(This blog post is not for young eyes to read.)
Before I write my story I would like to give you a little background on the prostitution business in Thailand. “Agriculture is the nation’s leading occupation (54%), the service industry—which includes sexual services—accounts for 31% of all occupations, and industry follows at 15% (CIA Website: Thailand).” Prostitution is illegal in Thailand and has been since 1960. “Today, it is estimated that the prostitution industry brings in anywhere from 2.5-4 billion dollars each year and employs about 200,000 people (Morris 2002: 2).” The minimum wage in Thailand is $10, but the average wage in this business is $300 a day. Many of the women come from Northern Thailand and some are sold into the industry but the majority of women “choose” this line of work for the money. One friend that was in the red light district last night made the comment that the men there “are a slave to their lust” and the women “are a slave to the money” and neither have joy in their eyes. (Child prostitution and trafficking is also a problem here.)
“I wish I had never become a sex worker. I think some foreign men think it’s okay to pay for sex here in Thailand, as they think the girls actually want to do this. But these men don’t understand that most of us have no choice – we’re just trying to earn money for our families, and waiting for a chance to leave.” (Interview by Kate McGeown, BBC News, Bangkok.)
“Eighty-nine percent of tourists that come to Bangkok are male; most travel from countries such as Japan, Germany, Western Europe, and the United States (Bishop & Robinson 1998: 67). However, the sex industry hasn’t always been so closely linked with the tourist industry. It first started to take off when the United States implemented the R&R (Rest & Recreation) program for the military after the Vietnam War. This opened the political, social, and economic markets in Bangkok. After the R&R period faded, the bars in the red-light districts, such as Pattaya, managed to survive because of other tourists. Today, much of the advertising for Bangkok is geared towards white-collar corporate businessmen from the West, who come on business trips which usually provide sex package tours at night.” (Boonchalaksi 1994: 8).
(All above information is from a local contact and http://www.unc.edu/~pcvelich/bangkok/net1024.htm)
It was late afternoon on a Wednesday and my team decided to go to the red light district of Bangkok. We wanted to pray as we walked and see what the red light district entailed because many possible contacts work in the red light district. As we were walking we realized that there were a lot of homeless people out on the streets, so we decided to stop in a grocery store and buy some apples and granola bars to give to the people. I decided that I wanted to buy a treat to give people. It’s not that I don’t want to give healthy snacks; I want to give a gift. I love giving gifts and to some, a piece of hard candy or chocolate is a little gift. My intentions were that after my friends gave an apple and granola bar to someone, I would give them a chocolate. I was purely thinking of the homeless.
It wasn’t five minutes and we were walking by a row of Lady Boys. (A male that dresses and carries out the identity of a woman. Lady Boy is the term used in Thailand.) They were siting on stools in front of a salon type of business or standing. Before I knew it I was asking them if they would like a piece of chocolate and showing with my hands what I meant because I didn’t know if they knew English. They looked at each other and then at me and with huge smiles, nodded yes. So one by one I pulled a chocolate out of my bag and smiled real big and looked into each person’s eyes as I gave them their gift. Earlier I told the girls that I wasn’t super comfortable going to the red light district because I didn’t know what I would say if I had the opportunity to talk with a prostitute. While I handed out the candy I would say to each one with my biggest smile, “Happy New Year!” If I knew Thai I would have said, “God bless you, friend!” but since I do not know Thai, “Happy New Year” became my “God bless you, friend”. Sometimes we do not have the words to say, but we can give a gift. They were so excited for their chocolate. As I walked away, I felt like God was saying, “keep looking for those that never get to receive but always have to give.”
After this initial experience I became very comfortable in the red light district and my heart was so full of compassion. I gave chocolate to street vendors, kids, a security guard that looked so bored (he did not know what to make of me and my chocolate giving ways), a tuk-tuk driver, and many more. There was a row of three older prostitutes sitting together. They were not talking, but were sitting very close together. You could tell that they were good friends and leaned on each other for support. They also looked very sad. When I got up closer to them I could see that they had passed their “prime” in this industry. When I showed them the chocolate they smiled so big. I looked into each of their eyes and said, “Happy New Year” as I gave them my small gift. Their eyes smiled back and as I was leaving I could hear them talking. My other favorite recipient was the worker at the sky train. We were not quite sure where to go and he was so helpful. After he was done showing us where to go, I gave him a piece of chocolate as a thank you. He smiled so big! He was so excited for the small gift. I am going to remember his smile for a long time. I am going to remember all the smiles for the rest of my life and how a little bit of compassion can go a long way.
If you think about the life of a prostitute all they do is give and give and give. Rarely does anyone ask, “How are you?” or really care about who they are as a person. I wonder how often people look them in their eyes, really look into their eyes. When I looked into their eyes all I felt was love. I know love was pouring out of my eyes and smile, and I can thank Jesus for that.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 2 Corinthians 3-4
