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Trafficked women return to Mongolia
Two young women recount the harrowing story of their two-year ordeal
April 22, 2004
Two 20 year-old Mongolian women who were victims of human trafficking have
arrived home after almost two years in appalling circumstances, according to
Onoodor. In October 2002 the girls had asked the help of one of their aunts in
getting high-paying work in Japan in nightclubs or massage parlors. The woman
apparently had connections with a Chinese man who could act as a mediator.
Their plans went drastically wrong as they found themselves mired in a life of
prostitution — first in Macao and then in China.
The girls left Mongolia bound for China where they met four Chinese men who,
unbeknownst to the girls, had purchased them for the combined price of Tg1
million. At this point they still believed the men would take them to Japan,
but as they spoke no Chinese they had no idea they were in fact being taken to
Macao.
When they arrived at the airport the girls again changed hands, again without
being able to comprehend events. As they arrived at an establishment which one
later identified as Divon Casino, the girls made futile attempts to communicate
using hand gestures. They were handed over to a woman who led them into a room
that appeared to be a doctor’s surgery.
At this point the young women understood that they faced a troubling
predicament. With no grasp of the language, no documentation and no money they
were powerless to prevent the horrific events that would befall them. As
several people dressed as surgeons entered the room, the girls were rendered
defenseless by injections.
When the first young woman came to, her friend was weeping beside her. The
girls, between dim recollections, pain and bodily inspections, discovered that
they had undergone breast augmentation surgery. In an ensuing argument with the
woman who had received them, the girls were denied their passports and told in
broken English that they had been sold. They were informed that the surgery,
performed to increase their marketability, was considered a debt that they owed
to her — a debt of US$2,000 each.
From this point on, the girls claim, they were forced day and night to work as
prostitutes. Denied any right to leave the building, they found themselves part
of a group of 20 Mongolian, Russian and Chinese girls forced to work in the
casino. The women were forced to have sex with around 20 men a day. To ensure
that they could work constantly, injections were administered to expel blood
during menstruation. They were charged for room and board as well as continuing
to pay for the forced surgery. The pair spent over a year trapped in Macao.
Eventually, it appeared that their nightmare was over. The woman told the pair
that they would be leaving as free women and that they would be escorted to the
border. The girls were given money to get them across the border and sent off
with an escort. The girls, in high spirits, stopped and bought presents for
their parents whom they expected to see soon. At the Chinese border they were
handed over to a man who informed them, in broken Mongolian, that he had
purchased them for US$3,000. The girls were forced into prostitution in
Xianjking for over six months. They became so unhealthy and suffered such
severe blood loss that their owner eventually expelled them after destroying
their passports.
The young women were found wandering, without food or money, by the family of a
Mongolian salesman living in the area. The family gave them money and sent them
to the Consulate office in Khokh Khot, from which they were finally sent home.
At present the case is under investigation and the girls are undergoing medical
treatment and counseling for the emotional turbulence of their ordeal.
This is only one case of Mongolian women being trafficked overseas, but it is a
growing problem and this case is indicative of many others. Human rights NGOs
estimate that around 400 Mongolian women are working in prostitution in Macao.
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