Buying prostitutes. Nicholas Kristof (of the NY Times; reg. req.) bought the freedom of two young Cambodian prostitutes in order to return them to their villages... but it wasn't as simple as you might think. It's easy to be cynical (yes, he's using it as grist for columns; yes, it's a drop in the bucket), but isn't it better than doing nothing? Anyway, it's a fascinatingly messy story. (He discusses why he picked these particular girls, and addresses some of the moral issues, here—scroll down to January 20.)
posted by languagehat on Jan 21, 2004 - 22 comments

Nicholas Kristof wrote this article
  about this woman
    who founded this hospital
      which treats this condition, which is so awful...
posted by languagehat on May 20, 2003 - 27 comments