7:17 PM | Posted by samakomlao

Lao girls place hopes on bridge

Savannakhet _ Female sex workers here are hoping business improves after the second Thai-Lao friendship bridge linking Thailand's Mukdahan and this southern Lao border province opens for actual use next month. They believe the bridge will attract people from all over the world to their town, including the 84 nightspots where they work.

Even though prostitution is considered illegal in the country, some illiterate and poor Lao women have taken up the job because they lack other means to make an income.

An unofficial survey of health workers in this province found that around 300-400 Lao women are working as sex workers. Most are natives while some are from other nearby Lao provinces such as Vientiane, Khammoune and Borikhamxai. Many Vietnamese women are also here...more

Kaewmala Seehajit, a 30-year-old sex worker of Ban Phak Pathumporn Resort, has been in the trade for 10 years.

She is the breadwinner for her family that includes a seven-year-old daughter and aging parents.

''I have to work as a sex worker as I have no education and am poor,'' Mrs Kaewmala said.

She is among 25 sex workers at the resort, and earns about 1,500-2,000 baht a night.

Her income, she said, was not enough to cope with the rising cost of living.

''When the second Thai-Lao friendship bridge opens to the public next month I will have a chance to make money from more customers,'' she said.

Most customers were Thai and Lao truck drivers, businessmen and tourists. She occasionally went out with foreign tourists from western countries.

''Over the past few months the number of customers has dropped. Some nights I do not have even a single customer. I don't know what's happening to the province's tourism,'' she said.

Another sex worker at Dao Rung restaurant, Oui Chaiyawong, 28, said she was saving money to send to her parents in Vientiane.

''My parents are building a new house there,'' she said.

Oui has been working as a sex worker for three years. She makes 4,000-5,000 baht per night going out with at least two customers.

Suk Pangkaewmolee, 32, a madam at Rung Thip restaurant, said all sex workers under her care dreamed of making more money after the bridge opened.

She said many restaurants and resorts had been done up to welcome tourists who may visit or stop over en route to Vietnam via Highway No. 9, which cuts through the province.

However, the sex workers were concerned over the possible outbreak of sexual diseases, especially HIV/Aids. Many attended a workshop organised by Thai and Lao health officials and the Planned Parenthood Association of Thailand this week to learn how to protect themselves. Panom Phongmany, deputy director of Savannakhet Provincial Health Department, said sex workers must demand their customers use a condom.

by: ANUCHA CHAROENPO
Bangkokpost