Trafficking and Foot Massages
I think way too much about trafficking. I guess it is a hazard of my job. So when I went for the foot massage course last week I started thinking about how easy it would be to trap someone and traffic them.
My friend and I signed up for the course online. We were sent an email to meet at a specific place and we would be picked up by a driver. A lady showed up on a scooter to pick us up. But she could only take us one at a time. So I sent my friend first (brave of me). Then I started thinking as I sat and waited. "What if she is trafficking Sarah?" "I don't know where she took her." "We should have gone my tuk-tuk and just followed her on her scooter." The massage lady came back for me and I got on, trusting that she wasn't going to sell me too.
On my ride to the massage course the lady stopped at a 7-11. I thought, "She could be in there buying drugs to drug me." She came back out and we drove on down small roads to smaller roads. "She could be getting me lost so I won't be able to find my way out of here."
We got to her house where she apparently teaches her massage course and I was glad to see Sarah. We sat on our mats and were ready for the class. It was just the lady and Sarah and I. The lady made a phone call (or received one, I can' remember). I thought, "That could be the person she is going to sell us to. She is telling them that she has us." Since she was speaking in Thai we didn't know what she was saying.
Not too long into our class, three men showed up at the house. She let them in and gave them water and one man sat down and faced us. Awkward. "This is probably the man who is buying us." Two of the guys left. As I thought about how they would get us, I thought they probably needed to drug us. So I stopped drinking the water the lady had given us. I kept my eye on Sarah to make sure she didn't fall asleep. And when you are relaxing while getting a foot massage you look like you are getting drowsy. But I was alert.
Finally the guy left. She said it was a friend that she hadn't seen in 10 years and he was in town just for the day. She went back to the massage class. We finished up our training and were able to leave. So thankful that we were not sold into slavery. Probably because I was so alert. Sarah should thank me.
My friend and I signed up for the course online. We were sent an email to meet at a specific place and we would be picked up by a driver. A lady showed up on a scooter to pick us up. But she could only take us one at a time. So I sent my friend first (brave of me). Then I started thinking as I sat and waited. "What if she is trafficking Sarah?" "I don't know where she took her." "We should have gone my tuk-tuk and just followed her on her scooter." The massage lady came back for me and I got on, trusting that she wasn't going to sell me too.
On my ride to the massage course the lady stopped at a 7-11. I thought, "She could be in there buying drugs to drug me." She came back out and we drove on down small roads to smaller roads. "She could be getting me lost so I won't be able to find my way out of here."
We got to her house where she apparently teaches her massage course and I was glad to see Sarah. We sat on our mats and were ready for the class. It was just the lady and Sarah and I. The lady made a phone call (or received one, I can' remember). I thought, "That could be the person she is going to sell us to. She is telling them that she has us." Since she was speaking in Thai we didn't know what she was saying.
Not too long into our class, three men showed up at the house. She let them in and gave them water and one man sat down and faced us. Awkward. "This is probably the man who is buying us." Two of the guys left. As I thought about how they would get us, I thought they probably needed to drug us. So I stopped drinking the water the lady had given us. I kept my eye on Sarah to make sure she didn't fall asleep. And when you are relaxing while getting a foot massage you look like you are getting drowsy. But I was alert.
Finally the guy left. She said it was a friend that she hadn't seen in 10 years and he was in town just for the day. She went back to the massage class. We finished up our training and were able to leave. So thankful that we were not sold into slavery. Probably because I was so alert. Sarah should thank me.
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