December 12, 2011
Inside the Fight for Freedom, Part II: The Girls of the Red Light Districts
Johanna Calfee
Hope. A word so hard to define for the ladies of Bangkok. For a girl who is forced to sell her bodies, often multiple times a day … what hope does she have? She is degraded, dehumanized, jeered and barked at on stage (some of our team actually witnessed this last night at Nana Plaza) and made to feel that she is nothing more than a soulless body, designed only for someone else’s pleasure. When you boil down what her existence looks like–hollow and haunted–it is hard to imagine what must keep her going, day after day, night after night.
Some find a measure of comfort through religious rituals, like the girl above who is praying and giving a drink offering to a Buddhist alter before going into work. However, for most of these enslaved girls, their greatest hope–apart from Christ–lies in their death. Only then will the pain of life as a sex slave be relieved.
But even in the face of despair, there is hope….tremendous hope. I’ve seen it in the 16 girls who now call Beginnings home. These girls who each glow bright with their own Resurrection story. They are the reason we do what we do–to see more like them, once abused, neglected and enslaved–come to freedom, a new life and yes, even to hope.
In the meantime, however, the challenge ahead is a huge one. Let these photos of just a few of the girls and women within this massive industry soak in. This is the heart of Freedom 4/24. This is also for whom we must fight.
***For the complete blog post including images, go to calfeesinthailand.wordpress.com
Monday, December 12, 2011
Inside the Fight for Freedom, Part 1
December 11, 2011
Inside the Fight for Freedom, Part I: The Sex Industry
Johanna Calfee
*The content that follows is somewhat graphic, and not appropriate for children. You have been properly warned. Now, get ready to get mad and motivated.*
When most people think of the sex industry in America, they usually think of the rampantness of pornography, or the sexualization of women through billboards, the media and the like. We often demonize the television, the computer, or the music we listen to as the source of the problem. It is easy to blame an object. It’s much more difficult to admit the true source: darkness through people and spiritual forces at work together (yeah, I went there).
In Bangkok, to say the sex industry is in your face is an understatement. It plasters itself all over every surface imaginable, in this case, in the form of a semi-nude photo behind a bar in Nana Plaza.
It walks the streets at 9 a.m. in the morning on Soi 4, looking for money to feed her family.
It mascarades openly as an old, Western man holding the hand of a young, Thai girl.
It flaunts itself in the form of scantly dressed women who litter the entrance to the red light districts.
And it provides a main source of income to the countless number of street vendors who display tables and tables of items to enhance and pervert the already twisted sexual experience that men (and even some women) seek in Thailand.
Everywhere you look, the sex industry blankets Bangkok in its sludge, from dusk til dawn. At 8 a.m. on any given day, a Western man like the one below is asking a Thai girl for her number so he can meet up with her later.
At 10 a.m., the girls at the pool bars and massage parlors sit outside, bored and waiting on their first customer to show up. For them, work will not be through until 7 p.m. or later, when the next shift of 7 p.m. to 4 a.m. girls comes in to “relieve” them of their daily duties. (Hey buddy, you are so busted…)
By 6:30 p.m., the dinner crowd is starting to transition into the red light crowd. The bars are starting to fill. The girls are starting to dance. Drinks flow. Clothes become scarce. Men ogle, grope and choose a girl for the night, or at least the next hour, by the number she is wearing. With each suggestive move, a girl is victimized. And it’s almost always against her will.
Listen, it may not seem like it, but I’m being tame here. If I could take you inside the bars, where these girls dance like robots–cold, stiff and emotionless–or force your eyes open by the horror of watching one of them being beckoned off stage by an 80-year-old, tattooed ex-military sleeze looking to relive his glory days, I would take you in a second. That’s the only way to truly get kicked in the gut by the pervasive darkness here, vaguely masked by Vegas lighting and head-throbbing music. It hangs heavy as the humidity here, always oppressive, never relenting, even when it’s soaked by torrential rain or sprayed down with a water hose, like the streets of the red lights districts are by day.
As if to give galactic confirmation to everything we were seeing and experiencing last night, even the moon fell dark. The sight of this lunar eclipse seemed appropriate amidst the red light district of Soi Cowboy–one of the darkest, yet most brightly lit place I’ve ever seen.
If all of this makes you uncomfortable (minus the moon), good–that’s the point. And we are just getting started. Next up–Part II: The Girls of the Red Light Districts.
****For the complete post including images, go to www.calfeesinthailand.wordpress.com
Inside the Fight for Freedom, Part I: The Sex Industry
Johanna Calfee
*The content that follows is somewhat graphic, and not appropriate for children. You have been properly warned. Now, get ready to get mad and motivated.*
When most people think of the sex industry in America, they usually think of the rampantness of pornography, or the sexualization of women through billboards, the media and the like. We often demonize the television, the computer, or the music we listen to as the source of the problem. It is easy to blame an object. It’s much more difficult to admit the true source: darkness through people and spiritual forces at work together (yeah, I went there).
In Bangkok, to say the sex industry is in your face is an understatement. It plasters itself all over every surface imaginable, in this case, in the form of a semi-nude photo behind a bar in Nana Plaza.
It walks the streets at 9 a.m. in the morning on Soi 4, looking for money to feed her family.
It mascarades openly as an old, Western man holding the hand of a young, Thai girl.
It flaunts itself in the form of scantly dressed women who litter the entrance to the red light districts.
And it provides a main source of income to the countless number of street vendors who display tables and tables of items to enhance and pervert the already twisted sexual experience that men (and even some women) seek in Thailand.
Everywhere you look, the sex industry blankets Bangkok in its sludge, from dusk til dawn. At 8 a.m. on any given day, a Western man like the one below is asking a Thai girl for her number so he can meet up with her later.
At 10 a.m., the girls at the pool bars and massage parlors sit outside, bored and waiting on their first customer to show up. For them, work will not be through until 7 p.m. or later, when the next shift of 7 p.m. to 4 a.m. girls comes in to “relieve” them of their daily duties. (Hey buddy, you are so busted…)
By 6:30 p.m., the dinner crowd is starting to transition into the red light crowd. The bars are starting to fill. The girls are starting to dance. Drinks flow. Clothes become scarce. Men ogle, grope and choose a girl for the night, or at least the next hour, by the number she is wearing. With each suggestive move, a girl is victimized. And it’s almost always against her will.
Listen, it may not seem like it, but I’m being tame here. If I could take you inside the bars, where these girls dance like robots–cold, stiff and emotionless–or force your eyes open by the horror of watching one of them being beckoned off stage by an 80-year-old, tattooed ex-military sleeze looking to relive his glory days, I would take you in a second. That’s the only way to truly get kicked in the gut by the pervasive darkness here, vaguely masked by Vegas lighting and head-throbbing music. It hangs heavy as the humidity here, always oppressive, never relenting, even when it’s soaked by torrential rain or sprayed down with a water hose, like the streets of the red lights districts are by day.
As if to give galactic confirmation to everything we were seeing and experiencing last night, even the moon fell dark. The sight of this lunar eclipse seemed appropriate amidst the red light district of Soi Cowboy–one of the darkest, yet most brightly lit place I’ve ever seen.
If all of this makes you uncomfortable (minus the moon), good–that’s the point. And we are just getting started. Next up–Part II: The Girls of the Red Light Districts.
****For the complete post including images, go to www.calfeesinthailand.wordpress.com
Stop the Sun
December 11, 2011
Stop the Sun
(Johanna Calfee)
How ugly the exposure of light can be.
It’s hard to imagine a place more filthy than Nana Plaza by night. But, it is in the glare of daylight that it reveals its true grit. Abandoned and silent, the sun’s rays show the red light district’s filth, engrained down to the drywall.
The religious shrine that sits in front of the spread of Go-Go bars is part of the sick irony of a culture of people who sell their daughters in order to elevate their sons. A culture that declares prostitution “illegal,” yet turns its head to the realities of two very profitable, very tourist-driven red light districts. A culture that celebrates “Christmas” at every turn, yet neglects the teachings of a loving, freeing Christ.
It’s been said that darkness comes before the light. But light can only make itself known in the midst of darkness. Perhaps that is why Nana Plaza by day gives the illusion of hope despite of its best efforts.
In Joshua 10, God make the sun stand still to drive out the darkness until the enemies of Israel, the Amorites, could be defeated by Joshua’s army:
3 So the sun stood still,
and the moon stopped,
till the nation avenged itself on its enemies,
as it is written in the Book of Jashar.
The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. 14 There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the LORD listened to a human being. Surely the LORD was fighting for Israel!
My prayer is that God will listen once again to a human–the ones who are rising up to fight against the injustice of sexual slavery and exploitation. May He “stop the sun” until this nation of Thailand, and those who love the least of its people, can avenge its enemies. Then and only then will the true light remain, along with the hope of a new day for those who know no other existence than one filled with artificial light meant to temporarily illuminate and distort the darkness.
God, stop the sun for these girls; these precious girls that were created to be your daughters.
****To see full blog post with images, go to www.calfeesinthailand.wordpress.com
Stop the Sun
(Johanna Calfee)
How ugly the exposure of light can be.
It’s hard to imagine a place more filthy than Nana Plaza by night. But, it is in the glare of daylight that it reveals its true grit. Abandoned and silent, the sun’s rays show the red light district’s filth, engrained down to the drywall.
The religious shrine that sits in front of the spread of Go-Go bars is part of the sick irony of a culture of people who sell their daughters in order to elevate their sons. A culture that declares prostitution “illegal,” yet turns its head to the realities of two very profitable, very tourist-driven red light districts. A culture that celebrates “Christmas” at every turn, yet neglects the teachings of a loving, freeing Christ.
It’s been said that darkness comes before the light. But light can only make itself known in the midst of darkness. Perhaps that is why Nana Plaza by day gives the illusion of hope despite of its best efforts.
In Joshua 10, God make the sun stand still to drive out the darkness until the enemies of Israel, the Amorites, could be defeated by Joshua’s army:
3 So the sun stood still,
and the moon stopped,
till the nation avenged itself on its enemies,
as it is written in the Book of Jashar.
The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. 14 There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the LORD listened to a human being. Surely the LORD was fighting for Israel!
My prayer is that God will listen once again to a human–the ones who are rising up to fight against the injustice of sexual slavery and exploitation. May He “stop the sun” until this nation of Thailand, and those who love the least of its people, can avenge its enemies. Then and only then will the true light remain, along with the hope of a new day for those who know no other existence than one filled with artificial light meant to temporarily illuminate and distort the darkness.
God, stop the sun for these girls; these precious girls that were created to be your daughters.
****To see full blog post with images, go to www.calfeesinthailand.wordpress.com
December 10, 2011 (Johanna Calfee)
Make no mistake, my friend. No one would choose the life of the girls I saw in the bars tonight. But for them, there is no choice in the matter (there by force) or no other choice (there by force of parents or poverty). The next time you think you’re life is unfair, shut your privileged American mouth and take a good look at this picture of a girl sitting outside a massage parlor, awaiting her first customer. And yes, it is that kind of massage parlor.
So, yeah, tonight I’m straight out of the red light district for the first time this go round, and I’m mad…really mad. Our lives, with all of their freedoms, are so, so good, even when they aren’t perfect. Any one of the hundreds of girls I saw at Soi Cowboy would gladly trade with you. But that’s not a choice they will likely ever get to make. I can only hope we can break through to a few, who will fight and/or flee for their freedom.
Make no mistake, my friend. No one would choose the life of the girls I saw in the bars tonight. But for them, there is no choice in the matter (there by force) or no other choice (there by force of parents or poverty). The next time you think you’re life is unfair, shut your privileged American mouth and take a good look at this picture of a girl sitting outside a massage parlor, awaiting her first customer. And yes, it is that kind of massage parlor.
So, yeah, tonight I’m straight out of the red light district for the first time this go round, and I’m mad…really mad. Our lives, with all of their freedoms, are so, so good, even when they aren’t perfect. Any one of the hundreds of girls I saw at Soi Cowboy would gladly trade with you. But that’s not a choice they will likely ever get to make. I can only hope we can break through to a few, who will fight and/or flee for their freedom.
Choose What Breaks Your Heart (Johanna)
December 10, 2011
Choose What Breaks Your Heart
I remember vividly something Freedom 4/24 founder, Christine Gelatt, told me about Bangkok before I came on the first trip with her back in 2009: “You have to choose what to let break your heart.” She is so right because just about everything here could tug at your heartstrings if you let it, rendering you ineffective in what you’ve come here to do.
For me, one large aspect of that battle against those darn heartstrings are the beggars here. They are on every street corner, shaking cups at you for money. Some use their kids to run up and tug at your clothes. Others rely on their literal cries for help.
Beggars come in all forms here. Some have lost limbs.
Others have been severely burned at some point in their lives.
While others still have just been dealt a bad card in life.
Even to the point that some beg all day in the streets, and when they become tired, lie down and sleep in the very same spot.
As if these visuals aren’t enough to make your stomach hurt, there’s this… a streetwalker waiting on a customer, next to a beggar waiting on a handout to pay for her next meal.
It is almost impossible not to feel the tug. But guarding your heart here means making a choice as to what will break it the most.
For us, that choice is simple: to allow our hearts to break for the girls and women here who are in sexual slavery.
Next up, a visual three-part series showing the massive fight we have ahead to make headway in tearing down the strongholds that exist in Thailand, and around the world, when it comes to the sexual exploitation of women.
For the complete blog post with images, go to www.calfeesinthailand.wordpress.com
Choose What Breaks Your Heart
I remember vividly something Freedom 4/24 founder, Christine Gelatt, told me about Bangkok before I came on the first trip with her back in 2009: “You have to choose what to let break your heart.” She is so right because just about everything here could tug at your heartstrings if you let it, rendering you ineffective in what you’ve come here to do.
For me, one large aspect of that battle against those darn heartstrings are the beggars here. They are on every street corner, shaking cups at you for money. Some use their kids to run up and tug at your clothes. Others rely on their literal cries for help.
Beggars come in all forms here. Some have lost limbs.
Others have been severely burned at some point in their lives.
While others still have just been dealt a bad card in life.
Even to the point that some beg all day in the streets, and when they become tired, lie down and sleep in the very same spot.
As if these visuals aren’t enough to make your stomach hurt, there’s this… a streetwalker waiting on a customer, next to a beggar waiting on a handout to pay for her next meal.
It is almost impossible not to feel the tug. But guarding your heart here means making a choice as to what will break it the most.
For us, that choice is simple: to allow our hearts to break for the girls and women here who are in sexual slavery.
Next up, a visual three-part series showing the massive fight we have ahead to make headway in tearing down the strongholds that exist in Thailand, and around the world, when it comes to the sexual exploitation of women.
For the complete blog post with images, go to www.calfeesinthailand.wordpress.com
Back in Bangkok
These posts are from the personal blog of Johanna Calfee (www.calfeesinthailand.wordpress.com)
And We Are….BACK!
After 24 hours of travel, our little team has been completely reunited and delivered safe and sound to Beginnings.
Last night, we finally arrived in Bangkok at around 2 a.m. local time (which is 2 p.m. in Lynchburg). Megan Smith, our team leader, proceeded to negotiate cab rides with us, which took a good 15 minutes. I was quickly reminded that no one here is in a hurry…we are officially on “Thai time.” Eventually, we were loaded up and whisked 20 minutes from the airport to Sukhumvit Soi 4, where Beginnings is located. Our taxi driver, like many men I know (side eye at my dad), proclaimed that he “knew shortcut” in broken English and started weaving us into the belly of Soi 4. Soon, we were spit out right in front of Nana Plaza, one of the largest red light districts in Bangkok that sits just blocks from Beginnings.
Anne, my poor taxi mate, got her first eyeful of a night in full session at Nana Plaza. The place was packed with Western men and Thai girls, spilling into the street like an overflowing toilet. Many were already “paired up” and leaving for their destination (most likely, a nearby hotel) but at 2 a.m., the night is still young here, and countless other girls in provocative attire lined every inch of the street and the bars, looking for customers. All the scenes, smells and memories of my last time in Bangkok were suddenly condensed in these few moments, which seemed to pass in slow motion, as our cab weaved through the crowds.
Indeed, nothing has changed for the women of Nana Plaza. In fact, by the looks of things, their unwilling masses have only grown.
Tonight, we will go back inside Nana Plaza for the first time this trip. Four women on our team will experience this underbelly for the first time ever. Please join us in praying that doors are opened, connections are made in spite of language barriers and we can tell many about the Christmas party.
And We Are….BACK!
After 24 hours of travel, our little team has been completely reunited and delivered safe and sound to Beginnings.
Last night, we finally arrived in Bangkok at around 2 a.m. local time (which is 2 p.m. in Lynchburg). Megan Smith, our team leader, proceeded to negotiate cab rides with us, which took a good 15 minutes. I was quickly reminded that no one here is in a hurry…we are officially on “Thai time.” Eventually, we were loaded up and whisked 20 minutes from the airport to Sukhumvit Soi 4, where Beginnings is located. Our taxi driver, like many men I know (side eye at my dad), proclaimed that he “knew shortcut” in broken English and started weaving us into the belly of Soi 4. Soon, we were spit out right in front of Nana Plaza, one of the largest red light districts in Bangkok that sits just blocks from Beginnings.
Anne, my poor taxi mate, got her first eyeful of a night in full session at Nana Plaza. The place was packed with Western men and Thai girls, spilling into the street like an overflowing toilet. Many were already “paired up” and leaving for their destination (most likely, a nearby hotel) but at 2 a.m., the night is still young here, and countless other girls in provocative attire lined every inch of the street and the bars, looking for customers. All the scenes, smells and memories of my last time in Bangkok were suddenly condensed in these few moments, which seemed to pass in slow motion, as our cab weaved through the crowds.
Indeed, nothing has changed for the women of Nana Plaza. In fact, by the looks of things, their unwilling masses have only grown.
Tonight, we will go back inside Nana Plaza for the first time this trip. Four women on our team will experience this underbelly for the first time ever. Please join us in praying that doors are opened, connections are made in spite of language barriers and we can tell many about the Christmas party.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)