My friends and I were having a karaoke session inside one of the bars near Mango [Cebu City]. It was already 4AM and everyone already had his fair share of alcohol. I needed a breather so I went outside. Vince [not his real name], a friend of mine tagged along.
The streets were full of people. It was a Saturday so everyone was going out. Our area was a bit dark but it was not scary. Neon lights from some of the shops illuminated the alleys. I was leaning on the railings in front of the bar when Vince noticed a tall guy sitting on the railing which he then approached. His name is JR. My friend knew him sometime ago.
JR is a bit tall. Perhaps a six-footer which he probably got from his Belgian father. He is at his early twenties, slender and was sporting a hair much like that of Keanu Reeves during his Bill and Ted days. He was sitting on the railings while leaning on one of the posts. A bull cap on his head matched with a shirt and faded jeans while holding his backpack placed on his lap.
Another friend of mine, Kris [not his real name], followed us out from the bar and Vince left JR and joined us in our conversation. Vince said that JR has been sitting there waiting for a client. JR needed 500 pesos just to bail out his cell phone which he left as collateral for unpaid rental dues. He was hoping that he can get a client for that night. While Vince was talking, I glanced at JR sometimes but often stared at him which JR can’t take. It was not a condescending stare. I just wanted to look at him clearly since the light was dim. Vince added that JR has not eaten yet for the night. So we decided to bring him along for breakfast. Kris has to leave early and left the three of us instead.
It was 5AM.
We were planning to have our breakfast at Sinangag Express just near the bar which we were into but Vince had to drop by his office near Fuente Osmena. So we walked towards the Fuente circle and Vince left us while he went into his company’s building.
According to JR, he works as a waiter at a gay bar. Unfortunately, the establishment was not doing well thus they had to lay off some staff which included him. There were five waiters, and two were laid off. He is renting out a room together with several bar dancers he worked with. He was the only one who was not able to pay the 500 pesos and the reason why he has to leave his phone to the landlord. He tried to borrow money from his roomies but they didn’t have extra cash, he said.
He needed his phone back because his birthday is coming up. He said that his dad sends him money from time to time and the only point of contact they have is the phone. He ran away from his mother since she physically abuses him. He has brothers and sisters but from different fathers. I presume that he has not finished school and that in order for him to earn a living is to wait tables or, as a last resort indulge in the flesh trade. Yes. You read it right. Flesh trade.
It is very easy for us to judge people especially those who work in this industry. We can easily say that, ‘there are a lot of jobs around and why can’t they just get a decent job?’. Yet we do not know the pain and the struggles that they have gone through which made them decide to sell their flesh. They might have exhausted already all of the options and possibilities, yet they ran out of choices. And for sure, most of them despise their so-called chosen ‘profession’.
It was an eye opener for me.
Vince was done. We went straight to Sinangag express and ordered my usual fried rice and two sunny-side-up eggs. They ordered ‘tapa’ and bacon.
The sun was already rising. As we finish off our meals, I handed JR 200 pesos while saying, “Here goes. This is not much but I hope it helps. It’s up to you now where to find the remaining 300.”
JR was very happy and thankful.
‘Are you going back to the bar?’
‘No. The sun is already up. I wouldn’t find any client anymore.’, JR jokingly said.
We then parted ways.
The next day, I saw him again at the same spot waiting not for tables but for someone else. Perhaps for the remaining 300 pesos.
Namaste.
“You may be able to UNDERSTAND his struggles but will NEVER be able to FEEL how he feels. No matter how you put yourself into his shoe, it will remain HIS shoe. It is only when you become him that you will truly UNDERSTAND, FEEL, and EXPERIENCE his pain.”
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