Innocence should not be bought.

Innocence should not be bought.

This second speech assignment garnered me "you're so emo" comments. Perhaps I am a little, but I thought it was an interesting branch of "sales", instead of talking about cats and milk and what not.

"Close your eyes.

Picture a girl lying on a rumpled bed, with her back towards you. She is slender, with soft black hair cascading down her shoulders. The shoulders heave once. Twice. And you realize that she is crying. A sob escapes and is promptly muffled as she turns her face into her pillow. Your heart breaks and you call out to her. She turns and looks at you with desperation and self-disgust in her almond shaped eyes. "Help me," they seemed to say. You notice that her right arm is chained to the bedpost. The door opens suddenly, and a man walks into the room. He walks to her and strokes her hair. And then, he unbuckles his belt. You watch, helpless, as the foreign monster forces himself upon her. Her cries of protest and anguish echo through the room.

What if I told you that she is only ten years old?
What if, I told you that she is the daughter you sold?

What I just described is not a pretty scene, but is unfortunately a common sight in Asia. More than half of the working prostitutes are under the age of 16, many of whom are barely even ten years old. While the majority of these poor children are girls, there are also boys as well.

While some willingly sell their bodies for money, many of these children are kidnapped and most are shockingly sold by their families. Because of extreme poverty, parents end up having to sell their children in exchange for just enough money to survive. This is usually about 350 to 600 dollars per transaction. Most parents are not aware that they are selling their children to become prostitutes. They rationalize that their children are given the chance to find work elsewhere, and to be fed and clothed how they cannot be at home. But of course this is not the case.

By the time the parents suspect that something is wrong, they don't have the resources to locate their children.

Most of these children end up being sold again to third-class brothels in the same poverty they thought they left, and end up being in debt to their pimp owners. They are made to service 15 to 30 men each day, and are on call 24 hours a day. Those who are uncooperative or try to retaliate are hit, whipped and tortured until they succumb. Each service session earns them about $3 to $4, and most of this money goes to paying off their debt to the brothel owners. In 1984, five young girls died when a Thai brothel caught fire. The reason why they never had a chance to make it? They were chained to their beds.

The most infamous region here in Asia is probably Thailand, and Pattaya and Bangkok are probably the hubs of the country's child prostitution. Many of the girls are from the small villages in Bangkok. In fact, so many of them are sold that some entire villages are devoid of young girls. Child prostitution is so rampant that in the 1990's, a travel brochure in England actually referred to the Thais as "Peter Pans - eternal children who have never grown up".

The patrons of the trade include locals, but many are child sex tourists. Some believe that young prostitutes are not infected with HIV, but the shocking truth is that a staggering 72.4% of them are. Some believe that having sex with a virgin will rejuvenate them. Some merely enjoy children. Whatever the motive is, these children are scarred for life, both physically and emotionally.

While governments and organizations like ECPAT, which means End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes, are working to eradicate child sex tourism, this sexual abuse of children is still rampant.

Close your eyes again.

Your stomach rumbles and constricts painfully. You are reminded again that you and your family haven't eaten in days. Your lips are dry and cracked, and you wish desperately for a sip of clean water. Look down at your seven year old daughter whose hand you hold in yours. In exchange for a bite to tame the hunger, will you sell her to the dark?"