If you’ve heard of human trafficking then you know that it is modern-day slavery that takes women and children from their homes (either forcibly or under false pretense) and sells them into prostitution and other forced labor. It’s heinous and unjust, but is steadily spreading worldwide and has become a billion dollar industry. Some of the people in Thailand are trafficked into villages and cities to participate in the sex industry, and I would love to share more with you about their stories, but in this blog I want to highlight the women who are not trafficked but “choose” the lifestyle. I want you to understand their story.
Imagine growing up in a small, hill tribe village in Thailand. You live in a small house with your parents and several siblings. You wake to the rooster’s crow at 5:00 am and your entire family works in the rice fields or with the rubber trees until noon. Your family does this everyday for your entire life. The money you make is enough to cover basic food costs and sustain this lifestyle, but there’s little hope for anything more. Your future is sealed.
Then you hear word that you have the power to change this. There is a job waiting for you in the city. One where you can earn money for your family and help give them a better life. You can honor your mother and repay her for giving you life. You’ve heard of so many others who have gone into the profession. Your mother may even have done it. It seems like the thing to do—the only thing to do.
But here’s the catch….it’s prostitution.
Would you do it?
Many people would automatically proclaim, “No!” or “Of course not!” but when your reality is like the one described above, you may be slower to answer. You may see it as your only way out.
Many Thai women move from their villages and hill tribes to big cities like Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and Phuket with hopes of satisfying and honoring their family by making money. They end up in massage parlors, bars, and guesthouses that usually offer only one way of making this money: prostitution. They doll themselves up every night as they prepare to stand on street corners and call out to men in hopes of enticing their business. They live with a constant awareness of how many customers they can bring in and are closely watched by their managers. They stay awake late into the night and sleep until well after noon the next day. They wake up with a saddened heart and drink the rest of the day in hopes of numbing the pain and guilt of their actions. This is the life they live behind the scenes.
Signs outside the bars and massage parlors on Loi Kroh Rd in ChiangMai, Thailand.
But if you or I were to walk by them on the street, we’d think they had chosen to be there because they needed the money. If we dig deeper, however, we’ll see that it really wasn’t a choice. Honoring one’s family and fulfilling your duty is such a big part of Thai culture, that women will live this life for years while it may be killing them inside.
They may put on a pretty face and lovingly call you over, but none of them like it and none of them are happy to be there. Inside, they are really dying and if you look deep in their eyes, you will see the hopelessness. They have little hope of a better or even different future and they can’t see past their next night’s work.
They don’t know that there’s a man who loves them not because of what they will do for Him but simply because He made them and wants nothing but good for them. They don’t know that He will love them regardless of anything they have done or ever will do. They don’t know that He’s willing to take them back at any moment and His arms of comfort are always there. They don’t know that because they’re His daughters, they are worth something, or better yet, priceless.
They don’t know Jesus, and that is what broke my heart the most this month. Whenever I saw hurt, defeat, or hopelessness, I longed for them to know God so that He could take it all away. That is what we tried to do in our ministry as we went out each night and either prayed for these women or simply made friends with them. We attempted to love them just for who they were and hope that in this, they saw their worth outside of their “choices”. We wanted them to know that they are special to someone in this world and that goodness and hope do exist. As my team and I leave Thailand we continue to pray that these women would not only be delivered from the burden of supporting their family through prostitution, but that they would be set free to live in the love of God.
I ask that you join us in praying for the women who seem to “choose” prostitution but are really trapped in hopelessness, shame, and low self-esteem. Also pray for women and children who are sex trafficked involuntarily. If you would like to know more about them, I have provided links to some websites and a trailer for a documentary that was made.
UN Website on Human Trafficking
If you would like more information on the documentary Nefarious, please email me at: [email protected].
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