stumbling through the alleys.

I wrote this entry early in our trip right after we walked the streets of Kolkata the first day… I wanted to go ahead and post it….

Chris really did an incredible job describing the streets of the redlight district. At this point it is still hard for me to wrap my mind and heart around what we saw. As Chris mentioned, it was a Monday night, before 9:00PM and it was packed. Annie (the co-founder and director of Freeset) mentioned that they estimate 20,000 purchases a night. That means, on average, that each woman works two men a night. First I think a little context of Kolkata must be laid down. The streets are madness. Driving is “survival of the fittest” the road is only marked by a median and then there is just honking and shoving in every inch of the oncoming lane. The road is shared by walkers, bikers, buses, taxis, little “autos” (a rickshaw type motor vehicle), motorcycles where men drive with their wives riding sidesaddle, with a 3 year old sitting on the handlebars. On the sidewalks people are walking, begging, working, crossing, eating, sleeping, buying food from street vendors, washing, relieving themselves… I think you get the picture. So amplify this normal street times ten as we walk through the district.

The district was surprisingly well lit by overhead streams of lights, or lamps. I can’t even describe to you the feeling that came over me when Annie mentioned that we are about to turn down the largest entrance to Sonagacchi (the largest most infamous red light district in Kolkata.) My stomach dropped. I took a deep breath in and grabbed Chris’ hand (which is not acceptable in the Hindi culture) and walked in. I can not even begin to describe the sight. Women literally stand in line waiting to be purchased. We all thought it was unusual that some of the girls were wearing western clothes (we found out later that those were the younger ones). It was unreal. The level of poverty was overwhelming. I wish I could say that I looked every woman in the eyes and smiled with the love of Christ, but it was difficult. Not that I didn’t love, but that it was so much to take in. Looking into their eyes felt so intimate that I had to look away. Then other times I just looked deep and smiled. Annie was incredible. She walked through the district like it was her back yard. (which it is, if you have not heard their story you MUST www.freesetglobal.com) She waved and said hello to women by name. The women that work at Freeset still live in the area. They now no longer sell their bodies, they can provide for their families another way (along with health insurance, savings account, and daycare services). she would sit down, grab their faces and tell them how beautiful they were. A couple of the women invited us into their homes. It was incredible to walk down those streets and see the difference between the workers, and the freeset women. The women working in the trade look void. Like they are not really there. But when you see a freeset woman she grabs you, invites you into her home, asks you to pray for her and insists on making us dinner. I can not describe the feeling of walking into a low ceiling building that is falling apart, stepping up dark stairs to the upper level of a brothel. Once we reached the second floor, we were greeted by a bright shining face. She invited us into her room that was the size of a small bathroom. She had it brightly decorated by fabric and posters. outside the door of her room she had one small burner where she was boiling rice and making Dahl. She asked us to pray for her because she was not feeling well, and then begged us to stay so she could feed us. She was so happy to have us in her home, she wanted to cook us dinner.

We then walked down dark alleys and dirty streets where rats scattered and street dogs all laid as if dead. Children would burst from doorways and start running hands held into the street laughing. women were in bright colored saris and wore read lipstick while they stood in doorways.

My heart stopped when one of the girls reached for a man in our group’s arm. We walked down an alley where we were told the women share rooms. It’s near the big pub in the area and the men pick up girls and they go to the back. I looked through a window and saw a woman in a bright purple and blue sari laying on her back on her bed. She was frozen, and alone. But I knew she was either waiting, or had just finished a job. I felt like I would vomit right there in the street. Who knows what was really going on but in that second I saw the reality of what the streets of Sonagacchi hold.

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It has been really overwhelming and difficult to process. At the same time it has been such joy. Incredible HOPE and light! I cannot even begin to describe what an honor it was to walk with Annie that night and the days to follow. She is one of the most inspiring women I have ever met. I am challenged by her love. Her life challenged the way I see faith, people, the poor, the lonely, the weary and the strong. I have seen love, peace, longsuffering, and many other parts of God. I am humbled to be on this incredible journey.

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