The signs read “For Sale”. But these women are not for sale. And no, this is not a joke, either. One German city is taking creative action against the mega-bordello industry:
The looks of passersby change from amusement to shock as they realize that the young women with the sad eyes in the shopping carts are not a PR gag. They stand for a serious topic: the sale of women in forced prostitution. The actions of Krefeld citizens against human trafficking and forced prostitution began on Saturday in the inner city, and in a short time, gathered 1,650 signatures.
Franziska Feldhoff is one of the signatories. “I’ve known for a long time that human trafficking is shrouded in silence. No one in Germany thinks about it. It’s good that there’s an organization on the streets,” she says. She doesn’t know if her signature will change much. “But there has to be a start. Maybe I can help get something rolling.”
Passerby Denise Hochheim says that there’s a lot not being talked about, including the sale of people. “It’s a purely human topic, the way women and children are treated. The least I can do is sign.”
Walter Voss also signed. “Forced prostitution is not okay. That goes against all human dignity.” He adds: “So that the world’s oldest profession can exist for men who don’t have a woman, in order to avoid overreach.”
Erwin Kaltenbacher and Ute Horn, of the initiative say that their consciousness was awakened by the actions on the Neuen Ritterstrasse. “We were horrified when we saw what was going on there.” They are happy with the strong agreement among the populace. “On Wednesday, we’ll hand the list of signatures to the members of the federal government and the Bundestag. We challenge them to correct the prostitution law — the most liberal in all Europe — as soon as possible, so that forced prostitution is no longer possible in our land.” Among the demands: Authorization requirements for all brothels, no prostitution under age 21, and no solicitation in public.
Meanwhile, half a dozen masked men in black passed through the streets with their shopping carts. Mark Yahya pushes his wife, Karo. “For sale” reads the sign on the front of the cart. “At first people laugh when they see us. One of them asked what I cost. But then their looks change. Lots of them don’t know what to do about it.”
Before Saturday, the initiative had already gathered around 350 signatures. On Wednesday, they’ll deliver over 2000 voices against human trafficking and forced prostitution to Berlin.
Translation mine.
Krefeld is a city of over 200,000 people. Gathering the signatures of 1% of those might not sound like much, but that amounts to a little over one day’s work, and that’s not bad, considering.
Likewise, the demands sound modest, but remember what these people are up against: An extremely powerful pimp-lobby that wants to do away with all regulations, including authorization of brothels and age limits for prostitution. As for public solicitation, it’s so blatant right now that the biggest bordellos actually publish their website addresses in neon on the marquee. Any kid with an internet connection could “visit” and see what’s on offer. Same goes for the johns and their “ratings” fora. It is a public disgrace, and no amount of whitewash can hide it any longer.
And, as the protesters themselves have said, maybe this will get something rolling. As it is, there is a groundswell building in Germany to end human trafficking, because it’s becoming a national embarrassment. Raising awareness of what’s wrong with the picture is just the start.
