When the Flame Tree is Flowering

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WHEN THE FLAME TREE IS FLOWERING

by Rev Sudu Tada, Programme Secretary for Indigenous Ministries in the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT)

When the flame tree is flowering, it is a wonderful time to graduate from school and make young life moving forward. But, for some young girls, the darkest destiny lies ahead of them. From 1970 to 2000, Taiwan was experiencing a rapid social change on modernisation. Human trafficking was rampant. In order to get rid of poverty, many indigenous families sold their daughters to human traffickers after their graduation from elementary schools. There was a prevailing slogan which goes like "a boy's birth celebration costs a pig, a girl's a cow."

News about the falling of young indigenous girls was familiar to people's ears, but their stories were soon forgotten after briefly causing sympathy and pity. Horrible things still happened repeatedly. Xiao-hui (a fake name) was a happy, vibrant little girl and a good student. Unfortunately, she became a victim of human trafficking on her elementary school graduation day. Here is her account on what happened.

“On that day, I went home with my award and prize. Without any warning, I was taken away in a taxi by my parents and traffickers. No one told me what was going on or where I was taken to, let alone what I was going to do. Just like that, I left my lovely hometown.”

Xiao-hui was only 12 when she left home. From that day on, her life was facing an unprecedented disaster: she was sold to an illegal brothel in Taipei for 10 years. On her first day at the brothel, Xiaohui found out she was not the only victim. There were other young indigenous girls already, aged from 12 to 14, and the look of them frightened her.

It is outrageous that Xiao-hui had to be injected with unknown medicine to accelerate physiological growth which resulted in unusual breast development. Her breast size was out of proportion to her body's size. No one would tell she was only 12.

Xiao-hui recalled that girls like her were forced to take medicine and injections, and exercise. Any hesitation in obedience would suffer a good lashing. They would gather together, holding each other, and cry aloud when getting beaten, but nobody ever came to their aid.

Ten years of her golden years, Xiao-hui struggled in the life as a prostitute. She entertained her guests wherever they were, such as in a underground dance club, a barber shop, a hair salon, a massage parlour, an ice and fruit dessert shop, a restaurant, a cinema, a tea house, an inn, a hotel, a private house, a villa, and even a luxury car. She had to sleep with 8 to 15 men every day, but she only got 300 New Taiwan dollars as her pocket money. She was being watched, deprived of her freedom, and controlled by using illicit drugs.

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The poem below is her sarcastic accusation of her misfortune.

When the Flame Tree was flowering, I was sold by my family

When the Flame Tree was flowering, I was falling into hell

When the Flame Tree was flowering, l became a teenage prostitute

When the Flame Tree was flowering, I worked as a Miss in a brothel

When the Flame Tree was flowering, it was the day of falling, the falling of indigenous girls

When the Flame Tree was flowering, my family got rid of poverty

When the Flame Tree was flowering, human traffickers were celebrating their harvest

When the Flame Tree was flowering, the brothel was swarming with men

When the Flame Tree was flowering, men were like animals

When the Flame Tree was flowering, why did this happen to me?

There are many girls like Xiao-hui in Taiwan, an economics-first society. They got ravaged and were sacrificed in the debauched sex business. The oppressors of many more Xiao-hui might be those human traffickers, their parents and family, and even their teachers at the school. When the whole Taiwan society didn't want to fight against this injustice and would rather stayed indifferent, PCT Rainbow Women's Ministry stood up in faith for those girls. They risked their lives to rescue innocent girls and uncovered these untold sad stories. Therefore, the story of Xiao-hui 's Flame Tree can be heard, and make lazy parents, greedy traffickers and cruel clients understand that their pursuit of profits and pleasure is the main cause of ongoing juvenile prostitution, bringing young girls pain and humiliation over and over again.

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