Bar Girls: An offer they can’t refuse

May 15th, 2008

humanrightsbadge10.jpgAfter 9/11, Kevin was deployed for a few months to Thailand.1 He says one of the most disturbing things he saw there had nothing to do with the military operation.

It was the local watering hole and its female staff, young women known officially as “hostesses” and euphemistically as “bar girls.”

One look at Kevin’s uniform and these gals were on him like white on rice. When he demurred, they would always say, “Ah, you good man.” Which was immediately followed up with eyelash-batting and “I wish I had good man.”

Funny… until you realize that most of these girls were sold into their jobs by their own families, and that their nasty, brutish and short lives will most likely end with AIDs.

Human trafficking is very lucrative and thus epidemic in poor countries; Thailand is only one among many.

Most (70%) of the 600,000 to 820,000 people trafficked across international borders are women and children. Though they can be forced into everything from organ donation to religious cult membership, most are forced into prostitution. 2

And since most of the trafficking is done by organized crime, if the merchandise complains, they just make her an offer she can’t refuse.

But don’t go thinking this horror is all happening “over there.” An estimated 14,000 people are trafficked into the United States and 600-800 into Canada every year.3

I can’t believe that almost 150 years after Lincoln freed the slaves, people right here in my country are purchasing other human beings.

So every year, I donate to the Amnesty International campaign to end human trafficking, and today, I’m proud to join other bloggers as we Unite for Human Rights.

All of the non-governmental organizations below work to end the suffering. Act Uppity and donate. It may not seem like much, but I promise you — every little bit helps.

After all, if we don’t speak for the voiceless, who will?

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  1. For those who don’t know, Kevin is an Air Force reservist. And yes, he does make me call him “Major.” [↩]
  2. Source: Wikipedia. Because of the nature of trafficking, exact statistics are difficult to get. [↩]
  3. Source: Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery - Canada [↩]
Filed under Act Uppity, Human Rights |

3 Responses to “Bar Girls: An offer they can’t refuse”

  1. Unhinged on May 15, 2008 8:33 pm

    You probably won’t believe this, but the antagonist in my WIP is a human trafficker. I don’t know that much about it yet, so I thank you from the bottom of my too-flat feet for writing this post.

    It’s heartbreaking, and I’m going to write it as ugly as I can just to drive the point home.

  2. Uppity on May 17, 2008 7:09 pm

    You’re very welcome, U. I look forward to reading your book!

  3. Dave Donelson on May 18, 2008 5:46 am

    Thanks for an informative post about an often-ignored obscenity.
    Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds

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