Part 2: Traps and heartbroken girls

>>Part 1: Hunting for the mountain girl

(NAO) -Many girls want to quickly "change their lives" so they throw themselves into prostitution, but there are also cases where they are trapped by "madams" and prostitute hunters. They are pitiful victims...

Need a job but gullible

Vy (*) was born in 1979, the fifth daughter of a poor farming family, so she did not have a proper education. At the end of July 2007, Vy's older sister offered to take her to find a job. After a few days, Vy took a motorbike taxi to Ben Thuy to visit her cousin. On the way, the motorbike taxi driver started chatting. Openly and openly, the country girl started talking to the motorbike taxi driver and told him that she needed a job as a salesman or food server. The motorbike taxi driver exclaimed and happily told Vy that he knew a restaurant by the sea that was urgently recruiting and advised her to come over and try it out. Too surprised, Vy nodded and agreed to let the man take her to find a job.

At a restaurant named Thanh Vinh on the beachside of Xuan Thanh (Nghi Xuan, Ha Tinh), Vy went in to meet the owner. After a while of whispering, the owner agreed to let her stay for a trial period. Extremely happy, like a fish in water, Vy asked permission to call home to inform her family, but the owner refused. The motorbike taxi driver who accompanied her reassured her to stay. But when the motorbike taxi driver disappeared, the owner revealed her face as a madam when she called two strong young men to take Vy to a small room at the end of the restaurant.

Vy cried out and was immediately slapped several times by two men. About half an hour later, a man entered Vy's room and closed the door. Before she could recover, the man rushed in. Vy resisted and cried, causing the man to "lose interest" and curse her. Then he left the room. Immediately, the beatings continued, accompanied by threats to kill her. Terrified, Vy resigned herself to giving up everything.

After that terrible night, Vy had to serve 7-8 customers, sometimes up to 12 customers, without being paid by the owner. During the day, Vy was like a wild animal locked in a closed room, at night, Vy was summoned to the bar to greet customers but was always watched by the owner and three girls working in the bar. Any suspicious actions of Vy would be immediately punished with whips. Many times Vy tried to escape but failed. When calling for help did not work, Vy began to use other methods to escape.

After each time "going out with a client", Vy deliberately sang nonsense, laughed and talked to herself, sometimes looking at people with lifeless, empty eyes, looking as if she was not looking at anyone, which scared the clients. The owner quickly sent someone to take Vy to Vinh City for examination. When the car stopped at a red light at the intersection in Quang Trung Ward (Vinh City), Vy saw two female police officers walking in front of her and immediately jumped out of the car, screaming and causing chaos. The two escorts rushed in to control them but were too late. All were taken to Quang Trung Ward police station for settlement.

For a long time, the villagers in Chau Binh commune, Quy Chau district have been very worried about Hien who suddenly disappeared from the area, all traces of this girl are unknown. Even Hien's family members are sitting on hot coals because they do not know where their daughter is wandering. It was not until Hien suddenly returned with a haggard, thin, pale body that everyone knew the story. In early April 2007, listening to the sweet words of Cao Thi Thu, residing in Chau Binh commune, Quy Chau district, she had an acquaintance who worked as a boss in Vinh city and promised to arrange a job for her. Trusting her friend, Hien immediately accepted the offer with the hope of working in the city for a high salary, good food, nice clothes and sending money back to her family.

The next day, Hien and a woman named Nguyen Thi Tuyet (born in 1960), living in hamlet 12, Nghi Trung commune, Nghi Loc district (Nghe An) told them to go to Vinh to find a job according to Thu's instructions. The girl from the mountainous region was leaving the mountain town for the first time, everything was new, even the story of asking the car to take her to Vinh but the car went back to Thanh Hoa, she still didn't know. That night, when they reached the provincial post office intersection, the two got off the car and stayed in the suburbs of Thanh Hoa city.

In the morning, Nguyen Thi Tuyet called a man to pick her up. After wandering around Ha Trung district for a while, the man called his accomplices to come and take Hien to a motel on a motorbike, starting the torture. Finally, Hien escaped from that "devil's nest" thanks to luck. Later, Hien was shocked to learn that her close friend had sold her to a broker for a cheap price (2 million VND).

Many women in remote areas were trafficked across the border, with no chance of returning. There were even cases where close friends tried to sell each other to prostitution to earn money. Many students often tell the story of how a new student named Hong was harmed by her close friend: As soon as she entered the university, the girl from the mountainous region had a girlfriend from the same hometown, a previous class, who she met by chance and started talking to. The two gradually became close. One weekend, Hong was invited by her friend to go to the beach. After playing with the waves and sand for a while, her friend invited her to a shop for a drink. After drinking, Hong felt her mind drifting, and she fell asleep without knowing when. When she woke up, she was naked, tears streaming down her face. A moment later, the shop owner came in, waved her hand, and warned: "Your friend has "sold" you to me, be obedient, or else watch out!"

Women trafficking ring

Cases of people who managed to escape from prostitution dens like Vy and Hien are very rare. According to statistics, from 1998 to now, Nghe An province has had 407 women and children tricked and sold to provinces and cities in the country, especially the northern provinces and to foreign countries (mainly China) for the relatively large purpose of prostitution, in addition to 192 women and children suspected of being tricked and sold. Many cases have not yet had any news.

Localities with a large number of trafficked women and children include Quynh Luu and Dien Chau, each district has more than 80 people, Quy Chau (34 people), Nghia Dan (37 people), Tuong Duong (26 people)... Notably, in Nghe An, there is a case of the former Chief of Commune Police, former Chairman of the People's Committee of Tam Thai Commune, Tuong Duong District, who is also a subject in the women trafficking ring.

Article and photos: Ngoc Binh -Law Newspaper