Would I want to see my daughters fight in a boxing ring in order to pay for their education? I would rather work and provide the basis for that education. As far as Thai boxing is concerned, I would stop the funding that is going on and get the parents off their asses while their kids get beaten up, before they can ever continue their schooling. Getting beaten up and enduring the pain, so that parents can rely on child contributions has got to stop, Thai culture or no culture.
This controversial entertainment may be part of Thai culture but when risks outweigh the benefits and can severely injure a child than it is senseless and sadistic. Wins are never guaranteed, a child may be a winner one night and not another and there is always going to be a loser. There must be other means of ensuring education and even working in a mill for part of the day, to earn money for the family, is not as physically damaging. Naturally I am not referring to slave labor, where children might be beaten if they want to leave. That too should be banned and wiped off the map. What is worse is seeing grown-ups cheering their kids on for a victory, while one of them ends with a bloodied face. Don't people know what can happen to the brain as in the case of Mohammed Ali? It can cause irreversible brain damage. The kids may be determined but their parents should not be allowed to encourage that determination. They should instead offer their children safer alternatives and not have their kids exploited for the gambling behind the boxing. Continuing studies is not a valid excuse for this lurid sport. I liken this to what many gypsies do to get funds in Europe; they send their kids on the street to beg when their parents stay in their shelters and goof off.
What is the solution to this sport? There are plenty of children who are not physically fit to box, and their lives are bound to be harder. One solution might be that international companies who have been exploiting Thais for years should at least set the stage for a re-education of what parents should do and offer their children a way out.
