Buffalo Girls

    The documentary Buffalo Girls may seem like a simple portrayal of rural adolescent life in Thailand.  But it all actuality it is a unbiased look at the exploitation of children. These children are being used not only for the money they make engaging in traditional Mui Tai fighting but also for immoral entertainment purposes. This "entertainment" seems to bring the main focus off of the children and onto their money, the Baht. These young children's families get a taste of the fallible success and quickly become dependant upon the uncertain income generated by their child's winnings and the bets placed on the fights. Quickly turning a hobby into an intensely pressured career.  The documentary focuses on two adolescent girls Pet and Stam.  At first glance both girls seem to enjoy fighting but once things progress it is obvious that both girls are enjoying it for reasons most would not find morally or ethically right.  Both girls would be considered "Head of Household" on any United States tax form, being the main bread winners for their entire families.  The once fun sport has turned into a job for them. One unfortunately, where if you don't win, your family doesn't eat.  That is a harsh reality with extraordinary amounts of pressure to be placed on two small children.  These girls should be having fun, they are children.  They should be able to go out and play.  They shouldn't have to intensely train from dusk until dawn.  Or put fighting before their schooling.  But they both do, both girls are put in dangerous situations, both are treated poorly if and when they loose, and both feel sorrowfully guilty when they loose because like Stam sobbed after a loss, "My family needs money".  This directly violates Article 19 (protection from all forms of violence) Under the convention on the rights of a child.  That article clearly states that all children deserve to be free of emotion or physical harm.  Thailand ratified this into their government in 1990, yet nothing is being done to help these poor children.