“After a hard day's work it is time to take the stress off my mind. Maybe a bottle of Energy drink could count since I don't take in alcoholic beverages these days.”

These were few words that were flowing from my diminutive mind on a Friday night at about 10pm around the Sinkor area.

Maybe I was just interested in spending a little time outside of my little village outside of Monrovia. On a guileless note it was an experience and indeed a historical moment for me after almost 10 years of being off the streets at night. Christmas seasons during my childhood days were the times of watching the moon fall, welcoming the rising sun with parents thinking that their kids were spending a breathtaking time with their lives. Gone are those days now since work was interplaying now to give way to incoming cash to keep life moving.

With the emergence of the newly-fangled moon interplaying with the beautiful sky setting a little morsel snow from a distance with stars sending a stunning light on the surface of the earth, the city of Monrovia located on this West African coast is really a wonderful place to be at night. With its beautiful surroundings and cool breezes from the south of the capital where lies the Atlantic Ocean, activities in this part of Liberia are extravagantly special.

The coming of the night gives way for a new form of interaction so to speak to Monrovians at night. Not surprisingly though, it was not a pin on my mind that I could even be interested in letting out how Monrovia is like at night but it is a tradition that one brain feels teased to share information, especially when they are necessary toward the growth and development of Liberia especially after 14 years of nightmare.

The city of Monrovia is so full of people who are fully attired like commencing a day of Monday; this dress code is widely seen amongst the gents who patrol every nook and corner in search of clubs and females to please their sexual desires. The female themselves are the ones that took tears from my eyes and this needs imperative attention.

Believe me my little stress-free visit gradually drew my attention to another craze perhaps getting to understand the reason of prostitution. Girls as young as 14 are seen on the streets of Monrovia in search of their daily bread, selling their God-given pride for cash. Not from one office door to another as is done doing daylight cause the big guys were probably at sleep by this time around.

I first did not recognize who they were. I begin to wonder why kids will be out at the hour of the night? Is it to loiter and commit a crime, ehmm? Yes it is, but where are the police? Perhaps they are complaining of no arms again.

The young girls appeared like kids from their fiscal posture but something surprising happened. Minutes before I took my mind off them, the carbon of tobacco started to make its way from their months lest to speak about alcohol. It was show-time and no one deemed it fit to interfere in their business. They were of course at work, well-organized and set for money-making. I signed my cross like a Catholic priest and followed closely their conversation.

Is their a law against prostitution in this country? Have the laws changed here? Where are the human rights advocates? These were some of the few questions that I asked myself? Then I began to think again on the cause of prostitution. Several reasons crossed my mind as I almost finished a can of 'Battery energy drink' thus calling for another. I was actually filled but my curiosity could not allow me to say good-bye.

“You've not paid for the first one, Sir,” the waitress injected.

“I am sorry,” I jumped and came to myself like someone thinking on the falling apart of the earth.

She noticed that I was deep in thought but when I handed her a bill of 5 US dollars which needed to be changed, one could tell that she was rather anxious to pay attention to returning my correct balance than being a physiologist, diagnosing what was on my mind.

Those who argued against prostitution suggested all sorts of reasons for its existence. For some it was the product of poverty, for others greed or lust, and according to some people, even the stars had something to do with it. There were also those who justified prostitution on the grounds that it was a viable economic activity and was primarily directed towards the earning of money rather than the gratification of sexual desires (at least, for the prostitutes themselves). Yet others argue that prostitution is the first profession the world had seen since creation! As a matter of fact, when it came to economics, concubine was often an appealing option; formal contracts involving agreements of sexual fidelity, support obligations and the like were frequently drawn up between partners. Concubines could be an easy way for poorer families to make beneficial social connections and gain monetary support for their unmarried daughters. Once in a while, concubine relationships even lead to marriage.

Some prostitutes do what they do as a way of making money on the side. It is not totally uncommon for highly attractive female college students to be in this business a few hours a week. They typically can afford to be very selective, and charge high prices. Instead of using the money they acquire for school, the money is rather used for beautification of their bodies; something that Leonardo Devanci did with Mona Lisa.

More tragic are the women in the low-income bracket. These women, as I will refer to them here, avoid people using luxury vehicles. One of such women, in a conversation with her friend in Liberian English said: “Bar… let hang on our real boys them those BM boys”

These women without knowing how they were risking their lives spend their entire lives in search of money on the street. Is this because of poverty? If it is, where then is the poverty reduction strategy?

This is just one of the few occurrences in Monrovia at night. Are you coming with me tonight? Well, speeding vehicles, police operation,

Government vehicles in the streets at night is coming up next. Watch out!!

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