Father Heinz Part II

Yesterday was a long day. This post will be two sections so that I can explain the length of the day without having all the readers nod off. My mom has requested that my blog entries not be so sad! Lets give this one a shot...

Yesterday evening at 8 pm (after a 2 hour nap) Lindsay and I piled in David's truck with I HEART TEXAS on the back, typical Texans :-) . We were headed to meet Father Heinz again for a trip to Kamagayan- a low income area where women are sold as prostitutes (aka really ghetto red light district). When we entered we were let in by two "Barangay Guards" who monitor the people coming in an out so as to warn the pimps of the weekly police raids.

The neighborhood was complete mayhem. Children running around EVERYWHERE. They all wanted our blessing, wanted to know our names and lastly cookies. There were groups of men gambling with dice and coins and women loitering everywhere. Father Heinz is just as beloved in this neighborhood as the dump and knows nearly everyone by name and usually could share a bit about their story.

As we ventured further into the neighborhood it seemed as if we were entering a maze of huts- each one crowded with people, pets and babies. We saw many pregnant women and handed out flyers about Glory Reborn. Most of them were at least 5-6 mos and had received no prenatal care.

The women in the "back area" were marked as the cheaper women that local men would visit. The majority of the women and men had large scars on their arms from shooting up so many drugs. (Don't worry mom, I wore long sleeves, pants and closed toed shoes). Many of the women were so drugged up they could hardly speak and definitely could not stand. We also saw a few cross dressers- an interesting trend coming to Cebu City.

After distributing condoms and chatting with the children we headed to the front end, where women can entice foreign customers (most of whom are Korean). This area was more of the same but with less hidden back huts. The women were all very nice and talkative. They love to chat with Father Heinz and David and have immense respect for both of them. We met many girls who loved to call Lindsay, "Lindsay Lohan" and ask us about San Diego and if we knew their cousins in the US etc.

Next we experienced the true essence of the red light activity. A cab, or "runner", would slowly pull up and the pimps would clap their hands, whistle and all the girls would come out and line up in front of the headlights of the car. While fixing their hair and pursing their lips, one or several would be swept away and returned in an hour. The rate is 500 pesos/hour or 12 USD.

I spent most of my time staying very close to David and talking with little kids. Father Heinz warned us that these kids are actually "monsters" disguised as children. Most of them don't have living parents or their parents are too high on drugs to take care of them. This makes for a situation of absolute mayhem. The kids take care of each other and know exactly how to get what they want out of Father Heinz (which is generally cookies). Last night when they were begging for cookies finally he gave in and said "fine, sing a song for me and do a dance and I will give you cookies." A true testament to where they live, the children started dancing like pole dancers. They were busting out more provocative moves than I have ever seen (even in sweaty Blanchet high school dances!).

At the end of the night Lindsay, David and I walked back to the car discussing the logistics of trying to end sex trafficking. It is a loaded subject as most of the girls don't have many options if they try to leave. They are illiterate, have no skills and many are addicted to drugs. This job is the only one they are "qualified" for. Similar to the dump, it seems like these people don't stand a chance. If I were to return in ten or twenty or even fifty years it would probably look the same.

P.S. PICTURES TOMORROW! :-)