Known for its many beautiful beaches, Patong is one of the most touristy cities in Thailand, located on the island of Phuket. During the day, you can see hundreds of people walking around, enjoying the sun and water and shopping. At night, the neon lights come on and sex drives this city.
There is a street here where there are over 200 bars and erotic clubs. Women wearing barely any clothing are dancing on poles on just about every bar, many with lifeless expressions on their faces. Some have numbers pinned to their chests so that a man can pick her out if he wants her. There is even a bar here that raffles a woman off each night. The majority of the women who work at the bars don’t even get paid to work there. The bar owner gives them a place to live and food to eat. The only way they make money is by the commission off of an expensive drink, or if they “go” with a customer. Men can buy a bar girl for the night or up to weeks at a time. The majority of the bar girls come from poorer towns in the east of Thailand, in hopes of earning money to send back to their families. Since most of them are uneducated beyond grade eight, many do not see any other options but to sell themselves.
alone on bangla road. from ashley higgins on Vimeo.
But there is something else.
This month we are working with an organization called SHE (Self Help and Empowerment). It is a Christian organization that takes in women who want to get out of the bars and offers them another choice. They teach the women how to make jewelry or bake and also offer hotel hospitality training along with English lessons, among other things. All while still giving them a salary so they can stop working in the bars. Some who have gone through the program have even opened up their own businesses. Most of all, it tells these women that they are worth so much more than what a man will pay for them for a night.
Each night from 9-11:30pm, my team and I go out and hang at the bars. We meet the girls working there and get to know them. We ask them about their families and what they would do if they could do anything in the world. We laugh with them. Sometimes they cry with us. One new friend told me that in the four months she’s worked there, we are the first girls to just sit with her and talk. My heart broke for her. We ask them if they enjoy working there. 98% of them tell us they hate it. We tell them they are beautiful and they have value. And we share with them about what SHE does and invite them to check it out. Some are hesitant, while others are curious. I know that even for some, even if they reject us, will be thinking about SHE for months.
This month is the most out of my element I’ve been since being on the Race. How can I relate to a prostitute? But God is showing me that we are the same. Many of them are even my same age. They are daughters of the King, just like me. Jesus doesn’t see them as prostitutes. He sees them as princesses. He wants to redeem them and He wants to see them happy. And you know what, I don’t see them as prostitutes either. I see them as my friends. Beautiful, beautiful friends.
