Dear reader, please upgrade to the latest version of IE to have a better reading experience. A client pays a prostitute for her services at a brothel in Beirut on August 17, Prostitution is a trade booming in Lebanon, eventhough it remains illegal in a country where conservatism coexists with debauchery. Its like selling goods. Kamal, whose name has been changed at his request, is a year-old pimp based just outside of Beirut, where prostitution thrives, though illegal, in hotels, nightclubs, brothels, private homes, chalets and even on highways.
Demand soars in the summer season, so we help each other out across the networks. They pass girls over to us when we need them and vice versa,' Kamal explained. Kamal owns a club in a coastal city north of Beirut which has a reputation as a prostitution hub. In this seaside city, so-called super nightclubs employ exclusively foreign women, mainly from eastern Europe, who travel to Lebanon on 'artists visas.
But Kamal says he prefers employing Lebanese and Syrian women, who are 'in great demand among Arabs. We charge a minimum of dollars 84 euros per hour, but the price can climb to over dollars euros ,' he said. For a mere 20 dollars 14 euros , a receptionist at a luxury hotel provides a selection of pictures to a potential client who can then 'choose a blonde, a brunette, one woman or three,' said Kamal.
And in a country where sex before marriage is still frowned upon and where a young couple kissing in the street may be reprimanded by police, female sex workers -- some of whom are still legally minors -- can sometimes be seen on the hunt for wealthy clients, particularly men from the oil-rich Gulf seeking an outlet in a country dubbed the most liberal in the Arab world. This profession brings in thousands of dollars to those involved,' said Major Elie Asmar, who heads the polices protection of morals department.
Some of the women interviewed by AFP said they were drawn to the practice largely for economic reasons. It was too late by the time I felt regret,'said Hanin, a year-old Lebanese sex worker in a bar just outside Beirut.
