"The Children Are Delicate"

A Madam Lets Her Girls Go

FOR 15 years, Cecilia* owned and operated brothels in one of the Caribbean islands. She purchased 12 to 15 girls at a time, most of them under 18 years of age. The girls were held against their will for debts their families had incurred. Cecilia paid off the debts and took the girls to work for her. From what they earned, she covered their food and maintenance expenses and also put aside a fraction toward their original purchase price. It took years for them to regain their freedom. The girls were never allowed out of the house unless a guard went along.

Cecilia remembers one particular case very well. The mother of a prostitute girl came each week to receive boxes of food—food that had been earned by her daughter's "work." That girl was raising a son. She could not get ahead with her debts and had no hope for a life of freedom. One day she committed suicide, leaving a note that entrusted her son to the care of her madam. Cecilia raised the boy along with her own four children.

One of Cecilia's daughters began to study the Bible with missionaries of Jehovah's Witnesses. Cecilia was encouraged to participate in the study, but initially she refused because she had never learned to read or write. Gradually, though, by overhearing discussions from the Bible, she came to discern God's love and patience and to cherish his forgiveness. (Isaiah 43:25) Out of a desire to study the Bible herself, she soon started learning to read and write. As she progressed in Bible knowledge, she saw the need to conform to God's lofty moral standards.

One day, to the surprise of the girls, she told them that they were free to go! She explained that what they were doing was very displeasing to Jehovah. None of them ever repaid what they owed her. However, two moved in to live with her. Another eventually became a baptized Witness. Cecilia has been a full-time Bible teacher for 11 years now, helping other people break free from God-dishonoring practices.

*  Not her real name.

Return to article