I’ve been working on this post for several days, writing and deleting, rewriting and deleting again. I’m struggling to be real about what I saw and also keep this blog family friendly. So I guess I’m putting this out there with a warning that this post is a bit graphic. Read it or don’t, but the facts remain the same.
I wrote a little about Pattaya here, but was so overwhelmed I couldn’t begin to put my thoughts in writing. I’ve had a little time to process, so here’s another attempt.
We met as a team and read through Ephesians 6 before hitting the streets. After putting on our spiritual armor and praying together, we listened to the song “God of this City” which was written in Pattaya several years ago. You can listen to the song here and read more about the amazing history of that song here.
Tom led us to Walking Street, a pedestrian street lined on both sides with bars and brothels. The girls on our team took on the role of protecting our men, surrounding Tom and Bryant so they wouldn’t be accosted. Girls selling themselves were hanging everywhere on the street in front of the bars, dressed in almost nothing, dancing to the beat of music so loud I couldn’t hear myself think. Just a quick glance around revealed pole dancers, bare breasts, short skirts, and men. So many men, drinking beer and watching the show with more enthusiasm than the most raucous super bowl party.
One time I had to step out of the way as a woman lunged at a man in front of me, luring him into a bar. Another time I heard a woman negotiating with a man, “40 Baht for Boom Boom” she said, selling herself to him for $1.25.
One of the hardest things for me was watching old men (all westerners), hooking up with the beautiful Thai girls on the streets. A man strutting through the crowd with a young Thai girl on his arm, as if he had scored a trophy. One image that will forever be burned into my memory: I watched an old man lean down and kiss the top of his girl’s head. It wasn’t a passionate kiss, but rather a sweet, familiar kiss. The kind shared casually between a husband and wife, or maybe a father and his young daughter. But in this case, the man leaned down to give her this kiss and I watched the girl turn away in disgust, her eyes averted. I stood there and watched that unfold and I actually groaned out loud, the scene too difficult to watch. I wanted to holler at that man, “DON’T FOOL YOURSELF! SHE DOESN’T WANT YOU! SHE NEEDS YOUR MONEY! SHE WILL NEVER LOVE YOU!”
Even though these girls were older and of legal age to be engaging in prostitution, the scene was still so hard to take in. I have to believe that despite the fact that these girls “chose” this lifestyle, it’s not what they really want to be doing.
After about an hour of walking around, we stopped at the boardwalk away from the crowd so we could take a deep breath and discuss what we had just seen. Rats scurried in the garbage just a few feet away from us. I sat with a Thai girl on my left and I watched as the men walking by boldly eyed her up like a piece of meat. Tom sat on my right, pointing out the lady-boys: men dressed as women engaging in prostitution in this sin laden environment. I watched two officers lead a drunken man back to his hotel. He had passed out on the street and needed to be led like a child back to his room.
We debriefed for a few moments before walking back into the crowd again. This time I was struck by the young families walking the street. Moms and Dads with their young children strolling along as if they were spending a day at Disney. I watched a 3 year old girl dancing in a bar, my stomach sickened by the sight.
As you can imagine, pictures of this scene would not be appropriate to post. I did find a few, however, taken by Tom’s wife on another Destiny Rescue trip that will give you a little taste of the scene:
The flashing neon signs, the nudity, the in-your-face-ness of it all. Once again, I find myself lost as I process it all. I know what I saw. If only I knew what could be done about it.
Edited to add: Someone sent me this video which is an interview with Bluetree, the group that wrote God of this City. Really good!
One of the saddest parts about life in big cities everywhere. It makes me sad and ashamed for my adopted country! I have so much rage and disgust at the men involved- it’s so hard for me to feel the love of Jesus toward them. I pray for freedom for these women and first of all for the desire to be free! Jesus, shine your light and your grace in these dark places and help us do whatever small thing we can to stand against it!
I love the song “God of this City”, but I didn’t know the story behind it until now, and it makes my spirit cry out to God for these girls. I listened to the song again after reading how it came to be and the tears spilled over as I imagined the scene, and what these girls put them selves through and how it must make them feel about themselves. God be their rescue!!!