A Columban priest tells the story of two women typical of migrant workers in Hong Kong who are conned into becoming prostitutes.
By Fr. James Mulroney

"I was promised a job as a waitress in a club,” bemoaned a distraught, 30-something-year-old Filipina woman “but on my first night here, I realized I had been sex-trafficked.” She explained that she and the other women on the same flight to Hong Kong had been shown by the manager where they would work and have drinks with customers. “But the other girls said you can only get around $100 a night that way, and that is not enough to pay your costs.”

Sex trafficking does not always involve midnight journeys in covered trucks, handcuffs and violence. It often comes from smooth-talking job recruiters promising decent work, moderate wages, the chance to travel and the possibility to help family.

Many migrant worker women who think they will be working at one job soon realize they are actually being tricked into life as a sex worker. The petite and attractive woman said her excitement of coming to Hong Kong quickly evaporated.

“Nothing was like I thought,” she said. “I had paid the recruiter about 30,000 pesos ($3,000) to get here, but on arrival found out there was another debt of about $5,000: one month’s board and food in advance. We were told we could not leave until we had paid it. And there wasn’t even a pillow or a sheet.

I had to go out and buy one. Then we were told gas and some other things were extra.” Another Filipina woman, in her mid-20s, said that she also had been told that all she had to do was drink with clients. “I had worked overseas before, and going out with the clients was strictly forbidden. In fact, if any of the girls did, they got terminated. It was a legitimate club business that made money from customers being inside. They paid me everything they said they would, and I thought Hong Kong would be the same.”

Both women arrived on 14-day tourist visas with the promise they would receive permanent visas soon. Instead, they where shuttled to China where they received a new 14-day visa. The ticket out of Hong Kong and money for the immigration officer were needed for the transaction, which the manager provided as long as it was paid back with interest.

In Debt & Desperate
Both women lived in similar situations: small apartments, one with 12 residents and the other 17, plus a “manager.”

One said the manager was a Filipino in partnership with the work recruiter back in the Philippines, and the other explained that her manager was the wife of the recruiter.

They think it is the accommodation that makes the money as they collect about $4,000 from everyone each month and the rent for the entire apartment is $5,000 or $6,000.

Indentured in debt, the younger woman said that in desperation she decided to go out with customers. “I had to do something to get out of this mess,” she said. “But some do not pay anything and others so little it is not worth it. And I was scared,” she added “there is absolutely no protection out there. You are totally at the mercy of whatever happens. So I gave it up.”

The older woman said, “I just could not do it. So I would sit in the corner (of the club) and hope someone would buy me a drink. In the beginning a few did, but I hated it and after a while, I started to pray no one would notice me.”

She said this probably was reflected in her body language. “The drinks dried up. I got no drinks at all.” Then, laughing at her naïvety, added, “Just a bigger debt.”

They explained that some women are good at this work. “They know how to attract customers, some do not mind and a few even seem to like it. But living close together in the small apartment I know many hate it. I can see it in their eyes. Nearly everyone in my place is only working to get out of debt and go home.”

But going home is not as simple as it sounds. “I have told my family I have a good job,” one confided. “What can I tell them when I arrive with nothing?” Both women emphatically said, “No one will ever know what happened to me.”

Stories To Hide Shame
Outsiders often wonder how young women from the Philippines are continually sucked into Hong Kong’s sex trade. But in a country where the odor of truth and trickery are difficult to distinguish, it can be hard to smell a rat in front of “business people” offering a good job in a foreign country.

“We’ve all heard stories of people making money overseas,” one woman explained, “but women caught in our situation are like us—they never talk about it at home. Even if they have made money, they say that they had some other job. And the out-of-luck ones tell some other story.”

Both women said they gave up calling their families as they could not hide their emotions. “I was always afraid I would cry,” one said, “and give the game away.”

The other woman said she relied on God. “I have learned that you can’t judge anyone. We all have our own reasons. We come to Hong Kong to dream of a better future, but now my dream is shattered. It is hard to dream here, but I still have hope. I pray to God every night. I mention His name. I talk to Him as a father. I feel close to Him now because of my many trials.”

The other woman added, “Hong Kong is a good place with good people. I can say that. Those who criticize us have never been in our situation. It is not the people but governments that promote sex trafficking because they do not give rights to workers.”

Now back in the Philippines, both say that time is comforting, but the scars of their traumatic adventures in Hong Kong’s seedy dens remain raw.
“I cannot tell anyone here, or I will be marked as a prostitute forever. But I must tell someone. I don’t want anyone else to get caught. I was sold like a chicken to satisfy someone’s appetite. It’s hard to take.”

Columban Father Jim Mulroney is the editor of the Sunday Examiner in Hong Kong. The newspaper’s website is http://sundayex.catholic.org.hk.