Fact finding of Nguyen ??????? 02/03/04
Name: Nguyen ?????????
Real name: Quy (Wi) the name written on her fake passport is false
Age: 24 Years old
Birth date:
Nationality: Vietnamese
Living place: Vietnam
Address:
Tel: (84) 5 ?????? (In Vietnam)
Place where she was discovered:
She was found at the Immigration Detention Center in Bangkok on the 02/03/04 by AFESIP Thailand.
Visits provided by AFESIP Thailand:
Her story:
Nguyen XXX was born and grow up in Phu XX Hamlet, XXX Commune, XX District, Tien Giang Province, Vietnam. She left the school when she was at the 4 grate due to the difficulty of the family. Then, she stayed at home and did housework to share the burden with her mother. She lived with her grandmother and her parents.
In the middle of July 2002, she went to Cambodia to visit her mother who sold small thing in a market at Oxay (?). A neighbour who stayed next to her rent-house introduced a job in Malaysia. That woman was a Vietnamese but lived for a long time in Cambodia. The trafficker promised that Mai would work in a hairdresser shop with the salary of $100 USD a month. The income was quite high associated with the eagerness for going abroad made Mai to agree easily with the trafficker to go to Malaysia. She gave her ID card to the trafficker to make her passport and she got it one week after. And she borrowed $500 USD for her mother back to Vietnam.
She arrived in Malaysia on the 1st August 2002 by airplane with two other girls. Right after entering the house, she was forced to be a prostitute. Three of them refused to receive clients and asked the brothel owner, to call their home and propose their family to pay back all money they had borrowed from the trafficker as well as air plane ticket and passport fee so that they could be released. The owner agreed with the amount of $ 3,500 USD. One of them, not her, succeeded with such strategy. Mai and her friend, TXXX, did not have economic support from their family as the lucky girl mentioned above and TXXX was beaten ruthlessly so finally they had to receive clients.
One month and a half later, she felt painful in her abdomen and the owner brought her to hospital. They found out that she was pregnant and the foetus located out of her uterus. She thought that that pregnancy resulted from her sexual relationship with her boyfriend when she was in Vietnam. Doctor decided to operate and she spent one week in hospital. Two weeks later the owner asked her to receive clients but she refused with the reason that she was still painful at the incision. She delayed receiving clients until the third month after operation.
One time, she made a client who saw her incision and was sympathetic with her situation. He decided to negotiate with the owner to clear all her debt bondage and let her free. One point should be mentioned that she did not receive enough 450 clients as the owner requirement due to the operation. The owner agreed all the conditions were suggested by this very kind client except one thing that let him (the owner) organise the trip back to Vietnam for XXX. He arranged a van for nine Vietnamese girls back home with a Cambodia driver. Then, the van was intercepted and seized by Thailand police right after they crossed the border from Malaysia to Thailand. She was in jail for nine months and in the Immigration Detention Center for two month in Songkhla, the South of Thailand. Then she moved to the Immigration Detention Center two weeks before the visit of the AFESIP staff in Thailand on the 2nd March 2004.
Her real name: XXX)
Information for family tracing:
When she was in the Immigration Detention Center in Bangkok, she has been assisted by the first secretary of the Vietnamese Embassy for her repatriation. She has given her address to him and 6400 Baht to pay the ticket of plane.
AFESIP Thailand has provided her with counseling, social work, services for victims. Furthermore, AFESIP Thailand has introduced AFESIP Vietnam and has provided ???? with all the information and contacts of AFESIP Vietnam
Repatriation
She has been repatriated to Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City) on the 18/03/04. AFESIP Thailand went to meet her just before her departure in the IDC. Details of the repatriation process:
Follow up
It seems that XXX arrived at Ho Chi Minh City airport. Then she has been interviewed by the social worker of the government during 2 hours. After that she was free to go.
She has phoned to her family saying that she is back to Vietnam and that she plans to stay with some friends in Ho Chi Minh City. She will go back to her village later. |
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The stories of the residents at the Center
( AFESIPCenter in cooperation with Ho Chi Minh City Women’s Union )
The following five stories are the typical ones tell about the victims of trafficking, sexual abuse and being pushed to straitened situation. When they came to the Center, however, they have been cared, been rehabilitated and received training as well as job opportunities. Since then, their lives have seriously changed and they are reintegrating into the community gradually.
Ng.T. B. (Code SG 0001):
The girl looks nice and cheerful but no one knows she has experienced a serious wound which would never be forgettable. Her family lives in a working- class quarter which is full of social problems as prostitution, drugs… . Her father is a guardian at an alcohol factory while the mother works as a charwoman. Both of them are too busy to take care of the children.
On one day at her 13, she was seduced and raped by a neighbor. This man, moreover, threatened to kill all the family if she told anything to any ones. The poor girl was too scared to tell anybody, even with her mother. She then quit school to take care of the housework. But the pain obsessed her most of the time and the girl always felt unsecured. In addition, her family’s surrounding is where the prostitute women live, so the prostitute’ activities more less caused effect to the little girl. Her mother was very worried since many people seduced her to become a prostitute.
Knowing about the Center, her mother sent B when she have 15 years old to there to prevent her from the bad outsiders. She was homesick at very first time but gradually got familiar to the Center. Living in the Center, she received education, necessary social knowledge and living skills as well. Besides, the girl registered for a hair cutting and make-up course at a private hair dress’s. This turned out to be suitable with her and she expressed her love for it. Both her parents and teacher are very pleased because of her rapid progress. She finished the course after 18 months and she now can earn her living with a permanent job at that hair dress’s. As she said, during the time at the Center, she has been looked after, educated and pampered and more importantly, she felt herself mature a lot. Believing in herself to lead a decent life, she asked for reintegration.
Her skill has much advanced so far and she is happy with income of 1 million VND per month which is not only enough for herself but for the whole family as well.
She thought she was very lucky. She is saving money and experiences so that in the future she can run her own business.
T. A. H. (Code SG0002) who is among the first residents at the AFESIP center
It’s a big family with 7 members in which the father works as a docker at the harbor to support the others. When she was 11, her father suffered from a heart attack which made him paralyzed. So her family had to sell part of their house in order to have enough money to cure the father. However, it’s money-wasting. Her mother, therefore, spent most of the time looking after him. The family was in a serious hardship. (His father is dead on May 2006)
The girl had to quit school at the age 14 to earn a living. She was first introduced to wash dishes at a cantina with 300 thousand per month. Then there were some people told her to ease the clients in order to have more money. Although the scare of the drunken men pushed her to find another job, no one wanted to employ a person with a low level education. The hardship at times made her hopeless.
She found herself lucky enough on being introduced to the Center where she received both education about social knowledge and skills. But the most important thing was that she was sent to a sewing class close to the Center. The girl is now very skillful after one year of learning and has stable income at AFESIP Fair Fashion workshop. Furthermore, the workshop offers good employment conditions. Her mother, recently, has suffered from serious illness so the whole family sold the remaining of the house and moved to live with grandfather in district of Cu Chi. With 1 million of income, she kept a little for bus fees and lunch and she gives the rest to her mother for the family expense and treatment for the mother.
She wishes one day she can open a tailor’s at home in order to spend more time on the aging mother
P. T. K. L. (Code SG0035) was born in Binh Phuoc province. Her parents broke up when she was young and she lived with the father and younger sister. When she was 5 years old, her father took her to Saigon and give her to live with another family. After a few months of pampering, they began to scold and punish her. It’s unbearable then she left their houses at the age of 15. While wandering around, the poor girl was raped bye bad men on the ward. Luckily, a kind person took her to “ Hoa Hong Nho” Open House in District 7 and she live there until she was 18. 18 years old was too old to live at that Open House and she was extremely confused about where to go and what to do. Because of the punishment’s obsession, she would rather live outside than come back to the foster mother.
Thank to the recommendation of the social staffs, she was transferred to the AFESIP Center where she has experienced a cozy atmosphere and was heartedly pampered just like the whole family. Especially whenever got sick, she could receive not only treatment at the hospital but the attentive care from the staffs. This was really meaningful to her since she has longed for that care. Then she went to school, learned about the basic knowledge in life through discussions and talks at the Center. Moreover, she learned cooking at School of restaurant professional skill.
After completing the course, she was introduced to work at a restaurant in Long Khanh, Dong Nai province. And now she has stable job at another restaurant with 700 thousand per month.
Although she has left the Center for work, she keeps in touch with the staffs at the center and receives their advice when needed.
The time she spent at the Center was the most memorial time in her life. This place is where she was pampered and was trained. Wherever she goes, she'll miss and visit the Center to share her love with other residents.
N. T. K. Ph. (Code SG 0010):
Ph entered Center when she was 19. Her family lives in a complicated working- class quarter surrounded by prostitutes, drug addictor and thieves. Her father was the bread- winner (Moto taxi) of the family and the mother was unemployed. Other brothers quit school and start as street children and sale lottery tickets. Daily life became harder and harder when the father got sick. The family owed huge debts so she had to leave school at grade 10 (15years old) in order to earn a living.
Without education and money, accompanied with the indifference from the family, she was induced to find a high income job. Then she agreed to serve at coffee shop on Bui Dinh Tuy St, but his coffee is a call girls coffee. Most of her income came from tips and her whole family depended on that income without noticing her pain, both physically and psychologically. Since lacking of self - defence skill, she was pregnant. And she alone came to Giadinh hospital to have abortion. Then she moved to another call girls coffee shop on Nguyen Van Dau St.
After working there for 1 month, she had chance to meet with social staffsfrom the AFESIP Center and knew more about the activities at the Center. Although she refused to live in the Center for the first times, after several times visiting and convincing her, the staff has gradually built up her trust. When living in the Center, Ph had many beloved teachers and friends, furthermore she also learned industrial sewing as desired.
Within a very short time, Center has become her beloved 2nd home and she confided everything to the staff including her ex boyfriend- a decent guy. The desire of a happy family has encouraged her to study hard and to live positively. Besides learning skill, P was looked after, taught literacy, living skills and cooking. After finishing training, she asked for reintegration on December, 2003. The project also sent her a sewing machine in order to assist her first step to find jobs. And since then, she has found a stable one in a sewing enterprise. By the income, she has helped her family a lot.
She then got married to the man she loved, at the same time, she found out her ovary was injured by the past abortion. Luckily, she was pregnant after devoted cure. And now, her family is happy with a cute baby.
She is grateful for the assistance the she received from the Board of Project Administration and the staffs at the Center.
L. N. T. (Code SG 0032):
This girl was born in 1984 and her family is living in small alley in district 4. This area used to be a “hot spot” with many social problems gathered such as gambling, prostitution, drug trading.
Her father died when she was young and her mother became the bread- winner. Her mother unluckily suffered from a serious illness which resulted in her paralyzed. So the girl left school at 13 years old and began to find jobs to treat her mother and support the family. Without career, money and a low educational level, she served at a coffee shop in District 7. After working there for a while, T has spent the night with customers to get more money. Step by step, she became prostitute at coffee shops around district 7. She was caught in action and then was sent to the reeducational center for Prostitute administrated by Department of Labor, War Invalid and Society for 2 years in Thu Duc. During the time at the School, she learned sewing; however, because of unskillful ness, she couldn't find job.
Just backed from the reeducational center, she was again induced by old friends to commit previous crimes. She could have committed crime if she hadn't met a peer-educatorwho introduced her to AFESIP Center to have vocational training. T enrolled in cooking course at School of restaurant professional skill and vegetable trimming at City Women Club. Owing to frequent practice, she has got much advance. She finished the course and then was introduced to work for Le Jardin (French restaurant) with the salary per month at 1 million. She shows her happiness and the respect to the achievement of herself.
confides that she is now contented with her life and she would try all her best to live a better new life.
LINH:
Lured to Malaysia
Arrested in Thailand
Saved in Vietnam
Dies in Singapore
They lured her with the promise of a well-paying waitress job in a big restaurant.
Miss Linh was also told that it would be an all-expenses-paid trip.'
Ms Linh was only 20-years-old and working as a waitress in Ho Chi Minh City then.
The job in Malaysia would be her (and her family's) ticket to a better life.
So, some time in early 2002, Miss Linh entered Malaysia with a fake passport provided by the trafficking syndicate from Vietnam.
The restaurant turned out to be a brothel and she was forced to serve - not food and beverages, but men.
She had to service up to 15 clients a day, claimed one of her friends who is in Singapore on a social visit pass.
Five months later, the brothel owner decided he no longer needed Miss Linh.
She was bundled into a van together with seven other women and driven to a place near the Thai border. They were dumped there without personal documents, official papers or money.
Desperate, they decided to sneak into Thailand. But they were arrested and sent to a detention camp for illegal immigrants in Songkhla in the south of Thailand, where they stayed for nearly 1 1/2 years.
In December 2004, Afesip was on one of its missions in Songkhla when its representatives met her.
We interviewed her and after determining that she was a victim of human trafficking, Afesip quickly worked to prepare the necessary documents to facilitate her repatriation to Vietnam.
She was issued a laissez passe (transit travel pass) and, two years after leaving home, she returned.
She was sent for support counselling, meant to help victims overcome their trauma. (AFESIP Counselling)
Initiated by the Vietnam government, the programme's partners are Afesip and the Vietnam Women's Union of Ho Chi Minh City.
As Miss Linh's family was prepared to accept her, she was successfully 're-integrated' with them.
But there was no peace.
The syndicate continued to hound her with death threats by calling her and even going down personally to her home as it feared that she was talking too much and that it could cripple its operations.
She also ignored its attempts to lure her with well-paying jobs.
She re-intergrated into society so well that she was even asked to share her experience with other women in workshops organised by Afesip in Vietnam.
But she soon she fell back into her old ways.
“IN DEBT AGAIN”
Her family was in debt once more. So she accepted the offer to travel to Singapore late last year.
Her seventh and final visit here was on 15 Mars 2006. Two days later, her body was found at the foot of an HDB block in Toa Payoh. (Singapore) |
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