Although I have wasted a lot of time as a refugee these past eight weeks, I was prompted a few weeks ago by a friend to do something a little more meaningful with my time. So, I decided to volunteer at a ministry here in Bangkok called NightLight which reaches out to women working the red light district. In order to make money, these women dance naked at night clubs and are rented for the night by foreign men. I suppose you could call it a 'choice' for some of the women-- the ones who believe, or who have been taught to believe, that there is no other option. But the reality for a great number of women is that they did not choose this vocation, nor do they have the ability to pick up and leave at any time. They are modern day slaves. Their time is not their own. They are bought and sold like any other good or service.
I plan to blog much more about this and about what I have come to know about the modern day global slave trade.
But for my present purposes, I have a photo for you. I took it on my second night of outreach in the bars. The bright neon signs are blinding, paradoxically acting as a veil to cover the darkness lurking just behind the doors they are situated above. Mind-numbing bass beats bump out of every doorway. It is an environment where darkness is disguised as red light.
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| red light. |
And yes, that is a Christmas tree.
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