Abolish Slavery's Blog
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Excerpt from Mission Slavery
- Posted on 02.19.09
Written by Sandra Kirkpatrick
The last night I was in Bangkok we went back to a brothel that poses as a hotel for Middle Eastern people. In the basement of the hotel on bright pink platform steps behind glass are women on display who are for sale. Usually these women had applied for a job as nannies, maids, or the like only to find themselves shipped to Bangkok and told they were going to be prostitutes. If they protested they are told they would be in the country illegally and would be jailed; they are threatened with violence, and/or brutalized and their families at home are threatened and/or harmed. Few women feel they are able to escape, or know where they would go if they could escape.
Our purpose was to make contact and let them know we were there, and if they would indicate they needed help we could provide it. The hotel did not consider us a help and the restaurant staff would never serve us, but we were not ignored as the hotel security always followed and watched us whenever we went into the hotel to try to intimidate us. The photo below I took of 2 of the volunteers with me in the hotel restaurant and it shows the security men peering in the restaurant window at us. We were under constant surveillance whenever we went inside the hotel.
This night when I walked up to the window of the hotel cafe to make my presence known, there was a trafficked woman sitting with a man at a table right by the window. When she saw me she looked me right in the eye, and then she smiled at me a beautiful big warm smile. That smile said, "I know why you are here. I know that you care about us. I know you will help if I ask." In that instant of contact I knew our mission was a success. Four of the Uzbek slaves have been rescued and sent back to Uzbekistan.
AbolishSlavery works in many countries all over the globe in cooperation with our coalition partners and this is just one story. Our next rescue is about to begin. Please help us by donating generously in order for us to retrieve as many as possible from enslavement. Your dollars will make a difference. AbolishSlavery primarily looks for children because they are the most vulnerable to trafficking. Please help us restore them to their own lives.
Related causes: Human Rights
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Your organization is in my prayers as are those that are affected by these crimes. I believe in your cause and at some point in the future our paths may cross in regards to combating and saving these little ones. Keep up the good work and please take care and always play it close to the vest. Joseph