Thai Woman Taps Communications Tools To Escape With 9 Others From Bahrain Brothel

[Lite Beer]

SPECIAL REPORT

Thai woman taps communications tools to escape with 9 others from Bahrain brothel

The Nation on Sunday September 2, 2012 1:00 am

BAHRAIN: -- A 30-year-old Thai woman used all her wits and knowledge of communications technology to help herself and nine other Thai women escape from forced prostitution in a Bahrain brothel.

From sending SMS messages, googling for websites to contact Thai police and reporters, to using the Google Earth three dimensional programme, Wadi (given name) employed all those tools after realising she had been duped by her friend who sent her a plane e-ticket to Bahrain, saying she could earn Bt50,000 by giving massage service for only 10 days.

Even though she had no experience of massage service, Wadi jumped at the offer, thinking of making a fast buck in an exotic land and as a good change from helping her mother sell groceries at their home. Her friend also sent her an e-mail, which was a letter from the guarantor, a Bahraini man who identified Wadi as his girlfriend who would come to Bahrain to visit him. On August 7, Wadi submitted the letter to the Labour Ministry at Suvarnabhumi Airport and her passage to Bahrain was cleared.

A man holding a sign with her name waited for her at the airport in Manama, Bahrain. She went with him and arrived at a six-floor building that looked like a hotel. She was received by a Thai lady called Jeh Nung, who ushered her into the hotel, saying her friend was waiting upstairs. Her dream turned into a nightmare when she saw nine other Thai women were crammed up in one small room with their personal belongings scattered all over the place. She asked Jeh Nung the whereabouts of her friend but she was dealt a hard blow when the answer was she must have sex with clients or pay Bt100,000 for a plane ticket, food and lodging.

Wadi found out that two out of the nine Thai girls had been similarly duped but seven others had been in the sex trade and some had worked there for more than four years.

They were waiting for the fasting month of Ramadan to get over as clients stopped buying sex during the Muslim holy month.

Wadi thought she had 10 days to figure out how to escape. One day, Jeh Nung brought her and two other women out of the building so that a madam could have a look at them. Wadi took the opportunity to observe and look around the place and saw the name of the building was Farif. She was allowed to buy a phone card but only Bt400 to make local calls. To call Thailand, she had to pay Bt100 per minute.

She connected to an Internet service on her phone and looked up Google for the name of the road and the building she was locked in via the programme Google Earth. She saw that the building was opposite the Embassy of France, and an office of Gulf Air, and Windsor Hotel.

Then she sent SMS messages to Thai police and reporters telling them where she was locked up. Some of them agreed to help and told her to wait while they coordinated with officials.

However, there was no palpable rescue effort while the end of the Ramadan month was approaching. Wadi decided to plan an escape with two others. She told the guard they were going to dump garbage, leaving all their belongings behind to make them believe they would not escape.

When they got out of the room, they went straight inside the lift, came downstairs and sneaked out of the building through a water tank and ran as fast as they could to the main road to catch a taxi to the Thai Embassy.

They arrived at the embassy at 2am but the guard did not permit them to wait inside. However, luck was on their side as the Bahraini taxi driver took pity on them and dropped them off at a hotel and paid for the room - Bt2,000 - telling them not to come out or contact anybody.

They came back to the Thai Embassy in the morning and received help. Police also got the seven others out of the hotel.

-- The Nation 2012-09-02

[steffi]

Fire that guard at the Thai Embassy. What if they hadn't found a friendly Taxi driver or had be recaptured. That guard was grossly irresponsible.

[theblether]

Wadi you're a superstar!!

What a heart warming story from a totally unexpected source and this lady deserves all the praise and respect for using her wits from day one to get out of that hellish situation.

Bahrain taxi driver......you're a superstar!!

All praise to you Sir for stepping in and helping vulnerable women at their time of greatest need

Setting aside the jobs-worth contribution from the guard, it is now incumbent upon the Thai authorities in Bahrain to create merry hell with this story.....far too many Thai women are being entrapped in this way throughout the World and sex trafficking is a diabolical trade.

A truly diabolical trade.

I am delighted that Wadi managed to escape and I am delighted that the taxi driver stepped in to help, a truly heart warming story and let's hope it has an even happier ending with multiple arrests of people traffickers in Bahrain.

Edited September 2, 2012 by theblether

[Beetlejuice]

However, luck was on their side as the Bahraini taxi driver took pity on them and dropped them off at a hotel and paid for the room - Bt2,000 - telling them not to come out or contact anybody.

But however way they managed it, at least the women did escape.

Heres the problem I have with this story:

It states that the woman used all her wits and knowledge of communications technology to help herself and nine other Thai women escape from forced prostitution in a Bahrain brothel. So we can assume that this woman is quite intelligent.

Therefore, I find it difficult to believe that when the woman accepted the job, that she would not have guessed there must be sexual services involved or expected of her, especially considering the large sum of 50000 baht that was being offered, plus I gather it was all expenses paid, for only a 10 days working contract as a masseuse of which she had no experience whatsoever. So surely logic says; there must be other services required from her. This should have sent alarm bells ringing in her mind if she was not prepared to enter into prostitution?

And what about the allusive friend who sent her the ticket? Has she been named and shamed?

These occurrences are happening all the time, where women hoping to earn mega bucks in a very short time become tempted by these offers and end up being held to ransom by international criminal gangs.

Perhaps it really is naivety or maybe just greed. What about the women who never manage to escape and become trapped forever as just sexual receptacles for the services of men and being held in some back rooms somewhere?

When will they ever learn?

[steffi]

This is a story about Thai's cheating Thais.. from the security guard (presumably he's Thai) to the friend of the girl who sent her there in the first place. Why isn't that girl in jail already? If the law doesn't allow it change the law. She was an accessory to human slavery. In most countries that's a pretty serious offence so unless daddy's a top policeman her ass should be a jail.

[theblether]

This is a story about Thai's cheating Thais.. from the security guard (presumably he's Thai) to the friend of the girl who sent her there in the first place. Why isn't that girl in jail already? If the law doesn't allow it change the law. She was an accessory to human slavery. In most countries that's a pretty serious offence so unless daddy's a top policeman her ass should be a jail.

Your presumption is most likely wrong, it's normal for general security to be provided by locals.....if you attend Consulates and Embassies in Thailand ( and other countries such as China ) you will tend to find that the front line staff are locals, the nationals of each country that the embassy represents work in the background.

Other than that....yes......jail is the right place for people traffickers.

[theblether]

However, luck was on their side as the Bahraini taxi driver took pity on them and dropped them off at a hotel and paid for the room - Bt2,000 - telling them not to come out or contact anybody.

But however way they managed it, at least the women did escape.

Heres the problem I have with this story:

It states that the woman used all her wits and knowledge of communications technology to help herself and nine other Thai women escape from forced prostitution in a Bahrain brothel. So we can assume that this woman is quite intelligent.

Therefore, I find it difficult to believe that when the woman accepted the job, that she would not have guessed there must be sexual services involved or expected of her, especially considering the large sum of 50000 baht that was being offered, plus I gather it was all expenses paid, for only a 10 days working contract as a masseuse of which she had no experience whatsoever. So surely logic says; there must be other services required from her. This should have sent alarm bells ringing in her mind if she was not prepared to enter into prostitution?

And what about the allusive friend who sent her the ticket? Has she been named and shamed?

These occurrences are happening all the time, where women hoping to earn mega bucks in a very short time become tempted by these offers and end up being held to ransom by international criminal gangs.

Perhaps it really is naivety or maybe just greed. What about the women who never manage to escape and become trapped forever as just sexual receptacles for the services of men and being held in some back rooms somewhere?

When will they ever learn?

Naivety.....yes.......

Abuse of trust........absolutely

Combine the two and you have a potent cocktail............it's the devils work Beetlejuice.......draw you in bit by bit and at the end you're trapped........and it happens every single day in every society in the World.......not just in Thailand.

[BookMan]

However, luck was on their side as the Bahraini taxi driver took pity on them and dropped them off at a hotel and paid for the room - Bt2,000 - telling them not to come out or contact anybody.

But however way they managed it, at least the women did escape.

Heres the problem I have with this story:

It states that the woman used all her wits and knowledge of communications technology to help herself and nine other Thai women escape from forced prostitution in a Bahrain brothel. So we can assume that this woman is quite intelligent.

Therefore, I find it difficult to believe that when the woman accepted the job, that she would not have guessed there must be sexual services involved or expected of her, especially considering the large sum of 50000 baht that was being offered, plus I gather it was all expenses paid, for only a 10 days working contract as a masseuse of which she had no experience whatsoever. So surely logic says; there must be other services required from her. This should have sent alarm bells ringing in her mind if she was not prepared to enter into prostitution?

And what about the allusive friend who sent her the ticket? Has she been named and shamed?

These occurrences are happening all the time, where women hoping to earn mega bucks in a very short time become tempted by these offers and end up being held to ransom by international criminal gangs.

Perhaps it really is naivety or maybe just greed. What about the women who never manage to escape and become trapped forever as just sexual receptacles for the services of men and being held in some back rooms somewhere?

When will they ever learn?

You are a hard man beetlejuice. People do make mistakes. And Wadi did get a letter from a 'friend'. You can hardly blame the victim here.

[BookMan]

Not every girl would be as confident as Wadi in making plans for her escape, so kudos to her.

I would be interested in why the police or reports she texted didn't help. In the case of the police that should be one of the major follow up stories of this case.

[TheWalkingMan]

Glad she could escape.

[silsburyhill]

However, luck was on their side as the Bahraini taxi driver took pity on them and dropped them off at a hotel and paid for the room - Bt2,000 - telling them not to come out or contact anybody.

But however way they managed it, at least the women did escape.

Heres the problem I have with this story:

It states that the woman used all her wits and knowledge of communications technology to help herself and nine other Thai women escape from forced prostitution in a Bahrain brothel. So we can assume that this woman is quite intelligent.

Therefore, I find it difficult to believe that when the woman accepted the job, that she would not have guessed there must be sexual services involved or expected of her, especially considering the large sum of 50000 baht that was being offered, plus I gather it was all expenses paid, for only a 10 days working contract as a masseuse of which she had no experience whatsoever. So surely logic says; there must be other services required from her. This should have sent alarm bells ringing in her mind if she was not prepared to enter into prostitution?

And what about the allusive friend who sent her the ticket? Has she been named and shamed?

These occurrences are happening all the time, where women hoping to earn mega bucks in a very short time become tempted by these offers and end up being held to ransom by international criminal gangs.

Perhaps it really is naivety or maybe just greed. What about the women who never manage to escape and become trapped forever as just sexual receptacles for the services of men and being held in some back rooms somewhere?

When will they ever learn?

Didn't take long for someone to jump on the 'naivety' aspect. How many times have you seen warnings on this forum re Nigerian/Your Email Address has won a zillion dollars scams? Greed or stupid?

[jcw]

The Thai Ambassador should be fired (or sent to an inactive post) urgently. Total Disgrace.

[Beetlejuice]

However, luck was on their side as the Bahraini taxi driver took pity on them and dropped them off at a hotel and paid for the room - Bt2,000 - telling them not to come out or contact anybody.

But however way they managed it, at least the women did escape.

Heres the problem I have with this story:

It states that the woman used all her wits and knowledge of communications technology to help herself and nine other Thai women escape from forced prostitution in a Bahrain brothel. So we can assume that this woman is quite intelligent.

Therefore, I find it difficult to believe that when the woman accepted the job, that she would not have guessed there must be sexual services involved or expected of her, especially considering the large sum of 50000 baht that was being offered, plus I gather it was all expenses paid, for only a 10 days working contract as a masseuse of which she had no experience whatsoever. So surely logic says; there must be other services required from her. This should have sent alarm bells ringing in her mind if she was not prepared to enter into prostitution?

And what about the allusive friend who sent her the ticket? Has she been named and shamed?

These occurrences are happening all the time, where women hoping to earn mega bucks in a very short time become tempted by these offers and end up being held to ransom by international criminal gangs.

Perhaps it really is naivety or maybe just greed. What about the women who never manage to escape and become trapped forever as just sexual receptacles for the services of men and being held in some back rooms somewhere?

When will they ever learn?

You are a hard man beetlejuice. People do make mistakes. And Wadi did get a letter from a 'friend'. You can hardly blame the victim here.

My point is, that it is possible the woman was aware there was more to this job than just massage and perhaps going against her better judgement got lured by this irresistible offer of an opportunity to earn big money in a short period of time.

Many of them do take the bait and then often find themselves trapped and in situations that they find difficult to get out of, if not impossible to escape the gangs once they’re in.

I think in these cases, the women cannot be regarded as completely blameless for their predicaments and have to share some of the responsibility for placing themselves in a dire situation for seeking fast track methods of gaining wealth, because that’s what it`s about, the blind lure of money, even if it seems too good to be true, which in most cases it is.

In the end it`s all down to common sense and the realisation that there is no such thing as easy money and no one or company is likely to offer 50000 baht with all expenses paid to anyone that has no experience for the job description offered, so common says; there must be more to it and perhaps it`s a scam and a trap.

Whatever the rights and wrongs and differing opinions, the question is, will this woman`s experiences serve as a warning to others and deter them from making the mistakes? Somehow I doubt it.

Edited September 2, 2012 by Beetlejuice

[drdoom6996]

Must have been the Gulf Hotel.

[Traxster]

That sounds like a great script for a movie !

Wonder who'll they'll get to star in it

and when is the DVD coming out !!

[jcw]

That sounds like a great script for a movie !

Wonder who'll they'll get to star in it

and when is the DVD coming out !!

Copies will be available in Bangkok. Just don't down load it then bring it into Thailand, competition is not allowed. If you do, just tell a little white lie at the airport.

[spidermike007]

My guess is that the Bahraini govt. is either involved, or is complicit in all this. They are a den of thieves. Their govt. is one of the most hated in the Gulf. And the US continues to give them support. We all know by now that human rights is simply a smokescreen, and there is no desire to help the downtrodden, in either the US, or Thailand. Shame on that security guard. A public lashing, stripped naked in the town square seems like adequate punishment. The Bahraini royal family needs to be removed from power, and sent into exile in the empty quarter of Saudi Arabia. In the meantime, let us hope some heads roll in Thailand over this episode. Kudos to this rather brave woman, who stood up to the gangsters involved in this. Let us hope the woman who was running the brothel gets raped by the local hoods. That is the least she deserves.

[Bagwan]

That sounds like a great script for a movie !

Wonder who'll they'll get to star in it

and when is the DVD coming out !!

I agree. An opportunity for Nong Natt to reappear on the boards? More relevant is when will the fake DVD be coming out.

[sunshine51]

Wadi you're a superstar!!

What a heart warming story from a totally unexpected source and this lady deserves all the praise and respect for using her wits from day one to get out of that hellish situation.

Bahrain taxi driver......you're a superstar!!

All praise to you Sir for stepping in and helping vulnerable women at their time of greatest need

Setting aside the jobs-worth contribution from the guard, it is now incumbent upon the Thai authorities in Bahrain to create merry hell with this story.....far too many Thai women are being entrapped in this way throughout the World and sex trafficking is a diabolical trade.

A truly diabolical trade.

I am delighted that Wadi managed to escape and I am delighted that the taxi driver stepped in to help, a truly heart warming story and let's hope it has an even happier ending with multiple arrests of people traffickers in Bahrain.

I'd just like to add...Wadi...You're one very clever lady!

[xenophon]

My guess is that the Bahraini govt. is either involved, or is complicit in all this. They are a den of thieves. Their govt. is one of the most hated in the Gulf. And the US continues to give them support. We all know by now that human rights is simply a smokescreen, and there is no desire to help the downtrodden, in either the US, or Thailand. Shame on that security guard. A public lashing, stripped naked in the town square seems like adequate punishment. The Bahraini royal family needs to be removed from power, and sent into exile in the empty quarter of Saudi Arabia. In the meantime, let us hope some heads roll in Thailand over this episode. Kudos to this rather brave woman, who stood up to the gangsters involved in this. Let us hope the woman who was running the brothel gets raped by the local hoods. That is the least she deserves.

You are being far too severe. The Bahrainis obviously have impeccable moral standards as evidenced by: " the fasting month of Ramadan .... clients stopped buying sex during the Muslim holy month."

[qdinthailand]

The Thai Ambassador should be fired (or sent to an inactive post) urgently. Total Disgrace.

Oh, so the Ambassador should be replaced, for the indifference of the rent-a-cop at the gate? Rent-a-cops aren't paid to make decisions (and usually get fired when they do 'use their heads' if its counter to written procedures/instructions etc.). (probably one of them G4S lackeys)

dam_n ambassador - should be at the gate 24x7 and see that things get done right!

[Misterwhisper]

"Even though she had no experience of massage service, Wadi jumped at the offer, thinking of making a fast buck in an exotic land..."

Wanting to earn money with a craft she had no knowledge of landed her in trouble. Greed once again superseded common sense. No sympathy for that woman.

[chuang]

Glad she is safe..but there are still hundreds or thousands of women who are trying to get out of the middle east shit hole...

[asiawatcher]

Human trafficking is a disgrace globally. The Thai police who were contacted should also be fired for inactivity, (they should have immediately contacted their Embassy who 'may' have in turn notified their security guard of anything untoward. But the guard also should be removed. And what news re what the Bahraini police are doing about all this? Seems the victims are always at fault when dealing with Thai law.

[Rafale]

I wonder... does this story seems a little "too real" to be totally true, or not?

If true, I hope the hero taxi driver gets a real thanks + 2000 Bht from the Ambassador himself. This in itself is a start, but not enough, I believe a honorary citizenship and a medal of some kind is in order here, presented by our lovely PM herself, no less.

The security guard, Thai or not, should of course be jailed for non-assistance of persons in danger, and his direct boss seriously reprehended, or simply fired.

[jerrysteve]

The woman in my view is a hero...and the punishment for human trafficking should not be a prison sentence.

It should be a death sentence.

[zakk9]

As has been mentioned above, this is happening all the time, and I wouldn't blame the victim for anything. They are often completely ignorant about the world outside Thailand, but many see how large sums are floating into the village from abroad and are easy to tempt. The poverty in rural Thailand is no joke.

In Cambodia, they have made some excellent and very realistic TV movies that show how these system works. I don't know how strong the effect have been in total, but judging from the reduiction in visible underage prostitution in Cambodian cities, things are improving. Information and knowledge is the way to go. Trafficing is one of the worst crimes imaginable and I can't imagine any punishment being to hard for the offenders.

[473geo]

However, luck was on their side as the Bahraini taxi driver took pity on them and dropped them off at a hotel and paid for the room - Bt2,000 - telling them not to come out or contact anybody.

But however way they managed it, at least the women did escape.

Heres the problem I have with this story:

It states that the woman used all her wits and knowledge of communications technology to help herself and nine other Thai women escape from forced prostitution in a Bahrain brothel. So we can assume that this woman is quite intelligent.

Therefore, I find it difficult to believe that when the woman accepted the job, that she would not have guessed there must be sexual services involved or expected of her, especially considering the large sum of 50000 baht that was being offered, plus I gather it was all expenses paid, for only a 10 days working contract as a masseuse of which she had no experience whatsoever. So surely logic says; there must be other services required from her. This should have sent alarm bells ringing in her mind if she was not prepared to enter into prostitution?

And what about the allusive friend who sent her the ticket? Has she been named and shamed?

These occurrences are happening all the time, where women hoping to earn mega bucks in a very short time become tempted by these offers and end up being held to ransom by international criminal gangs.

Perhaps it really is naivety or maybe just greed. What about the women who never manage to escape and become trapped forever as just sexual receptacles for the services of men and being held in some back rooms somewhere?

When will they ever learn?

You are a hard man beetlejuice. People do make mistakes. And Wadi did get a letter from a 'friend'. You can hardly blame the victim here.

My point is, that it is possible the woman was aware there was more to this job than just massage and perhaps going against her better judgement got lured by this irresistible offer of an opportunity to earn big money in a short period of time.

Many of them do take the bait and then often find themselves trapped and in situations that they find difficult to get out of, if not impossible to escape the gangs once they’re in.

I think in these cases, the women cannot be regarded as completely blameless for their predicaments and have to share some of the responsibility for placing themselves in a dire situation for seeking fast track methods of gaining wealth, because that’s what it`s about, the blind lure of money, even if it seems too good to be true, which in most cases it is.

In the end it`s all down to common sense and the realisation that there is no such thing as easy money and no one or company is likely to offer 50000 baht with all expenses paid to anyone that has no experience for the job description offered, so common says; there must be more to it and perhaps it`s a scam and a trap.

Whatever the rights and wrongs and differing opinions, the question is, will this woman`s experiences serve as a warning to others and deter them from making the mistakes? Somehow I doubt it.

I'm starting to carry a little admiration for the Swiss guy that got you to pay for half the party......

[bunnaag]

she was allowed to make local calls.She could have phoned the embassy.Number obtained via internet.

[Colabamumbai]

When will these women learn, there is no easy money. If she had used her wits before hand, she would no have had to use her back end.

Couldn't she have walked into the embassy across the road, I am sure they would have afforded her protection. That would have been using her wits.

Slow month and she wanted to come home.