We have come caross a multitude of characters in our lifetime. The ones we usually treat with disdain are the voyuers, perverted and chee ko pek, or leacherous, to the uninitiated. I mean, we sometimes look at criminals with a certain amount of caution, but lecherous old men are simply treated with disdain. Some have even gone as far as to distant themselves from relatives who are labelled as chee ko pek.
The low life amongst the low lifes. Yeap. that's how we treat them.
Having walked the back alleys of red light districts in our sunny island-nation, one thing strikes me, it's either the foreign workers or the chee ko peks and the occasional gawking young men who roam the streets. I can't fault the foreign workers. They do things that we don't want to do, ever. they leave their hometowns, some leave their wife and kids in order to earn more here to provide better for those they left behind.
Bereft of any sense of belonging here and away from their loved ones, most of them, young men, become lonely. Living in a dorm with other men as company, loneliness is a painful thing to live with. Let's face it, they are men, so the desire is there. It's either they start a relationship with another foreign worker, be it amongst them, God forbid, or a female domestic worker (read: maid) or they go to the back alleys and look for love for hire. Well, they are young men, by any standard, hormones raging and all, so it is forgivable, taking into consideration their circumstances.
What I can't fathom are the older local men who roam the very same streets. Most are grandfathers and some are living off their pensions and CPF money. Heck, some even depend on their children to give them money to satisfy their vicely cravings. Well, the children wouldn't know this dark secret. It wouldn't be so bad if these old men are single, widowers or divorcees. There are those who are still married. Whatever their reasons for visiting, or worse, frequenting such places, I doubt there are any reasons which society would willingly accept.
The recent news about seedy massage parlours offering dubious health massages only reinforced the public's disdain towards such businesses. I pity those who offer professional massages who will undoubtedly have a poorer reputation, no thanks in large measures to their seedy cousins. One question that has to be raised is why is it that these seedy business are cropping up like mushroom after heavy rain. Well, as the old business adage goes, where there is demand, there will be supply.
Wonder who could be driving the demand up where you seldom see foreign workers wondering about on their offdays in the heartlands of Singapore?
No comments:
Post a Comment