环球英语—1200:Nightlight

Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Robin Basselin.
Voice 2
And I’m Ryan Geertsma. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 3
“I grew up in the country. I lived with my parents. I helped them in the fields. We were poor. When I was fifteen my family started to fall apart. My father drank alcohol a lot, but it became worse and worse. He started becoming violent. So, my mother, sister and I moved out.
I wanted to study to become a health worker. But I had to leave school when my parents separated. I found a job harvesting crops for a local farmer. I did not like the job. It paid only a small amount each day.
At about that same time my friend moved to Bangkok. When she returned for a visit she told me she was earning a lot of money. She said she was serving food. But, people in the village began talking. They said that she was doing something other than serving food.
My friend asked me to come to Bangkok with her to work. At that time I was too young and afraid. But a few years later I had given birth to a daughter. And my husband and I had separated. So, I changed my mind. I went to Bangkok.
I left my baby with my mother and told her I was going to earn money. But I did not tell my mother what I was doing for the money. I still have not told her. She would be so ashamed of me.”
Voice 1
This is the story of a Thai woman named Pim. She told the BBC how she became a sex worker in Bangkok. But then, Pim found a better life. A group called Nightlight gave her a better way to make money. Nightlight is a group that works with sex workers. Today’s Spotlight is on Nightlight.
Voice 2
Many women around the world are sex workers like Pim. Men pay them money for sex. Some women feel that it is the only way to make money. They often have no other way to support themselves and their families. And some sex workers are forced into this work. They are trafficked. People buy, sell and trade women. They use women as sex slaves.
Voice 1
The sex trade is now the second largest criminal money making industry in the world. The only larger illegal trade is in drugs. The United Nations says that at any time there are more than two and half million people that have been sold for sex.
Voice 2
Most women do not want to be sex workers. It is very dangerous. It is a world filled with shame, violence, and fear. Pim said:
Voice 3
“I wish I had never become a sex worker. Most of us have no choice. We are just trying to earn money for our families and waiting for the chance to leave.”
Voice 1
But what if women had another choice? This is what the group Nightlight provides in Thailand and the United States. Members of Nightlight understand that the life of a sex worker can be difficult and dangerous. They understand that most women would like to have a different life. Nightlight works in an area of Bangkok that has a growing sex business. Many women and children work in very poor conditions here. Their lives are very difficult.
Voice 2
That is why Nightlight works to take women away from selling sex. Nightlight helps women learn skills and start a new life. The group offers job training and education to sex workers. This helps women begin a new life in a safe job. These new skills help them provide for their families without feeling shame. For example, Pim now works making jewellery. People at Nightlight taught her this skill. Pim said,
Voice 3
“A friend of mine told me about Nightlight. Since I have started working for Nightlight, my life is so much better. I do not earn as much as I did in the bars, but it is worth it. And people here listen to me and care for me.”
Voice 1
Nightlight also teaches women about the risks of working in the sex industry. There are many diseases that sex workers often get. Nightlight provides health care for many women. The group wants to keep women free from disease. And to keep the women off of the streets, Nightlight provides shelter. The women may sleep in the shelter for safety.
Voice 2
But Nightlight does not only help sex workers to meet their physical needs. Nightlight also wants to help the women emotionally and spiritually. They teach that Jesus loves every person, no matter what she has done. This is the meaning behind the name “nightlight.” Sex workers live in a dark and dangerous world. Jesus brings light through forgiveness and hope. The women who were sex workers learn that they are not alone. Jesus is with them and he loves them.
Voice 1
And Nightlight also helps them in one more important way. The group also works in the community. The members educate the community about the sex industry. Many people do not even know that there is illegal sex trafficking. They do not know that people sell women. So, Nightlight teaches the community about this process. The group encourages the community to get involved in stopping the sex trade industry. Nightlight asks community members to pressure their governments to make new laws. Governments can help stop the trading of women.
Voice 2
Nightlight’s work is very difficult. But they believe that helping women in the sex industry is important work. The director of Nightlight is Annie Dieselberg. She has been doing this work for twenty years. She is able to do this work because she follows Jesus’ example. She told the Nightlight staff in the United States:
Voice 4
“What do you do when you have helped broken-hearted people over and over again? When they continue to fall back into destructive behaviors? You forgive them and show mercy and grace to them over and over again. Because God shows us mercy over and over again.”
Voice 1
The writers of this program were Rebecca Schipper and Rena Dam. The producer was Rena Dam. The voices you heard were from the United States*. All quotes were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight. You can listen to this program again, and read it, on the internet at www . radioenglish.net. This program is called ‘Nightlight.’
Voice 2
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