They practice English and learn how to read maps. He takes them to abandoned parking lots to practice changing gears and reversing. Now Krit is teaching other teen boys – also sex-trafficking victims – to drive the noisy three-wheel taxis. I have a new desire to change my life, to work hard and take care of myself. “I don’t need money from customers in the bars. “I feel independent because I can control my own life,” says Krit, whose name has been changed to protect his privacy. But he made a miraculous recovery and went on to set up his own tuk-tuk business. It was a horrific life that forced Krit to the brink the teen was later hospitalised with HIV, and almost died. He endured cruelty and exploitation, forced to go home with the men who venture to these dark places to buy sex with children. For five years he worked in seedy bars and dingy massage joints in Chiang Mai’s red light district. Krit was a victim of Thailand’s sex-trafficking trade. His customers were still Western tourists, but they went to him for sex, not tuk-tuk rides. Several years ago when Krit was just 16, this picture was very different. He can make as much as 3,000 Thai baht ($92) in a day driving tourists around this northern city. Chiang Mai, Thailand – Krit hangs out near McDonald’s most days, polishing the hood of his green tuk-tuk and waiting for customers.
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