Open Letter To Tourists: Sexual Tourists

Dear Tourists,

Hi, my name is Julda. I am from the country of Madagascar. I wrote
this letter for all of you because sexual tourism has become well
known in Madagascar—especially in Diego Suarez which is my town. You
are the tourists but you have made something bad with us and in our
country and it may change our reputation in the future. I am against
sexual tourism and I will illustrate why.

First of all, some of you come to Madagascar with the purpose of
relaxing and escaping your problems. This is no problem at all. This
is good. But a few of you come here just to have sex with us. As a
Malagasy woman I did not accept this path because it would have
destroyed my future and also harmed my culture. Some of the victims
of sexual tourism are young girls ages 10-18. In addition, you have
sex with them without protection. As a result, the number of diseases
has increased more and more—such as AIDS and syphilis. If nothing
else, you should use a condom.

Second, I want you to understand the perspective of the prostitute.
She did not refuse to have sex with you because she wns money and she
also wants to marry you. In this case, you should not take advantage
of her weakness. Think about her situation and if you were in her
place—what would you do? We are humans—do not treat these women and
girls as animals. Every person is the same. We are not machines.
Recently, most of the girls who become prostitutes (ages 12-18)
neglect their studies and leave them. They become a prostitute and
only have Vazaha (foreigner) to share their lives.

Third, sexual tourism gives a bad reputation to the Malagasy people.
It may destroy our people and our customs. When other tourists hear
that Madagascar has many prostitutes—they don't want to come here. So
you have to change your mentality before you come here. When you
come, please, be seriously and give us the love and respect we
deserve.

To end my letter, I thank you for listening and I think you will
follow my instruction.

Julda