I know I might be touching human dung on this one…I mean some people after reading the headline will have misconceptions about the life of yours truly…F@@#$#$ it I am living in this world and I am human just like anybody else, I just love to write (whatever).
With this one I still remember my days as a journalist practising under the leadership of the ever versatile Thulani Thwala who now is mentoring at the Swazi Observer publication where set out our diary and together with the department’s driver I was to do a story on the challenges faced by commercial sex workers (affectionately known as labatsengisako in local circles).
My mission kicked off on a month end (even though I still cant remember the day) but it was around 2100 and we were to start our mission from the office at the bumpy Gillian Road to a park which is below the Ministry of Agriculture where most of the ‘girls of the night’ traded before being noticed by the country’s law enforcers.
Upon arrival we were met by mini skirts which were so short that one would have been tempted abandon the mission of interviewing the girls and pay them with the mere E30 night out allowance but because ethics rang at the back of my intelligent skull I kicked away the temptation.
Upon noticing our vehicle the ladies decided to disappear in the nearby bushy area and refused to entertain us as they were afraid of being photographed and end up being positively identfied in the then highest selling newspaper in the country.
Ok, missed it…I then instructed the driver to quickly drive to another sport which is less than 500 metres from the Ministry of Agriculture spot and went to Kalafata , I introduced myself as a willing buyer and four of the girls (different sizes and shapes) stood in a straight line all of them pleading with yours truly to take one of them and they were quick to advertise their services and body piercings while at the same time willing to reduce the E50 session price if I am willing to take them for the whole night.
I looked back at my driver and he smiled cause he knew our mission. I then pointed at one who was wearing a blue hooded jacket and a short skirt. Though she was not the most attractive of them all but was the quiet of them all. She was carrying a plastic bag seemingly it was her wardrobe and inside I saw a novel.
She was first reluctant to go with us but I convinced him that this was my driver and after a 30 minutes of arguing she then obliged. We then drove to the city’s park (which is dark at night) and it there I introduced myself as a reporter from the Swazi News.
She was so shocked that she stated that she does not want her time to wasted because she was planning to make at least E300 during the ‘lousy night’. I then made a pledge that whatever we would discuss I will not reveal her identity but will pay her the E50 she requires.
Before she started she sobbed and explained that she was from Lomahasha and has no relative, job but has two children aged four and two whose fathers she does not remember because every time she had sex she had to be intoxicated.
“After conceiving my second child I decided to quit drinking and smoking and it is my second year I decided to quit. However I am still selling my body because I have to feed my two boys who I have locked in my one roomed flat in Magwaneni”, she told yours truly in a sombre tone.
She further told yours truly that her highest level of education was the Universty of Swaziland First year where she did Diploma in Law but dropped out after failing due to the fact that no one was to pay for her university fees.
“I come here not because I am enjoying it but because I need to get food for my children who do not know I am selling my body but think I am a security guard. Please don’t go and make fun of what I am doing in the newspapers, I will kill myself,” she added.
This turned out to be an emotional revelation than my intended story of “Who are the most frequenting clients” as she went on to reveal that girls as young as 14 years from neighbouring townships are part of the trade and are most of the time subjected to physical abuse by drunk inconsiderate males.
“Another stumbling element in our trade are the night patrol officers who have become a menace to us. They chase us away from the road or at times take us to the police station and detain us. It is so unfortunate that they are also humans and you find that they are some distant relatives to some of us and they know our plight,”
Due to my inquisitive mindset I questioned her if she enjoyed the sessions she offered to her clients but she was quick to mention that she hated sex.
“Some of us don’t have anywhere to sleep unless they find a man to sleep with them for the whole night and all those willing not to use a condom they pay more,” she said.
This story struck me deeply and it for this reason I still remember it like yesterday, soon after the interview she requested that I do not write about what she told me but offered to give me a story that they were now increasing their prices from E50 to E80 due to the rise in food prices in the country.
I then told my driver that we had finished with the lady thus we had to take her back to her spot. Though it is unethical , I then paid her E50 for the interview because she would have missed a client because of the interview.
We then drove back to the newsroom and explained the story to my editor and he understood the situation and the next edition was splashed with another hot selling headline which ran “Commercial sex fees up by 60%”…
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