The reporter begins by telling a bit of background about red light districts and the people that "work" there. He says that most of the men visiting them expect the smiling girls urging them in to be volunteers. While that may be slightly true, most of them are drugged and beaten and forced to work there. Yes, we know this. I have read countless stories (and posted about them) about being forced to live and work in a brothel. But none of the stories I read went so far as to go inside the brothel. Maybe I have tapped into exactly why they havent.
One girl, Sina Vann, tells this reporter in detail just what happens.
First she goes through how she got there which was typical; being drugged and beaten and raped for a dollar amount. She said she "was beaten ferociously to force her to smile and act seductive."
"'My first phrase in Khmer,' the Cambodian language, 'was, ‘I want to sleep with
you,’ ' she said. 'My first phrase in English was' — well, it’s
unprintable"
Sina said that she would be taken down to a torture chameber if she didn't perform what was expected of her. She couldn't move at times because of the pain that was inflicted upon her. I dont know about you, but when I hear torture chamber, I think movies, TV, Hollywood, novels...etc. The whole nine yards really. Maybe the bed of nails in the corner, the thing that stretches the bodies out, the ropes, the chains--everything. Well, after reading this, I began to think that maybe Hollywood isnt far off.
The reporter wrote this about the torture chamber:
"As in many brothels, the torture of choice was electric shocks. Sina would be
tied down, doused in water and then prodded with wires running
from the 220-volt wall outlet. The jolt causes intense pain, sometimes
evacuation of the bladder and bowel — and even unconsciousness. "
As if this wasn't bad enough, it was then stated that most of the brothels used this shock tactic because it didnt scar the young prostitutes' beauty. Most of them would be put back to work soon after being tortured. While shock treatment is the most common form of torture, Sina said she would be stripped down and placed in a coffin full of biting ants after she had already been through the shocks. The coffin was dark and suffocating and would not allow for her to move her hands up to her face to brush the ants off. The only thing that kept them out of her eyes was her tears. Sometimes she would be kept in the coffin for a day or more.
Sina was rescued during a police raid set up by a former sex slave. Now, she helps to rescue girls, and her own daughter, from brothels. To show the reporter what she went through and what she faces, Sina took him to the red light district in Cambodia where a few brothels had been torn down, most of which had torture chambers underneath. Upon stepping foot in what had once attempted to take her life, she twinged and said, "'There must be many girls who died in those rooms.' She grew distressed and added: 'I’m cold and afraid. Tonight I won’t sleep.'”
Although its disgusting and stirs hearts, there is hope. For example, the organization Im working with...called Love146...is working towards the abolition of this torture. Be aware of it. I want you to be disgusted. What do we talk about when Monday comes around? Most likely the things that disturbed us about the weekend, the things that bothered us. So talk about Sina. Talk about her torture chamber. Be afraid. Anything that will stir you to do something...even if its just to tell your best friend. Thats enough. Plant a seed.
Ask me questions,
Lauren
Highland/Redlands Love146 Task Force
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