Voice 1
Hello. I’m Rachel Hobson.
Voice 2
And I’m Marina Santee. Welcome to Spotlight. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
Welcome to our listener mail programme. This week’s programme is a little bit different. A listener from Thailand raised a very important issue - the sex trade. We share some ways to help sex workers. But first we read some of our listener mail.
Voice 2
How long have you listened to Spotlight? Where do you listen from? Joshua Ssali listens in Uganda. He is a radio producer in the city of Mukono. He works with one of Spotlight’s partner organizations. He told us:
Voice 3
“In Africa many people have a good level of English. Most of the radio stations in Uganda have English programmes. But they speak so fast. Specialized English is wonderful with its slow speed. Everyone can understand every word.”
Voice 2
Spotlight programmes do help people to hear how words in English sound. The slow speed permits more people to listen to and enjoy the programmes. We would like to hear from some of our listeners in Mukono. So do write and tell us your comments and thoughts.
Voice 1
Today’s hodgepodge is from Uganda. Peter Phillips reads part of a poem by Mulumba Matia:
Voice 4
This is my home Uganda.
This is the land for me.
This is the place where my heart is at rest.
This is the land for all that is the best.
Here I am alive and free.
This is my home Uganda.
With mountains, with valleys and hills.
The deep dark forest where nobody goes.
The thick green swamps where the wide Nile river flows.
The western lakes strange and still.
Voice 2
Our next letter comes from Jozef in Slovakia. Jozef has written to us before. He says:
Voice 5
“I have been listening to your programme for months. Your programmes are very interesting to me. The best programmes were ‘The Five Love Languages’. ”
Voice 2
The series of programmes called ‘The Five Love Languages’ was very popular. Many listeners have told us they enjoyed it. The series talked about how people show and experience love in different ways.
Voice 1
For example, a man may show love by giving gifts. But his wife needs to hear kind words. When he gives his wife a present, he believes he is caring for her. But she does not feel that he loves her.
Voice 2
And this wife does not often give gifts to her husband. Instead, she says kind things to him. But he does not feel that she loves him. The husband and wife need to learn to understand each other’s love language.
Voice 1
There are five programmes in this series. But Jozef has only heard three of them. He asked us:
Voice 5
“Please can you send me all the programmes? I would like to hear the complete series.”
Voice 1
Thank you for your letter Jozef. Sadly, we are not able to keep all of our audio on our site. But we will play this series again in the future, probably in the spring of 2008. Also, you can read the scripts for the whole series on our website http://www.radio.english.net.
Voice 2
Our next letter comes from William in Venezuela:
Voice 6
“I live in Punto Fijo in the Falcon state. I have been reading your scripts. Your website seems a great tool for improving my English.”
Voice 2
Our website is a good resource. On it we have a list of the words we use. We also have links to English learning sites. These are good tools for improving your English language skills.
Voice 1
And now it is time to look at the growing problem of the sex trade. Banana wrote to us from Bangkok, Thailand. She said:
Voice 7
“I like to hear your programmes so much. I try to listen as often as I can. ... I listened to your programme ‘Nightlight’. In this programme you talked about the Thai girl and sex workers. I think this is a big problem in Bangkok. Those girls need a good education. And they need God. But there are a lot of girls here who do not do those things. This is a beautiful land.”
Voice 1
Thank you for your letter Banana. Our programme Nightlight told the story of the young woman Pim who became a sex worker to support her family. But she did not tell her mother what she was doing. She felt too much shame about it.
Voice 2
The sex trade is not just a problem in Thailand. It is a problem all over the world. Some people have sex for money. Often they believe it is the only way they can make enough money to survive. For other sex workers, the problem is different. Sex traders force them to work. They keep them as slaves.
Voice 1
Different countries deal with sex workers in different ways. In some countries the sex trade is legal. In others there are severe punishments. Usually it is the sex workers who suffer - not the people who employ them.
Voice 2
For many years the country of Sweden had a big problem with the sex trade. So in 1999, officials made a new law. This law states that sex workers cannot be arrested. Instead the police arrest the men who use them. The government of Sweden does not believe one person should be able to buy another person. So, this law aims to protect the women affected by the sex trade.
Voice 1
Many sex workers experience violence. And they risk catching diseases. But most of all, this work damages their emotions. They often feel deep shame as Pim did. They feel as if no one truly loves them.
Voice 2
This is not a new problem. For thousands of years people have worked in the sex trade. The Bible tells the story of a woman like this who wanted to see Jesus. Jesus was eating dinner at a religious leader’s house. This woman came to Jesus. She was ashamed of her life. She was crying. She wet his feet with her tears. She dried his feet with her hair. And she kissed his feet and poured perfume on them. The religious leader could not believe Jesus let the woman touch him. This leader believed that she was dirty. But Jesus told the woman, “Your wrongs are forgiven...your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”
This story tells of love and forgiveness. It tells how God can heal people’s deepest pain.
Voice 2
Well, that is all we have time for today. Thank you to Jozef, William and Banana. If you have comments or questions about our programmes, write to us. Our e-mail address is radio @ english . net. We may read your letter in our Listener Mail programme!
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