WAOW - Newsline 9, Wausau News, Weather, SportsStudents make history with Thailand project

Students make history with Thailand project

by Meg Bonacorsi

STEVENS POINT (WAOW) --  Two UW Stevens Point students have accomplished what no one has done before.  They convinced leaders in Thailand to allow two stateless women to go to college here.

Joseph Quinnell went to Thailand for a research project and was appalled by what he found. 

He says, "Most of these children are stateless which means that they don't have citizenship from any country.  They're not illegal immigrants, they were born within Thailand but denied citizenship."

That means no medical care or police protection.  They can't even leave the city they live in.

Quinnell says, "It broke my heart to meet children who are denied a dream of what they could one day become."

Stateless people can't work legally either, and Quinnell says there's a reason the government allows it, "It's a business.  People profit off of human trafficking and child prostitution and child labor.  The United States actually has the highest number of sex tourists.  Men who purchase a plane ticket to go to another to have sex with a prostitute or rape a child.  And so we are very much part of the problem."

After years of work and tons of help from supporters, Quinnell and his partner Susan Perri convinced the Thai government to let two stateless women go to college at UW Stevens Point. They even raised the money for it, and traveled to Thailand to meet the women and their mothers.

Perri says, "They were both fearful that we were going to be trafficking the girls. It's that common of an issue."

Since the girls have been here, The Thailand Project continues to be successful.  In fact, former President Bill Clinton presented an award for it.

Quinnell recalls, "One of the things that he said about this project was that this is a doable, affordable program that could be replicated on every campus across the United States."

And that's the goal.  They hope to help more than these two women.

Perri says, "They really set an example for the stateless children in Thailand and the families who are stateless to keep their children in school."

Quinnell adds, "We've cracked open a door in Thailand right now, something that has never been possible before."

One problem is that The Thailand Project is running out of money to pay for the girls' tuition.

If you like to help out visit www.TheThailandProject.org or call the UWSP Foundation at 346-0123.

Tune in tomorrow night on Newsline 9 at 6 to hear from the 2 Thai students share their stories.

Online Reporter: Meg Bonacorsi