i've been away from geylang for a long-time. the last outreach was in february 2010. i think some new developments happened ever since. one such development was an article about migrant sex workers on special passes or social visit passes being abused by customers. YL and JG gave their take on the matter.
last night, me and 2 other volunteers able to converse in malay tried to approach the indonesian women. it was hard getting rejected but i was not that surprised. what i felt was that the women hang small plastic bags on the wired fences and this bag contain condoms. i guess they would leave that bag behind if the raids happened. it could look like a harmless piece of trash hung on a fence to the police officers.
the PRC women were ready to take the condoms. they spread the word amongst themselves too and each peered into our bags grabbing as much as they want. the women keep the condoms in a plastic bag too stashed away in a nearby green bush. i loved discovering these subtle hideouts which i think is a smart strategy to evade police officers who search their bags only to become suspicious of them when condoms are found.
i met with 3 bangladeshi women. there was a bangladeshi man who happens to be someone i know of. he used to work in singapore and got into employment disputes. but i felt suspicious because he seemed to know the women and may have been their caretaker or pimp. when i asked if he is friends with the women, he said that he lives nearby geylang and knows the women because they often come to him for help. i did not know if he was telling me everything. one of the women approached him and smeared his faced teasingly but he spoke in bengali to her sternly. well, i was not convinced of his presence there to be incidental.
The New Paper Article 2010-05-30
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