Windows for sale!

  

It hurts when pretty colors bleed

Windows For Sale!

I can NEVER forget that experience!

The time period is mid 2002. My husband and I were both working in France.

We decided to go to Brussels and Amsterdam.

My co worker whom I disliked for his alcoholism and of thinking himself to be God's gift to women, kept insisting that we should go to one of the coffee shops. I kept telling that we were not coffee people. He was relentless that we must go. When I inquired what was so special about it, he said it was a place set up like a bank. You could go to any counter and buy any drug in the world you wanted, by weight. Not the medicine kind, the narcotics kind. Drugs are free and legal in Holland.

I shuddered! 

Why in the world would I go to a place like this.

If I was ever remotely curious, the description more than satisfied my curiosity with a vivid image.

I will never put my foot in a place like this.

I remembered Amsterdam from my past visit as a young teenager with my parents. We had taken the guided tour at that time. I remembered the canals, the windmills, the tulip field and the miniature model of an entire village with live mini trees, plants, streets with lights, running canals and working railroads.

I was excited to go there again with my husband this time.

We were traveling by the Euro rail. 

I noticed  a strange scene from the window of the train.

I observed a woman in one of the small houses. She caught my attention. I do not remember what she was doing. It was not what she was doing that had caught my attention, but, what she was wearing. 

She was almost not wearing anything. She was in her under garments.

Weird, I thought!

This woman is in her under garments during day time. But then I thought that she must not be aware of the fact that people can see her from a passing train and she is, in fact, in the privacy of her home.

But wait....what is this I'm observing???

I saw that in the veranda or balcony of almost every other house, there were women. These women were by themselves, but they were all clad in lingerie!

How odd! I thought! Women in Holland like to be in lingerie in their houses!

But then many Arab women stay in their lingerie during day time.

The difference is that Arab women do not ever step outside looking like that..

But the Netherlands women were doing outside house chores in the yards looking like that!

Hmmmm ...interesting & weird!

So we reached Amsterdam.

We were in a free spirit. Kids were in Pakistan. We were getting a short weekend break from work.
We did not even bring a change of clothes with us. Just a camera bag. 

We were truly being THE tourists :)

We got off from the Euro rail at downtown. I was admiring the new sights of canals and parking lots for the bicycles. I could smell the free, bygone hippie spirit in the air. Excitedly I entered the souvenir shops. There were beautiful colored crystal pieces displayed. I thought of getting one but then postponed as the shape of the pieces did not make sense to me.

I went through the isles. I did not like what I was sensing. There were nude pictures and weird shapes everywhere. Finally, I found something I could buy. The National Monument in the Dam square is a white stone pillar. I collect miniature building models. It would go perfectly with that. I picked it enthusiastically and oh Lord, almost dropped it. Those were not the national monument models. Those were models of male private parts. I felt disgusted. My immediate reaction was....thank God the girls are not here with me. Suddenly I was aware of all different models of male and female private parts. I did not waste any time in leaving that shop.

I went to one after another shop....same thing.

My husband told me the crystal things were for smoking pot.

Yuck, yuck, yuck.

So, I accepted. Holland had the largest legalized red light area in the world. Drugs were legal here. So the downtown was full of erotic stuff. My parents must have avoided the downtown area during my past visit.

My husband told me that across the canal on our left lied the world famous red light district of Amsterdam. 

We reached the Dam square while walking. Nice open place with the Royal palace and Nieuwe Kerk, the new church on one side, the Madame Tussuad's on another and the National Monument on the third side.

We kept strolling after visiting the Madam T's. Some more turns and the scene changed. We were in the heart of the red light area. There was no place to avoid the glance or to protect the sight. If I diverted my gaze from the phallus shaped enormous fountains, it would land on the gigantic mounds of female curves. There were erotic posters, pictures, signs...what not!

I was seeing things without seeing them, like in a trance. Cannot be a reality. But it was real. There were tourists casually walking by. It was broad daylight. Even at this moment, right now, I cannot imagine what the place must look like at night time. Devil's dream house!

I noticed well dressed, actually tuxedo clad businessmen pacing in short spaces. I observed young professional looking girls hurrying in to go places. I saw some of them enter the buildings. I wondered what those executive sort men and women were doing there in the middle of the day. I thought maybe the women were going to offices to earn but were so poor that they lived in such places.

We took some more turns.

What is this?

Is this what I'm really viewing???

There were glass showcase type, full length windows in every narrow house.

And in each window, there was a girl posing provocatively in revealing clothes.

Outside each window, near the entrance door stood a well dressed, tuxedo clad, businessman like person.

Words fail to express the disgust I experienced.

I wanted to burst out crying.

Such degradation!

So much insult of humanity?

What had humans done to fellow humans.

How can a human stoop so low. Human, who was created so pious that angels prostrated down to
him after his completion. What had human done to himself?

The women displaying themselves like meat in the refrigerator were trying to sell their bodies while their pimps were standing outside making sure they did not run away and also to keep an eye on the paying customers. There were people walking around looking at those women caged like animals in a pet shop. Some were going inside the buildings but majority were window shopping. I felt like barfing. I could not glance at a single women in those windows. I felt that if I did, my heart would explode of grief for them. I was so ashamed. My husband was unaware of all this as he was absorbed in the sight all around him. I saw his absorption when I turned to him and urged him to get out of this area.

As I hurried him in a pace that would still not attract too much attention, I was beyond belief disgusted as some of those well groomed pimps tried to usher us in with calls like " hey love birds, wanna have some good times". 

I could not see or hear anything until I was finally out of that dreadful place where there was not a shred of honor, dignity or respect.

I will never forget that experience.

My husband later explained to me that those were called windows for sale. Customers viewed, scrutinized every item available before picking and paying for the satisfaction of their filthy desires. He had not seen the women I had observed during the train ride. Those also belonged to the same category of 

Inventory.

And this is what humans are legally, out in the open capable of!

Imagine the horror of unspeakable, illegal engagements.

God have mercy. God have mercy on all of us. God have mercy on the whole human race. Ameen.