Tonight I met 10 Filipino girls whom I quickly
befriended. These girls are around my
age and we had a lot of fun laughing together, dancing around the room, and
exclaiming about our differences in noses and eye color and hair texture. 6 American girls. 10 Filipino girls. There are many differences between us and yet
so many similarities. The thought
continually ran through my mind that “these girls are just like me.”
Except for the fact that they are prostituted out each
afternoon and throughout the night.
I say prostituted because many of them don’t have a
choice. Most of these girls were sold by
their families for mere pocket change . It is considered their responsibility in
Filipino culture to provide clothing and food for their parents and college educations
for their brothers. They don’t have a
lot if any options for work as many of them are at a 4th grade
education. They sell their body for a
mere $500-$1000 pesos a night which is roughly ten-twenty American
dollars.
work. The girls sit in a mirrored room
all together where they do their hair and makeup in preparation for the
evening. Men come in, take a look at
their picture profiles and literally pick one off the menu. The sign on the door where the pimp sits
loudly declares “no refunds.”
I have so much fun with these girls that I almost forget the
sadness in their situation.
I ask one girl if she has a boyfriend and she looks down and
softly says, “I have a husband.”
A husband who allows her – maybe even forces her- to sell
her body in order to earn extra income for their family.
One of our guides, Angie, speaks their language in more ways
than just the Tagalog she uses in her conversations with them. She herself was once a victim of prostitution
who has met the Lord and is living a changed life. She hands out her business
card and begs the girls to call her if they are being hurt or abused.
The girls giggle nervously and pass around her card after
they write down her phone number and carefully tuck it away.
These girls are just
like me.
Except they have let go of hope. They aren’t informed that they have other options. They loudly proclaim “I am ugly” because they
haven’t been told they are beautiful. These girls have no idea that they were created to be loved, and valued, and cherished.
way to nicely package this blog. I will be working with prostituted girls this
entire month and I ask that you keep them in your prayers. This coming week we will be holding an info fair for victims of prostitution. We will have the opportunity to teach them limited English and computer skills, to help them dream and explore other lifestyle choices and job opportunities. My prayer is to build trust and relationship with these precious girls and to point them toward the hope found in Jesus Christ.
