We were finally allowed to go somewhere other than the courts and the Centre.
Simply put, my perception of a lot of things has changed.
The transgenders were very nice, very helpful, very friendly.
I don't condone their lifestyle, but I now see that I've been giving them labels without bothering to know the individuals behind those labels.
A primary school teacher once asked me if prostitution was wrong. I said, "Of course". She replied, "What if she's a single mum, who didn't even finish her SPM, and she has nowhere else to get money for her baby?"
At 11, I'd said that it was wrong anyway.
It's wrong. I still think it's wrong. But 12 years ago, I hadn't thought that it was important to think about how that single mum felt about what she was doing.
Not happy.
She's not happy about what she's doing.
Nobody writes "sex worker" in the "Cita-Cita" section in that huge report card.
It's wrong. Prostitution is wrong.
But now that I've met these people, I see that they aren't the only ones who are wrong.
Judging is wrong.
Seeing a need and not helping is wrong.
Sneering at others is wrong.
And the visit to Protect & Save the Children (PS the Children) left an impact on me.
I've heard the stories before - Mum catches Dad forcing his daughter to perform oral sex on him, family friend groping his girlfriend's brother...
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Taken from psthechildren.org.my |
But standing in the therapy playroom (toys still fascinate me), I thought that it was really sad.
Because toys are supposed to make a happy child happier, not try to heal a broken child.
What do you do when having a big heart isn't enough?
Question of the day as I left the Centre.
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