Inside over a dozen Chinese women dressed in mini-skirts and heavy makeup sit and chat, while foreign men sidle up to them.
Conversation is halting with both sides mustering what little English they can manage. We stay indoors. It is illegal for foreigners to work without permits in Afghanistan and these Chinese sex workers face deportation if they are caught working. Prostitution is also illegal in Afghanistan and from time-to-time brothels are raided and closed down. There used to be more of these places but the police raided them and they had to shut down.
Chinese workers can be found all over the world searching for a better living, doing the jobs that locals snub. Despite a strong, robust economy, unemployment is a huge problem in China with numerous state enterprises downsizing in the last decade or so, leaving millions either jobless or underemployed. Relentless inflation has only made life harder. Violence has surged in Afghanistan over the last two years with the Taliban launching more than suicide attacks last year alone, resulting in the deaths of some people, mostly civilians.
Afghans are usually turned away at the door. One of the hidden dangers in Kabul for foreigners and locals alike is sexually transmitted diseases, a growing problem in Afghanistan due to widespread ignorance about how sexually transmitted diseases are contracted. We are in a very foreign place.
Discover Thomson Reuters. Directory of sites. United States. World News. Tan Ee Lyn , Jonathon Burch.
