Mr Cross’s anti-human trafficking crusade.
Mr Cross formed the charity Zoe Foundation Australia to fund a shelter for 68 rescued orphans and children under threat from human traffickers in Thailand.
He moved with wife Andrea and their three children to Thailand two years ago to help out. He said “his heart broke” when he first heard about the extent of sex slavery there.
Since then, he’s worked as a field worker with the co-operation of Thai police to find children entrapped in brothels and to give them schooling and shelter. Sometimes, he co-operates with authorities to pull off a “prevention rescue” as a last resort before traffickers strike.
“It’s a really difficult task but we love what we do. We can help children who have seen the darkest sides of life.
“We now think differently in life. I know there are pressures in Australia but there’s a lot that people can do to help and make a difference in the world.”
The money raised by Maranatha students has helped establish a self-sustaining pig farm to help feed the home’s children.
“At $1.20 a meal to feed our children, the Aussie dollar goes a long way,” Mr Cross said.
Year 12 student Samantha travelled to Thailand in 2010 to see Mr Cross’s efforts first-hand. Spurred by what she saw, she helped organise the fund-raising drive at Maranatha and was “blown away” by her peers’ response.
Mr Cross has no illusions about his task – he’s up against the second-most lucrative organised crime in Thailand. Official estimates of 40,000 child sex slaves in Thailand could be “greatly underestimated”.
He hopes to build the home’s capacity to 350 children and set up a school – but most of all, he needs funds to rescue more children.
Details: zoeaustralia.org.
