Yesterday lunchtime after having the Soya-bean cuisine at Geylang, my superior, Alpha, suggested driving and showing my Philippine colleague the Red Light District in Singapore at Geylang.  Since we were in his car we had to tag along with his agenda.

It was 1 pm in the afternoon while we drove along the Red Light District.  While driving he described the area like a professional tour guide.  I was wondering where he gathered the information, or was he one of the patrons who patronized such places.  I recalled he also shared with us when he visited Amsterdam, he also took a short walk around the Red Light District.  Why such places are so interesting for men?  Perhaps they have no guts to engage their services, they very much would like to admire the voluptuous ladies stood along the road to quench their desires and satisfy their lust in some ways.

As we drove along the streets we saw Thai, Chinese, Malay girls were standing.  While my colleagues were curiously asking questions, in silence I could not stop pitying the ladies. Somehow my guilty conscious curdling in my stomach, looking at them in the car as if watching tigers, lions, elephants, giraffes in the Africa Safari.  Alpha explained to us these ladies were holding social passes in order to stay in Singapore for just a couple of months.  After then they would have to go home or cross over to Malaysia so to stamp their passports at the Immigration.  Although they earn up to S$10,000 per month, in my opinion this huge sum of money to exchange their body, integrity and dignity is not easy earned money.  Once a woman falls into this trade, there is no turning back.  Not many ladies are as fortunate as Julie Robert starred in ‘Pretty Woman’, would meet Richard Gere, the rich guy and changed her life ever after.

In the car as Alpha mentioned the types of girls and services, the prices and their operating hours, the various ways of how people evaluate their services.  It is operated like a normal business.  How would this guy know so much about this business?  Is he somehow involved in the operation or engage their services? Obviously I dare not question, later over the conversation I realized he did a research over “Prostitution in Singapore”. He probably wanted to share his knowledge over the research, unknowing that his excitement revealed on his face was lust and pride.  He also told us that there was a guy, Samuel Leong, set up a website provide the reviews and profiles of these prostitutes.

How could people so numb about such operation?  Don’t they know it is humiliating to take it as a normal business?  As I pointed out, another colleague replied: “Stacy dear, prostitutes existed for more than 2000 years.  These women in such trade are discriminated ever since.  Hence nothing we can do about it”.  Came to this point, I kept myself quiet and rebuked within, “Then we should not even encourage by running through the street mocking, laughing and discussing in the car.”

It saddened me till I went back to the office.  Trying to forget my emotions and thoughts about what I saw, I soaked myself into my heavy workload.  Suddenly Alpha started to remind me about the incident.  “Look Stacy, as you know Jesus will return not just for the saints, He will come for the sinners like those prostitutes.”  I replied: “I do not really know who Jesus will bring up with Him when He returns, I just feel guilty and sad of just viewing but cannot change the situation.  I am no saint, not even near it.  The scene made me puke.  It is due to poverty the ladies forced to be into such trade.  On the other hand, we should not encourage or even mock in that way we just did.”  I wish to reserve my comments however as a woman in this century I felt insulted whereby I could not hold back anymore.