Circumcisions

was wandering around a street market in the Philippines one morning and saw a vast open sided canopy with tables laid neatly out in rows. Is this a restaurant, I asked my lady friend. She laughed and said wait and see. Lots of families turned up with their young boys and girls. There was lots of laughter and banter, like a street party.

There were a number of people in starched white uniforms who set up some trolleys with medical equipment and called to the public to begin. The boys were led to the trestle tables. Ages were from about 4 to 9. To my surprise they had their shoes, shorts and underwear removed, lifted on to the tables and laid on their backs. This was in front of all the parents and little girls milling around. Must have been a hundred people there and anyone could watch the proceedings. About 20 young boys lying bare bottomed on their backs. Some were crying nervously clinging to their mothers. Some were staring stoically at the roof, like they were pretending they weren't there. Others were shy and covered up as the nurses made them remove their hands. It was fascinating to see all those penises on display. Most were really tiny and cute but a couple were surprisingly long. My girlfriend pointed out one boy whose long penis was fully erect and he was trying to conceal it. We watched as the nurse removed his hands with a smile and instructed his mother to hold them away. She took his erection between her fingers and wagged it about and said something with a laugh to his mum. Two little girls, possibly his sisters, burst into screams of laughter to his evident, extreme discomfort. Then she dabbed his penis and balls with some yellow disinfectant and called a doctor over. They bent over him and I saw a tiny syringe being used. The boy was crying loudly as were so many of the others and we moved away. I was curious so I went back after a few minutes to see what was going on. The nurse was finishing and I asked her what had they done.

Circumcision she said. Then she lifted the dressing off the weeping boy's front to reveal a pitiful yellow and blood stained penis missing its foreskin. She showed me what looked like a large nail clipper which they used to cut it off with. She said he'll be fine after a couple of days and moved away casually to do another terrified boy.

His mother helped him off the table and wrapped a sarong around his waist. He limped away led by the little girls. I didn't ask in detail how it was done because honestly I was feeling a little queasy.