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

[attento]

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.

If the story is true about the intelligent use of e-commuication, this woman was not naive. She accepted a big risk on the promise of a stranger (not a guarantee) that she could earn an unrealistic amount of money. Most Thai women are not naive about money. They know full well that you dont get something for nothing.

We must not confuse our unquestionable compassion for this woman, with some very justifiable critisism.

[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.

If the story is true about the intelligent use of e-commuication, this woman was not naive. She accepted a big risk on the promise of a stranger (not a guarantee) that she could earn an unrealistic amount of money. Most Thai women are not naive about money. They know full well that you dont get something for nothing.

We must not confuse our unquestionable compassion for this woman, with some very justifiable critisism.

It doesn't really matter if it is greed or naivety.

The fact she was held against her will is really all that matters.

[55Jay]

.

Edited September 2, 2012 by 55Jay

[noitom]

The newspaper makes a "diversion" piece out of Wadi's terrific escape. Let's see if the newspaper really cares and mounts a campaign to ferret out the sleaze ball Thais who sell their brothers and sisters on get rich quick through human trafficking scams. Let's see if the newspaper and its readership demands that the newspaper also insists that Thai embassies around the world have a procedure to assist Thais in Wadi's case and not turn them away at the gate.

[rubberduck]

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.

What happened to the 13 Thai girls who were send for a office-job to China and ended up in jail as victims of drugmuling ? That was a very, very sad story too. Are they executed or got life sentence ? Can't get that tragic story out of my mind... Guess I would become totally insane in such a situation, in a jail in China, year after year after year, a blind alley with no communications with the outside world, far from your family etc. etc. a totally disgusting nightmare that never ends...

Edited September 2, 2012 by rubberduck

[chooka]

The Thai government needs to run a public awarness campaign warning it's citizens of these scams. They do have a duty of care to thier citizens. Having Thai women lured into the human trafficking web isn't acceptable.

[attento]

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.

If the story is true about the intelligent use of e-commuication, this woman was not naive. She accepted a big risk on the promise of a stranger (not a guarantee) that she could earn an unrealistic amount of money. Most Thai women are not naive about money. They know full well that you dont get something for nothing.

We must not confuse our unquestionable compassion for this woman, with some very justifiable critisism.

It doesn't really matter if it is greed or naivety.

The fact she was held against her will is really all that matters.

No-one can argue againt that, my friend.

My point was that this must be a lesson to other girls. If there is greater public awareness of this type of scam situation, with the naivety and/or greed highlighted, it is possible that more young women would be prevented from following on this path.

[2unique]

I can't believe the people who are blaming the woman for naivety... my friend's who are admittedly more qualified know they can spend a year or two abroad earning 5x as much as back home in their industry. Most Thais perceive that overseas salaries are higher, they see it in effect every day. To believe the streets of Farangland and other Asian countries are paved with gold isn't naive at all.

If some friend offered me an overseas job in Dubai, i wouldn't even consider they were luring me into a brothel, why would it even cross my mind?

Some people on TV need to stop and consider that not every Asian woman has working knowledge of the sex industry

[BKS22]

A truly amazing and horrific story. Reminds me of the movie 'Taken' with Liam Neeson. For those of us that have Daughters it really hits home. The sex slave industry is truly sick & disgusting and I would have no mercy on anyone knowingly involved in it!

Congrats to the girls that managed to escape....let's not forget that thousands of other women are being held against their will around the world. The penalties for this crime CAN NOT BE STIFF ENOUGH!

[Sandstorm7]

A few years ago I was offered a very well paying job in Dubai. The offer was through someone I had formerly worked for and trusted. The contract was even emailed to me. The short of the long story is that after a 5 month delay in flying me over (every month - just one more month..) I arrived at this worldwide reputable companys Head Office, my passport was needed for verification and promptly taken and put into their safe. Within days my contract details had been changed and I knew I was going to be losing money by staying there - but I could not leave. There - anything goes - their rules and there is nothing you can do. They had my passport. I had no option but to get a loan from the company with which to pay my accommodation (in Dubai you need to pay a year in advance). At the end of my contract I resigned - they accepted my resignation - the day before I was to fly out they said they would not give me my passport. It took a stand off my all the other managers in the company at Head Office for them to release my passport ...with threats that I would not be able to leave anyway as they had put stops on my passport. Only after a local officer at the local immigration dept told me that my company was lying to me did I have the confidence to even go to the airport.

I actually learnt loads doing the job as there were managers above me who were willing to share their knowledge and experience but apart from the valuable things I have learnt in regards to my job - and the wonderful staff I had - the year was a complete nightmare for me and I did lose everything. I left owning absolutely nothing having spent more to be there than I had earned - I had to completely start again.

I learned later that even in Dubai it is illegal for a company to hold your passport - but I did not know that while I was there.

All respect to Wadi - to put yourself in the hands of the locals there is a huge risk. Most of the locals have absolutely no respect for a non muslim foreigner and I am sure she must have considered the consequences for her if caught escaping. Its so easy to criticise people in those situations - she acted with courage. Gaeng maak maak.

[belg]

1) how stupid can you get these days, 50.000 baht just to do massages ... if you pay 200 baht for a 1 hour massage in bangkok, she would have worked 250 hours in 10 days, duh, only 24 hours in a day

stupid kwai to believe

2) embassy guard = bahreni or thai ? if they, fire the kwai

[Thaddeus]

1) how stupid can you get these days, 50.000 baht just to do massages ... if you pay 200 baht for a 1 hour massage in bangkok, she would have worked 250 hours in 10 days, duh, only 24 hours in a day

stupid kwai to believe

Errr..... perceived earnings outside Thailand, double? triple? would equate to 12 or 8 hours a day.

Not stupid, naive yes, but not stupid.

[SlideRiceFC]

I am glad they were able to escape their situation. I'm a little surprised she was so forthcoming in admitting she falsified her visa application and claimed to be visiting her boyfriend when it is now her stated intention she was going to work. It seems like somehow she would have glossed over that little nugget of information.

I agree that it would have taken an incredible amount of naivety on her part to believe someone inexperienced in massage could get an all expenses paid trip and 50,000 baht for 10 days of work...for massage, no less. I guess some Thais really do believe money grows from the ground like weeds outside of Thailand.

[zakk9]

1) how stupid can you get these days, 50.000 baht just to do massages ... if you pay 200 baht for a 1 hour massage in bangkok, she would have worked 250 hours in 10 days, duh, only 24 hours in a day

I know Thais who work legally cleaning government owned schools in a Scandinavian country. They get the equivalent of 100-150,000 baht per month plus overtime. Thais from upcountry know nothing about foreign countries except the money they see coming to their village. They know that jobs overseas are much better paid than in Thailand, so are easy to lure into a scam, any scam. The victim is hardly ever at fault here, the lack of education is and their often desperate economic situation.

[edwardandtubs]

The article says that 7 of the 9 were there of their own free will and at the same time says all 9 were "rescued".

99% of these "sexual slavery" cases are the same - a prostitute makes a bad deal with a pimp and then wants to get out of it before she's paid off her debt. Hardly the innocent little victims portrayed by the media.

Edited September 3, 2012 by edwardandtubs

[zakk9]

The article says that 7 of the 9 were there of their own free will and at the same time says all 9 were "rescued".

99% of these "sexual slavery" cases are the same - a prostitute makes a bad deal with a pimp and then wants to get out of it before she's paid off her debt. Hardly the innocent little victims portrayed by the media.

Are you a pimp, since you know this? Or a prostitute?

[chuang]

The article says that 7 of the 9 were there of their own free will and at the same time says all 9 were "rescued".

99% of these "sexual slavery" cases are the same - a prostitute makes a bad deal with a pimp and then wants to get out of it before she's paid off her debt. Hardly the innocent little victims portrayed by the media.

Are you a pimp, since you know this? Or a prostitute?

BOTH...

[davejones]

1) how stupid can you get these days, 50.000 baht just to do massages ... if you pay 200 baht for a 1 hour massage in bangkok, she would have worked 250 hours in 10 days, duh, only 24 hours in a day

stupid kwai to believe

2) embassy guard = bahreni or thai ? if they, fire the kwai

A massage in London costs almost 5000 baht, so one massage per day for 10 days would earn 50,000 baht. She was going to Bahrain , so prices might be similar there. Who is stupid now?

Edited September 4, 2012 by davejones

[Chicog]

The article says that 7 of the 9 were there of their own free will and at the same time says all 9 were "rescued".

99% of these "sexual slavery" cases are the same - a prostitute makes a bad deal with a pimp and then wants to get out of it before she's paid off her debt. Hardly the innocent little victims portrayed by the media.

There is no doubt many of these women are knowingly entering the flesh trade. What they don't know is that on arrival in Bahrain they will have their passports taken off them, and will be held prisoner in serviced apartment blocks and expected to entertain anything from 6-12 customers a day solidly for three months, before being deported with nothing more than a heavily expanded rectal sphincter and maybe even an STD. However, to say it's 99% is an exaggeration to say the least.

The people in charge of this are very high up the food chain and treat them like fodder.

This from today's Bahrain English Language daily:

CLAMP URGED ON THAI TRAFFICKING

By Sandeep Singh , Posted on » Tuesday, September 18, 2012

THAILAND has been urged to tighten up the screening of air passengers to help prevent criminal gangs from trafficking people to Bahrain.

Growing numbers of vulnerable women are being tricked into prostitution and the failure of the country's authorities to enforcement laws is contributing to the problem, according to a top diplomat.

"We have awareness and special programmes to educate our nationals, but most of the victims in distress especially women are those who have visa violations or are runaways from their sponsors," said Thai Embassy consul Thatree Chauvachata.

"We need to get rid of this issue back home, especially with no screening or departure checks of our nationals.

"Our Labour Ministry and immigration officials in Thailand should work hard to ensure there is no violation of tourist visas.

"One only has to change a letter in their name and a new passport is easily issued in Thailand, which enables these traffickers to travel frequently without any restrictions."

Mr Chauvachata's comments came as it emerged Thai authorities had arrested a woman on charges of human trafficking and forcing them into prostitution in Bahrain.

The 27-year-old suspect, identified as Dutdao Yarana or Champaign, was detained at Phuket International Airport.

National Operation Centre on Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking (Nocht) vice-director Colonel Prasert Pattanadee said the Thai woman had several warrants out for her arrest based on human trafficking charges.

"There are still many sex traffickers and Thai female victims in Bahrain as well as other countries," he warned.

Identified

Col Pattanadee said authorities began investigating the case of 10 women forced into prostitution in Bahrain after one of the victims called the Nocht hotline.

"All the women were returned to Thailand," he told the Pattaya Daily News.

But Col Pattanadee said one of the victims later identified Ms Dutdao as one of her traffickers, along with the suspect Benjawan Promma or Nueng, 37, who escaped before police could arrest her.

According to the report, the victims told police the women controlled them while they lived in an apartment in Hoora and had seized their passports.

They claimed the suspects made arrangements with a Thai woman, married to a Bahraini, who forced them to work in brothels.

The report said police investigations showed the suspects had worked as a team to deceive the victims by offering them highly paid jobs in foreign countries.

"The sex traffickers also targeted young females from north or north-east Thailand," said Col Pattanadee.

"The victims would later be forced and threatened if they did not consent to be sex workers in Bahrain."

Edited September 18, 2012 by Chicog