Coss Posted August 7, 2012 Report Share Posted August 7, 2012 Admittedly a little old, but what a good story!..... US missionaries target a tough sell: Bangkok bar girls Aiming to convert bar girls in Bangkok's most notorious red-lights districts, an American couple has spent more than 335,000 baht in bar finesBy Richard S. Ehrlich 22 September, 2009Nana Entertainment Plaza includes these outdoor bars, plus three floors of indoor bars.American evangelical missionaries have paid more than 335,000 baht to Bangkok's red-light bars to take out 500 Buddhist prostitutes, tell them about Jesus and offer them free shelter, food, education and money to escape the sex industry. "We do go into the bars," says Bonita Thompson, founder of the Home of New Beginnings, a residence located in a three-story building on the same street as raunchy Nana Entertainment Plaza, where more than 1,000 bar girls work. "We bought a girl out who was 15. Many people think there are no under-age girls in the bars." Bonita Thompson was an elementary school teacher for 30 years back in the U.S. The red-lights bars catering to mostly foreigners in Thailand demand a "bar fine" of 600 to 1,000 baht if a customer takes out a girl, because that removes one of the bar's lures. The customer and the woman arrange a separate fee for their tryst. "We do an outreach a couple of nights a week, at least. If there is a girl that is especially interested, we pay the bar fine, bring her back to the house and give her some information about the opportunities that are available for her there." When asked how many separate bar fines the missionaries have paid, Bonita replies: "Five hundred at least because, just for our two Christmas parties we had 300 [bar girls]. It was 100 one year, and 200 the next." 'We don't want her for sex'They also paid at least 100 bar fines so prostitutes could enjoy a "Valentine party, birthday party, my birthday party, parties here, just party-party. No theme except 'We love you, won't you come and have a good time with us?'" Additional bar fines on other occasions allowed them to hold private conversations, she says. Bonita, born in Salem, Oregon in 1946, and her husband Roy Thompson, born in Carlyle, Texas in 1935, came to Bangkok about five years ago from Pleasanton, in Northern California, where she taught elementary school for 30 years and was a principal for six. "I am one of three members of the leadership team at the Home of New Beginnings," Bonita says, introducing two Thai women. She opened the facility in February 2006. Most of the customers who come in are obviously not female, so we stand out a little bit. — Bonita ThompsonAfter trying to entice "probably a thousand" girls in various bars, 25 prostitutes agreed to live in the shelter and end their sex work, she explains. An additional 10 reside there now. "The girls that we reach out to are girls who are in the industry that appeals to Western and Japanese men," says Bonita. "The bars are owned by multiple nationalities -- many Europeans, Thais, a few from the U.S. If you, as a customer, came into a bar and chose one of the girls for sex, you would tell the mama-san what number you wanted, because the girls wear a little button with a number on it, which identifies them. So the customer doesn't even need to know their name, which gives you a little bit of an idea about the objectification of these girls. "We are very clear that we do not want her for sex, because some of the girls -- even though it's not primarily the gay section -- will take female customers. Most of the customers who come in are obviously not female, so we stand out a little bit," the graying, bespectacled American said. A challenging conversion processBar owners receiving the money usually do not know that the girl will be told about Jesus. Roy Thompson says websites identifying him as a "reverend" are misleading. "Most of the time they do not know -- or care, because they are getting their bar fine one way or the other." The missionaries offer prostitutes a bed in a shared room at their clean, modern residence, plus a weekly stipend of 800 baht, English language and bible classes, vocational training, health care, food, public school and university sponsorship, and other support. Most prostitutes decline their offer, or say they are too burdened by debt to accept. Of Thailand's 65 million people, 95 percent are Buddhist, and less than one percent are Christian. The Thompsons, however, believe in creationism instead of Darwin, and that Jesus offered unconditional "love and forgiveness." But Buddhism does not, say the Thompsons. Most women who stay with the missionaries eventually believe in Jesus. Thai-only bars off limitsSix were baptized, including a few by Roy in their apartment's swimming pool. "They were girls that had accepted Jesus," he says. "I am an evangelical, yes," Roy admits. But websites identifying him as a "reverend" are misleading. "I never call myself a reverend. I don't think it is a legitimate title for me." Asked if he was a "missionary for Jesus," he replies: "Right." Bonita agrees she is also a missionary, but "in the best sense," and laments the "historical negativity" that word implies. She and her all-female Thai staff, including female American interns, "go bar-hopping" only in upmarket venues where foreigners cruise. She fears bars and brothels packed only with Thais. "It is not as safe for us to go into those much more clandestine situations, [because] there could be some repercussions." Overseas support from U.S. church groupsFinancing comes "from individuals and churches, and we have a few funding grants or foundations," says Bonita, adding that annual expenses total over 3 million baht. Abundant Life Christian Fellowship, in Mountain View, California, "regularly supports" the Home of New Beginnings, according to its website, alcf.net. It asks the public for money for the prostitutes' Bible school and other activities and explains: "Two thousand dollars covers the bar fines for 100 girls, so they can attend the ministry's Christmas party." They are also supported by Palo Alto, California-based Peninsula Bible Church's pbc.org, plus Central Peninsula Church's cpcweb.org in Foster City, near San Mateo, California, among others. "Thailand is a key country in the trafficking and sexual exploitation that plagues our world. There are an estimated two million sex workers in Thailand," the Home of New Beginnings warns in a fundraising publication. "Sex tourism is promoted through cozy relationships between banks, hotels, and eateries, bringing a minimum of US$30 million dollars to the country each year." http://www.cnngo.com/bangkok/none/us-missionaries-target-tough-sell-bangkok-bar-girls-167479 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dexi Posted August 7, 2012 Report Share Posted August 7, 2012 What is it about Thailand that attracts these people Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunsanuk Posted August 7, 2012 Report Share Posted August 7, 2012 Hi, "There are an estimated two million sex workers in Thailand" And here we go again. That is about 1 in 17 of ALL women in Thailand. Just does not add up, but of course the number is thrown into the article without any facts to back it up. Oh, and why the fuck do these religious wankers feel that they have the right to fuck with these girls' minds? Have they even considered that their brainwashing may very well ostracize these girls from their families? Sanuk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekong Posted August 7, 2012 Report Share Posted August 7, 2012 It's not just the 2 Million Sex workers figure that is skewed but also the US$ 30 Million per year. So that means that each sex worker earns US$ 15 each per annum which equates to 465 Baht each yeah right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamui Posted August 7, 2012 Report Share Posted August 7, 2012 It's not just the 2 Million Sex workers figure that is skewed but also the US$ 30 Million per year. So that means that each sex worker earns US$ 15 each per annum which equates to 465 Baht each yeah right. And 1.000 THB bar fine in Nana? Anyway, the article is very telling: They go for the most easiest targets. The couple doesn't go to places were women might be in real trouble like Thai only brothels with Burmese or Laotian women who are kept there without a passport, e.g.. Also the article doesn't mention the fact that many (most?) of those "saved" women will return to the trade after a while. Which means they put a lot of work, manpower and almost probably donations from the US in a project with an extremely low success rate. PS: I wonder if they are still there.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horneytorney Posted August 7, 2012 Report Share Posted August 7, 2012 It's not just the 2 Million Sex workers figure that is skewed but also the US$ 30 Million per year. So that means that each sex worker earns US$ 15 each per annum which equates to 465 Baht each yeah right. hairsplitting again, Kong? so what is your estimate then? you usually know everything! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horneytorney Posted August 7, 2012 Report Share Posted August 7, 2012 And 1.000 THB bar fine in Nana? isn't or wasn't there a early hour barfine of double amount or 1000 THB in some gogo's in Nana?? they barfined early as the evangelicals need to talk a lot and go early to bed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamui Posted August 7, 2012 Report Share Posted August 7, 2012 hairsplitting again, Kong? so what is your estimate then? you usually know everything! I don't think that Mekong is splitting hair. He simply pointed out how stupid the quoted numbers are (and how simple it is to prove it). Wikipedia lists estimates which differ by factor of 36: 2.800.000 sex workers (female, male, minors) 200.000 - 300.000 prostitutes 150.000 - 200.000 sex workers 76.000 - 77.000 adult prostitutes in registered establishments Estimates of the number of prostitutes vary widely and are subject to controversy. A 1974 study put the number of prostitutes at 500,000 to 700,000. A 2004 estimate by Dr. Nitet Tinnakul from Chulalongkorn University gives a total of 2.8 million sex workers, including 2 million women, 20,000 adult males and 800,000 minors under the age of 18.[5] One estimate published in 2003 placed the trade at US$ 4.3 billion per year or about three percent of the Thai economy.[6] It has been suggested for example that there may be as many as 10,000 prostitutes on Koh Samui alone, an island resort destination not usually associated with prostitution, and that at least 10% of tourist dollars may be spent on the sex trade.[7] According to a 2001 report by the World Health Organisation: "The most reliable suggestion is that there are between 150,000 and 200,000 sex workers."[8] A recent government survey found that there were 76,000 to 77,000 adult prostitutes in registered entertainment establishments; however, NGOs believed there were between 200,000 and 300,000 prostitutes.http://en.wikipedia....ion_in_Thailand Interestingly it seems that even the very basis of the statistics, the prostitutes being counted, are defined differently in every statistics. Not sex workers are prostitutes: A sex worker is a person who works in the sex industry.[1][2] The term is used in reference to all those in all areas of the sex industry including those who provide direct sexual services as well as the staff of such industries. Wikipedia Also it seems that some NGO's seem to have a major interest to paint a situation as bad as possible and to use highly inflated numbers for their projects. And many journalist never challenge the wrong numbers. Here is a fine example (Kenya) how the number game works: The missing millions of Kibera Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YimSiam Posted August 7, 2012 Report Share Posted August 7, 2012 Thanks Coss for the post. Silly farang... but hey, whatever gets you off, right?! Everyone's happy -- what's the chances that the "i'm not a reverend" guy is getting it on with kids in some shady Chinatown brothel... or his own shelter. Pretty good odds, I'd guess. They do have a chance with the Thai girls, though, and I've got the proof: there's three kinds of orgasm in Thailand... First, the standard Buddhist orgasm: "Oh my Buddha, yes yes..." Then there's the far less common Christian orgasm: "Oh God, fuck me, Oh Jesus, yes yes..." Then, common amongst bargirls, is the fake orgasm: "Coss, oh Coss, yes yes..." ... YimSiam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coss Posted August 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2012 Or more correctly - "Coss, oh Coss, yes yes..."<br style is everything="color: rgb(36, 24, 34); font-looks fine, very fine: tahoma, arial that's your name arial?, verdana, sans-serif; sans knickers, sans viagra font-size: 14px; line-height: Condoms in the drawer 21px; background-color: backdoor? sure? rgb(254, 253, 237); "><br style, on top?="color: rgb(74, 74, 74); font-family: tahoma, Oh Tahoma! arial, verdana verdana verdana verdana verdana verdana verdana verdana verdana you verdana!, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: Kaboom 21px; background-color: rgb(254, 253, 237); ">...<br style="color: rgb(74, 74, 74); let's start a -family: tahoma, arial, verdana, sans-serif; font, -call that a font?: 14px; line-height: put me down, please put me down 21px; background-color: rgb(254, 253, 237);oh it's too late I've come...."> So it's you that listens at my door ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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