Did he do the right thing?

I'd say so. At first it seems like a good deed. I suppose you have to ask whether they would be sold right back into slavery or if they have the means to support themselves.

What a cheap price on life!

If I were the jounalist, I would do the same thing. I think this might be the first response any conscientious people would have. We all know it's illegal to sell and buy human beings, but if our purpose of buying someone is to save someone, I think it's right. What do you think, Chameleon?

It would definitely be a good thing. I wouldn't want them to go to their village again, though.

It may have been that the journalist had no choice in the matter other than those laid out by the captors. You're confronted with two girls, sold or kidnapped into slavery, but most likely surrounded by armed guards. What are your options?

1) Take a very good chance of getting shot / captured&tortured&shot / worse while trying to free them. The girls get sold into sex slavery anyway after you're dead

2) Do nothing and report the story

3) Cooperate with the captors and buy the girls

In countries as politically corrupt as the ones we're talking about, the police are far more likely to take a $5 bribe than confront armed slave traders, so I doubt that option would have accomplished much. Human rights groups are already painfully aware of the issue. The tracking and capture of the offenders is a major problem (again mostly due to inadequate or corrupt police / military). International interest is also lacking because southeast asia (and other third world areas like rural africa) have little strategic value at this point in history. And despite a large low-wage workforce, corporations are unwilling to invest in volatile regions, further reducing pressure to deal with the problem.

What I'm glad to see is that no one made the argument that journalists shouldn't interfere in the situation on which they're reporting. Plain and simple, your duty as a human overrides your duty as a reporter.

I think the ultimate problem question in this specific situation is what do you do with the girls once you've purchased them? Do you return them to their village where their family may re-sell them into slavery? Or, if they weren't sold, but were kidnapped, is it really right to return them to their previous miserable existence (where they are probably likely to be re-kidnapped)?

Are there provisions in international law for claiming asylum for minors? How could you legally go about adopting someone you've purchased from a slave trader?