Nights in Mae Sot

Mae Sot is a mecca for people interested in human rights. There are thousands of refugees and hundreds of relief organizations in perpetual need for volunteers. For someone who wants to spend a few months and is willing to get involved, it's an incredible place.

It makes Mae Sot an fabulous place for me to live because it's filled with young, idealistic people from all over the world. Many of whom speak English. I'm privileged to work with the incomparable Eric and a French intern, Sarah, at the BLC, and enjoy many fascinating, heated discussions about ... well, everything. And Sarah has introduced us to dozens of other activists working in the area. And they're intelligent, well-informed, and fun.

Two days ago, we spent an hour debating legalizing prostitution. Today, I argued passionately that there is a limited, but significant value in constitutional monarchies. Last night, we discussed brothels.

I found myself at our usual bar surrounded by female volunteers and professional human rights activists. After a long discussion of gender issues in Burmese society, I asked about the discos mentioned in my guidebook. "Oh, yeah, we went to that one once, but we didn't make it in," a British doctor told me. "Oh, yes, we went there," replied the editor of the Human Rights Yearbook. "Right after the brothel." I nearly choked on my beer. "Brothels? What do you mean?" "Oh, Mae Sot is FILLED with brothels!" they cried. As I looked around the table, the others nodded. "There were 35 when they were last counted -- four years ago," one said. "As you drive out to the refugee camps, there are many along that road," another said. "Wait, you can see a brothel from here!" cried the British doctor, pointing down the road. "It's the restaurant that's open all the time! There are police officers outside, and it's open 24 hours a day!" "Mmm ... good restaurant too," the editor said. "I always eat at the brothel. They have great food, and they're open late." I was shaking my head, as though the motion would wash my horrible new perception of sweet little Mae Sot from my head. But, alas, it was not so simple. But even with atrocious human rights violations perpetually happening yards away from me, I'm still happy to be in Mae Sot. I've never been anywhere that simmered with such a sense of possibility and idealism.