By André McNicoll

Night descends on Bangkok. Bright neon lights at several hundred bars flicker on, beckoning the bored, the lonely, the simply curious to come inside to be entertained.

On the streets are the "freelancers," young men and women, in small groups or alone. They begin to gather at busy intersections, parks, outside department stores, and at other places well known to those in need of paid companionship for a few hours.

Natee Teerarojjapongs is also getting ready. With a pocketful of condoms and wisdom gained from several years of encounters with young male and female prostitutes across the country, he has a message to deliver. "I love them all," he says of his street and bar people. "I have to try to help them - I just can't help it."

When the first few AIDS cases were diagnosed in Thailand, in October 1985, word spread quickly. The human grapevine works well. Natee, now 42, had recently returned from studying jazz dance in Boston, and he was alarmed that his gay friends would be dying. Gay himself, and with his activist heart, he launched into action. By 1986 he had established the White Line Dance Troupe under the auspices of the Fraternity for Aids Cessation in Thailand (FACT), an NGO of his making.

Shyness Now Gone

"My first shows were in the auditorium of the American Alumni Association in Bangkok," Natee said. "Our aim was to reach the general population. Soon after we moved on to gay bars, working with bar boys. My first such bar was Super Lex, in the Patpong area. I remember that first night so well. I was so shy and embarrassed. I simply could not bring myself to use any sexually explicit terms, especially to describe sex organs. I felt it was so low class. But the bar owner, Khun Lex, was great. He wasn't shy at all. He showed the boys condoms, explained exactly how to put them on, and used really explicit terms. I learned a lot from him and I'm grateful for that. So after the first few shows, it was O.K. I lost my shyness."

Natee is certainly not shy now, but he is still circumspect. He has an uncanny ability to approach freelancers as well as those who offer their services in Thailand's more than 100 gay bars. His sincerity serves him well, though he admits to discouragement now that the government's focus and support has shifted from prevention of AIDS to treating its victims.

Natee (left) with two members of his White Line Dance Troupe

The AIDS epidemic is more serious in Chiang Mai, according to Natee. "There is a lot of AIDS education in Bangkok, but not that much in Chiang Mai. I am more needed there."

A Chilling Change in Government Policy

Natee is concerned that the Thai Ministry of Public Health has shifted away from AIDS prevention to the care of those who suffer from AIDS. "What they are doing really is following Western fashion," he said. "That's what is behind the new policy. But they don't understand that it's different here. We are not as advanced here nor as skillful in communications. We're not as organized. There's still a lot of ignorance in Thailand about AIDS, especially in the provinces."

Reliable AIDS statistics are hard to come by. One university with a well regarded school of public health says there are about 800,000 people infected with H.I.V. The Ministry of Public Health suggests a similar figure. But survey data in Thailand are not reliable. Ten years ago, estimates were as low as 1,000 cases of infection.

And if it were not for Natee and his friends, things could be dramatically worse. His dancers, with their explicit but humorous and thus effective message on safer sex, has reached an amazing number of people.

"For the first eight years, we concentrated on bar boys," he said, "but in the last four years, on bar girls. At least 20,000 bar boys over those years have seen my show – about 2,000 a year – bar girls about the same.

"We were teaching many things, not just about safe sex. With bar girls, for instance, we also showed them how to deal with a drunken customer who does not want to use a condom."

The White Line Dance Troupe also worked in schools across the country for six years, with as many as 3,000 students in attendance at a time. "My show was performed in more than one thousand schools across the country, with an average of 2,000 students each time. How many is that? That's millions, isn't it?" Natee asks with a touch of pride. Now every school in Thailand has an AIDS committee, though the school programs have faded for lack of funds.

Action May Wane, but Not Determination

And these are gloomy days for Natee. At its height, the White Line Dance Troupe had 25 permanent dancers, based in Nong Khai and two other centers, who traveled around the country by van or car. Today, "the dance troupe really no longer exists. We have lost our government support as well as outside funding. We are looking for new government support, but I really don't know how this will work out. There is an economic crisis and it's not going to be easy. I am a very bad lobbyist."

But if Natee's funding has dried up, his ideas have not. "Now, we have a 'cruising squad,'" he said. "Three or four of us visit gay cruising areas around Chiang Mai. We talk with the boys about being gay, about the importance of not feeling bad about themselves. We also distribute condoms. We talk also about the importance of having a positive attitude toward people who are H.I.V. positive. We also sometimes visit gay bars and talk about safe sex. We have done a lot of work with bar girls in Pattaya and Chiang Mai.

"But, you know, in addition to running out of money, I've also run out of energy."

Natee is also very concerned with the number of children who have been orphaned by AIDS. "Near where I live in Chiang Mai, there are several children whose parents have died of AIDS, ranging from 8 to 15. They are not being looked after properly. Many are being brought up by their grandparents, and sometimes this is not easy for the grandparents. The children need some financial help and we provide that so they can complete secondary school. This is a new project for FACT."

Natee looks back with fondness on his years of activism. "I used to be famous, now I'm pretty well anonymous," he says jokingly.

Natee Teerarojjapongs is taking a break. After helping thousands of young Thais avoid a terrifying disease, he deserves it. But he'll be back.

André McNicoll is a Canadian sociologist and freelance writer who has lived in Bangkok for the past 10 years.