Selling sex work
for a comfortable living
Staffan Nordstrand blames
anti-human trafficking NGO’s
for selling shocking stories
about the victims of the sex
industry first of all to cover
their own salaries.
By Joakim Persson
16 ScandAsia.China • February 2014
S
wedish author Staffan
Nordstrand, whose book,
‘River trilogy’, sheds light on
the evil of human trafficking in Southeast Asia, has
started an awareness campaign to
channel donations directly to organisations that are doing a good job in
a cost-effective manner battling the
modern-day slave trade. International agencies need not apply. To
Nordstrand, they are just a bunch
of bloated bureaucracies only interested in lining their own pockets.
Because the main focus of his
books is on human trafficking, he has
often been invited to speak publicly
on the topic. Staffan said he was approached by several international
aid agencies in Sweden to speak.
In one case, they wanted him to
educate members of their staff and
share his insights – so they could
sell (read: raise funds) better. That
caused him to look at it from a totally different perspective and to see
their real intentions. Staffan turned
away from them in disgust when
he got to see how they operate
and spend the money, donated by
ordinary people, on swanky offices
at fancy addresses and chauffeured
around in fleets of expensive cars.
“They want funding to cover
their own expenses, that is their
number one priority. It’s not to collect money for those in need – forget it!,” said Staffan.
“I said to myself ‘I should try to
connect donors directly to recipients instead of helping them maintain expensive offices in Stockholm!”