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Desperate Iraqi Refugees Turn to Sex Trade in Syria - New York Times
- Back home in , Umm Hiba’s daughter was a devout
schoolgirl, modest in her dress and serious about her studies. Hiba, who
is now 16, wore the hijab, or Islamic head scarf, and rose early each day
to say the dawn prayer before classes.
- Desperate, Umm Hiba followed the advice of an Iraqi acquaintance
and took her daughter to work at a nightclub along a highway known for
prostitution.
- “During the war we lost everything,” she said. “We
even lost our honor.”
- asking in Iraqi-accented Arabic if the men would like to “have
a cup of tea.”
- Some of the women, seeking work outside the home
for the first time and living in a country with high unemployment, find that
their only marketable asset is their bodies.
- “Do you think we’re happy that these men from the gulf
are seeing our daughters’ naked bodies?”
- Inexpensive Iraqi prostitutes have helped to make Syria a popular
destination for sex tourists from wealthier countries in the Middle East.
In the club’s parking lot, nearly half of the cars had Saudi license
plates.
- Syria, where it is relatively easy to buy alcohol
and dance with women, is popular as a low-cost weekend destination for groups
of Saudi men.
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