Flower sellers

[DSB]

That said - 'One Arm' in HH runs a business, and given her disability it's probably the only way she could have supported herself when she started out. There was - and still is - a sad lack of State support for people with disabilities in Thailand. There are also many parents who are quite happy to allow their children to be out on the streets selling whatever at all hours.[/quote]

IMO 'One Arm' is a vicious bitch, I have seen her beating up the kids. The money earned is to get her in to the next card game. The kids are bought out of some orphanage to sell flowers, are not allowed to sleep until they have sold their quota, and are not sent to school.
The 'One Eye' flower seller was dressed up as a girl for a few months, to try and sell more flowers, that kid is getting pretty messed up - to put it politely.
A few years back, someone wrote an open letter to HM the Queen expressing concern about the flower sellers, this resultes in a clean up which lasted a few months, which invovled getting the kids under 16 off the streets.
Unfortunately, because of the local Mafia involved, there is nothing us Farangs can do, apart from try to stop everyone buying flowers from the kids, then perhaps they can go back to the orphanage and have a slight chance of some education.

[kendo]

The 'One Eye' flower seller was dressed up as a girl for a few months, to try and sell more flowers, that kid is getting pretty messed up - to put it politely.

Yes agree with you this kid has been around for a long time and has been dressed as a girl, i have been told that this child is also a pick pocket, he will follow you around in the 7-11 so just be mind full and on your guard.

There was a man that come around the bars a few weeks back that only had one leg so on that occasion i gave over a hundred baht he did really look down on his luck and he was so great full he kissed my hands, you could see he was not scamming it.

I have been coming to Hua Hin for 7 years now and can't believe that One Arm is still around, she has become very well organized with now a small army of kids that should be at home in bed.

I also see the old man with the army coat that i think is known as Tap Tap he sales the old couple of flowers but really doe's get around with his walking stick.

The dude with the huge Zippo lighter is still knocking around surprised nobody has never bought it off him.

We see a lot less of the hill tribe little people selling there hats and wooden frogs this year, i do feel a bit sorry for them as i think they make very small amount of money.

Something now that always makes me smile i some times drink with the Canadian dude's outside the U-Turn and about every 30 minutes the lady boy walk up and down the Binta with loads of some tam giving it the full cat walk mince, and one of the guys always whispers " here he comes, meals on heels" i find it hard not to grin a little.

Kendo.

[Rob W]

We see a lot less of the hill tribe little people selling there hats and wooden frogs this year, i do feel a bit sorry for them as i think they make very small amount of money.

The old lady who always has lots of hats on seems to do ok, my wife aways buys from her and one day we had no change, the olld lady said no problem and pulled a wad of money out that would choke a donkey.
My son made friends with one of the older flower girls and yes she lives with her mum and dad and yes she goes to school. its amazing but she adapted to spleeping in two stints after school untill 7pm them after flowers untill school time. She is a nice kid.
We have also seen two adults making a small boy wear a tu-tu he was crying and did not want to go in the bar but the adults threatened him, a very sorry sight indeed.
Sometimes it makes you stand back and think how lucky out own children are.

[KateB]

Agreed DSB and Kendo, he is getting more and more messed up.

Rob W, from what your son said after befriending one of the sellers - that's good to hear - at least one of them (hopefully more....?) is relatively ok. And obviously I do mean 'relatively'.

I have to agree about never buying any of the flowers, though as the OP said, no one ever seems too, or very rarely, - and yet they are still selling them.....

[Pleng]

I think people do buy them. I've seen people buy them. I've bought them myself on the odd occasion.

The kids wander all the way down Bintabaht and surrounding sois, and down past all the restaurants. If you sit in one or two bars for the majority of the evening you won't probably see a sale, but through the course of an evening I reckon they probably make a few sales every day.

[bubbly]

The bottom line is,they are all untrustworthy little robbers. If they are around in a bar,put one hand on your phone and your other on your wallet. Give them nothing except a stern NO!!! Is it a myth or is it true that the one arm lady did time some years back for child abuse??? I've heard that she did.

[margaretcarnes]

That said - 'One Arm' in HH runs a business, and given her disability it's probably the only way she could have supported herself when she started out. There was - and still is - a sad lack of State support for people with disabilities in Thailand. There are also many parents who are quite happy to allow their children to be out on the streets selling whatever at all hours.

IMO 'One Arm' is a vicious bitch, I have seen her beating up the kids. The money earned is to get her in to the next card game. The kids are bought out of some orphanage to sell flowers, are not allowed to sleep until they have sold their quota, and are not sent to school.
The 'One Eye' flower seller was dressed up as a girl for a few months, to try and sell more flowers, that kid is getting pretty messed up - to put it politely.
A few years back, someone wrote an open letter to HM the Queen expressing concern about the flower sellers, this resultes in a clean up which lasted a few months, which invovled getting the kids under 16 off the streets.
Unfortunately, because of the local Mafia involved, there is nothing us Farangs can do, apart from try to stop everyone buying flowers from the kids, then perhaps they can go back to the orphanage and have a slight chance of some education.[/quote]


I certainly think that 'one arm' has hardened over the years. But this is always a catch 22 situation - to buy or not to buy. As Richard said the kids often can't go home until all the flowers are sold. Go home too early and they'll be out again with another bucket full. But if it is true that some of them are from an orphanage it's a pretty damning indictment of the whole system. And it would be interesting to know which orphanage - because there is regular expat patronage of a couple of them.

[Coldmike]

I've only visited orphanages in Bangkok and they seem very caring and protective of the kids. I've only been there for short periods of time and have no idea what things are like after visiting hours, so maybe I'm a bit naive concerning this. Are orphanages in Hua Hin so poorly managed that they would knowingly allow this?

Obviously any gov't social services that exist (if any?) are corrupt as this has been going on forever. Sad.

[margaretcarnes]

I've only visited orphanages in Bangkok and they seem very caring and protective of the kids. I've only been there for short periods of time and have no idea what things are like after visiting hours, so maybe I'm a bit naive concerning this. Are orphanages in Hua Hin so poorly managed that they would knowingly allow this?

Obviously any gov't social services that exist (if any?) are corrupt as this has been going on forever. Sad.

Government social services could run into a whole different topic. I know there is a workshop for wooden frogs in CM where disabled people work. There must be some kind of training for the deaf, who learn sign language and are taught to churn out those bog standard pictures for tourists. I think one of the local HH orphanages is run by the nuns. None of this necessarily points to there being Government funding, and there certainly isn't a welfare system.