Catholic priest distributes hope, condoms in Philippine slum (Feature)

By Girlie Linao Aug 17, 2010, 3:12 GMT

Cebu City, Philippines - On a dingy side street in the central Philippine city of Cebu, about a dozen young girls lined up in front of a car, posing and smiling in hopes of getting their first customer for the night.

Under the street lamp's yellow light, the unseen passengers picked two girls through tinted windows. In less than 10 minutes, the car zoomed out of the street with the chosen girls inside, their pimps smiling.

Several more cars passed by and girls scurried out from a narrow alley where they sat on plastic chairs, eating dinner with their hands wrapped in plastic to avoid dirtying their polished nails.

Across the alley, Catholic priest Father Heinz Kulueke checked on a baby who had a fever while the mother, a prostitute herself, chatted with him.

Every night for the past eight years, Kulueke has led a small group of volunteers to provide medical aid and distribute condoms in the red-light district of Kamagayan, a 5-hectare slum area in Cebu City, where shanties have been turned into brothels.

They also visit nightclubs, restaurants, massage parlors and other commercial establishments where pimps can even get 'orders' for girls through mobile phones.

Kulueke's target is to get young girls off the streets of Cebu, a key tourist destination and bustling commercial hub 585 kilometres south of Manila. He also works with street children in hope of keeping them away from the flesh trade.

According to Kulueke, an estimated 10,000 prostitutes work in Cebu City, and about 40 per cent of them are minors, some as young as 12 years old. Many came from poor families and were trafficked.

Annie Suico, a city social worker, said the local government had stepped up efforts to stop prostitution and trafficking of children through various ordinances and inter-agency projects.

But she admitted that reaching out to the victims was not easy.

'The girls always say that they over 18 years old when they work in bars or nightclubs,' she said. 'It's really very difficult to find the girls because they hide their ages. You only find out when they seek your help.'

Suico said Kulueke's work has been a great boost to the city government's efforts to stop child prostitution and trafficking.

The 53-year-old missionary started his campaign after encountering young girls prostituted outside the University of San Carlos campus, where he teaches philosophy.

While the Roman Catholic Church opposes the use of artificial contraception such as condoms, Kulueke said the situation on the ground calls for a different approach.

'Many girls get infected with sexually transmitted diseases or HIV/AIDS,' he told the German Press Agency, dpa. 'There are also numerous forced abortions after unwanted pregnancies leading to death in several cases.'

One of Kulueke's volunteers is a 21-year-old former prostitute, who identified herself as Liza.

She was only 13 years old when she ran away from home in 2002. In dire need of money, she was recruited to be a waitress in Cebu City but was surprised when she was brought to a brothel.

'I was so scared then,' she recalled while distributing condoms to some of her 'batchmates' in Kamagayan. 'My first customer was a burly German man who beat me up when I didn't know what to do.'

Liza said she eventually got hooked on drugs, like most of the girls in Kamagayan.

'At first, the pimps forced the drugs on me so I can give better service,' she said. 'But later on, I needed the high to forget what I was doing.'

After nearly two years, Liza decided she'd had enough and fled the brothel. Kulueke's team took her to a recovery house in Manila, where she finished high school.

Kulueke, who has been in Cebu since 1986, said the turnover of volunteers was very high due to the frustrating work.

'Sometimes even I get very tired and exhausted trying to help all these people,' he added. 'It could take many weeks and even months before we manage to get people out and help them start a better life. But I cannot give up hope.'