------------------UNDERNEATH THE SURFACE------------------ (Sex Trade Documentary)

8/8/09 (Sat) (4:30pm) Today we went and painted at an orphanage, whew was it hot! The kids were so cute, and quite the little helpers. I think I will be going back next week to help paint the murals. I almost thought I’d get heatstroke at one point, but I survived. The girls from TLC were there helping too, it was nice knowing that we were helping kids that REALLY needed it. 

While painting and planting the garden James told us that 24 girls were just rescued somewhere! It came as a shock to him, but it was really exciting. I don’t know the details, but praise God. I’m sure it wouldn’t happen this soon, but I thought it would be amazing if it was from that one horrible orphanage I visited. 

I miss my husband horribly! It feels like we haven’t spoken in days, but I think we actually talked briefly yesterday morning, but not for long. I sure wish he was here, it would make things a lot easier to handle, that’s for sure. I can’t believe I still have 2 whole weeks left. I’m excited, but most definitely can’t wait to see Kevie! 

So I found out that I can use my older non-HD camcorder even though a good majority of my footage is already HD, and it should be okay. I sure hope so. 

(Later on) Tonight James took Steph, Jen, & I to some bars where there were sex workers. I was both excited and nervous to get a chance to see what occurs in person. The first bar was small and not very impressive, with a lot of young Asian women sitting with old men laughing and touching. If I had happened upon the bar, not knowing what I do, I might have just thought it was a regular bar with older white men hitting on cute young Asian women. I guess there are rooms above the place where men will take the girls up to and have their way with them. James said that with talking to the girls over time he has found out that the freelancing girls/young women who work the bar have been more brutally treated up in the rooms then when they were in the brothels. There is no accountability for the men, no pimp to protect his property, so anything goes. There wasn’t much more to see, and we weren’t really talking to any girls, so we headed to the next location. 

The next place was more high-end, and the girls there actually worked for the bar. They had to make a certain amount of money, I forget, either every night, or every month to keep their job there. You have to be, or at least say you are, 18 to work at the bar. Immediately, young ladies/girls came up to us very jovial and smiling. They were adorable. We sat down at a booth and told a few girls that we would buy them some drinks. So they got our order and their drinks and came and sat down. James explained before we got there that that’s one way they make their money. We asked if we should be paying for their drinks, or if that would be encouraging the problem. He said that he thought of it this way, it’s better for me to pay for their drinks and talk with them, then for them to have to leave the bar and do God knows what with skanky old men. We agreed, so that’s exactly what we did.  

We really had a fun time. It’s hard to believe that they do what they do for a living. They all seem so young, sweet, and fun. They tease each other, and do a VERY good job at putting on a good face. Each of us paid for a girls drink and talked with them most of the night, but we all talked in a group. After awhile we sat outside and talked. The girl that I was with was hungry and covertly bought something from a boy on the street and got some for the other girls. I guess they aren’t allowed to have any outside food for some reason.  She offered some to me, telling me it was a tree ant. I looked into the little bag and wasn’t sure, but I did it. I was a bit scared and everyone laughed at my facial expression as I put a wad in my mouth. James was pretty proud that I had the guts to try it and so they all applauded me. It really wasn’t that bad, it tasted like sweet chilly flavored something. The texture was a bit odd, since it was all mashed up, but I had about four or five pinches of the stuff.  

I found out from the young woman that I was talking with that she was supposedly 24 years old, she had a 1 year old daughter, and shelived with her family of 10 (brothers, sisters, parents, etc). She only made about $60 a month working at the bar (but we know she never actually takes that money home). Somehow these women think they make all this money, when in actuality they never see much of it. They somehow believe they can’t make any better money somewhere else, so they are trapped. “My girl” said that she never leaves the bar when working, I’m not sure if that’s true or not, but I’d like to think it is. She told me about how she really wants to be a hairdresser, but there is no way she could afford the $300 for school. She loves to dance, sing Karaoke, and although she doesn’t think she is good at it, she likes to draw. She doesn’t get the chance to go out much, because she’s either working or with her baby girl.  

I guess it only takes $5 to have the girls for a night. I really wanted to pay her fee and take her out dancing. I seriously would have if it wasn’t for the fact that everyone else were party poopers. ;) Maybe before I leave. I desperately wish I could just giver her the $300 so that she could go through the schooling to do something else with her life. I wonder if she’d do it, even if someone else paid for it. We stayed there for hours, I don’t even know what time it was when we went to bed. Reflecting on it, Steph, Jen, & I admitted it was bitter sweet. We had an amazing time with all the girls, it was great knowing that we were keeping them from something worse, but it was sad to think that these beautiful girls with so much potential were so trapped. It was a great experience though, and nice to get so close to the girls that are doing what they are doing.