GLOSSARY TO THE STREETS OF BANGALORE:
CSW-Commercial Sex Worker
FSW-Female Sex Worker
Eunuch-Castrated men who dress as women and work the streets…hence the FSW distinction.
Party-Potential clients
Negotiations-The conversations between CSWs and Parties to determine just how much a person is worth.
Rest House-The destinations where in fact, not much resting takes place.
NOW USE THESE WORDS IN A SENTENCE:
In the town of Banglore, India alone, there are thousands of CSWs. If you aren’t aware you could walk past them without ever really knowing. The FSWs are recognizable mostly by their bold stares. They brazenly make eye contact with every man they pass and while most people are walking with purpose to a destination, these women wander aimlessly until they find an interested party. Once eye contact is maintained with said party, the negotiations begin. The FSW waits to hear how much this party believes she is worth and if they can agree, they immediately proceed to the nearest Rest House for a half hour of work. Once finished, the process is repeated. Eunuch‘s are more easily recognizable because even after castration, they still have dominantly male features. Silk sarees and makeup do little to hide the facial hair and deep voices and they engage in a similar process as the women.
BUT HERE’S WHAT’S REALLY GOING ON:
A young girl wakes up in the middle of the day after a long night of work. She puts on nice clothes and jewelry. She brushes her hair and puts on a little makeup. And once ready, she ventures outside to begin another night. As the men stare at her with lust in their eyes, she stares right back. The part of her that is disgusted by their leers is pushed aside as she convinces herself that their desire is flattering. She uses her eyes to feed their desire and begins to showcase what they’re looking for. Which would be a full mouth, large breasts, and the illusion of virginity. Her self esteem is shattered as they begin discussing her price for the night. Her body is appraised and reduced to mere pennies (or rupees) based on how well she meets their criteria. But she doesn’t have time for pride or insult. As they walk to the nearest seedy hotel, she’s trying not to wonder what kind of perversion this one will come up with. Whether or not she’ll be beaten and degraded even beyond what’s normal. How she can pretend she’s turned on by another disgusting man. But she does everything she can to turn off her mind and survive one more night.
……..
We can use the clinical terms to protect ourselves from really feeling what’s going on. It’s easier on our hearts and minds and the truth is, sometimes I have to because I just can’t handle to truth. The truth that these women are whored out for someone else’s pleasure and benefit. The truth that the 16 year old girls in my house have been beaten and burned, that they have physical scars on their bodies to remind them of their pain. The truth that they have children they never wanted, that two of them just tested HIV+, that they’ve been told they’re not wanted so many times that they believe it. But I don’t want to be numb to the pain. I don’t want to think of them as FSWs, but as children that God loves lavishly. And as I embrace their truth and pain, I’m also seeing the redemptionof the Lord in their lives. Their are thousands of women on the streets still waiting for redemption. But for the 12 girls I’m living with right now, it is obvious.
Stay tuned for the stories of redemption.
