In the 10th grade I met this girl, Ana. She was a new classmate and we became friends fast. Both interested in studies, energetic and both poor and day-dreamers, in a short time we were like sisters. So one day this “sister” of mine tells me she had the opportunity to go to the Arabic Emirates and make a lot of money. They were promising her a good payment in $ for her virginity. And you know what I said? I said “Yes, go Ana, it’s better to do that there for so much money then here with some stupid boy”. And that was the opinion of everyone who knew about it (meaning a small group of friends). So she had the authorization of the public opinion, she had a simple-hearted mother and she even had the guts to go to an unknown country whose name says “human traffic”. So she went there.
I was praying for her every night and when I received her first message I couldn’t believe it was really from her. It sounded like this: “I’m in Dubai now. This is a fairytale, I have all the servants at my feet…it’s super!!!! Swimming pool, fitness machines, Jacuzzi, everything… ”. Ok, she came home with 7000$. I don’t know about your countries but here for a 17 years old girl to have this money all for herself is something. But she developed a taste of getting easy money. My summer was divided into Ana-is-in-Dubai/Morocco/whatever and We’re-spending-Ana’s-money periods. I was so happy for her. By that time I became so naïve and I even started to think it was easy to get everything I wanted. Right from the first time when she came home she promised me I would go there too. She really wanted that with all her heart. She thought she would help me. And I was thinking the same way. I mean I had so many plans, so many dreams and no money. I talked to my parents about this and, of course, they didn’t agree. The more I tried to convince them, the more I wanted that. At one moment it seemed to me like the only way to survive. I gave my photo and they accepted me. I could go to Morocco only if my parents would let me. And they wouldn’t. I even started to hate them. We had fights in the family; I cried a lot thinking that my parents were taking away from me my future. It didn’t matter what I had to do there in Dubai, it mattered that I needed money for my dream: to study in a foreign country, and that my parents interfered.
It’s obvious that I didn’t tell them what exactly I’m going there for, but they understood it anyway, I mean who wouldn’t? Maybe only Ana’s mother. And Ana kept going there, she even took with her one of my best friends. I mean she can’t take with her anyone she wants. This is how the system works: the exorbitantly rich people from UAE want beautiful girls around them. They have a manager there and that manager has her managers in countries like Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus etc. In Moldova the manager for this certain person was a 19 years old girl, helped by her father. And it is considered luck to go through her because the “place” is one of the best. There are many “places” in EAU, even a “places” market was formed and each of them has a certain demand, depending on the money paid, the accommodation and the manager also, because money pass through the manager’s hands and it depends on her what you will bring home. They usually take half of the sum (officially) and they also receive money for finding the girls. So you have to pay 50% to the manager from UAE and 100$ or 200$ to the local one. They pay you the flight Chisinau-Istanbul-Dubai but lately they seem to have some problems and sometimes they send girls through Kiev. They also give you money for shopping. It’s a must. You don’t have to spend them but you just can’t, because the sheik wants to see glamorous girls and you need to buy new stuff. So you get there, stay for a week or two, you are given the money (or what’s left of them) you go home and everybody is happy.
My friends had changed a lot since they had been going to UAE. They had all those expensive clothes, cool phones, they attended those luxurious cafes and clubs. They weren’t my old friends with whom I shared my sorrow and poverty. They became popular and I felt like a loser, I felt like hell and the only way out was to go there too. After long struggles and many fights with my family and all my relatives and after my mum got ill of the nerves I kind of gave up. Until the announcement about one year studies in the USA. One year of high school in the States together with the girls was so close to my dreams! I would have given all the money if I had them. Ana had them and was ready to give them. So it started again: I needed money desperately and you know where I could get them. One night Ana called me and said: “you can go on Monday there but you have to decide right now”. It was Friday night.
Since that moment I couldn’t sleep normally. On Sunday I wrote a message to my mum that it was all set up and that I’m going. She cried that night on the phone like never before. My parents told me clearly that they don’t allow me to go, that I was doing that on my own account. So I went, and I took a friend with me, my greatest mistake. At first I had problems: I was underage and no attorney would write me the document I needed, but I found one some hours before the flight.
What can I say? I enjoyed flying (it was my first time). I really enjoyed watching the cities by night, much alike swarms of fireflies…I liked the airports, the people…sometimes I was thinking where in the world I was going…we traveled with the head manager, she had stayed for some months in Moldova as she was, and still is searched by the police of her country, Lithuania. A man met us in the airport in Dubai and we traveled by car to Abu Dhabi. I was trying to understand if what was happening was normal. Fear…fear was stifling me. I was worried even more when my friend was asking me things. I had a responsibility towards her. I assured her and her mother that it was safe and Ok and now we were carried to nowhere.
It was night and it was so hot, in Moldova it was February and here-24 degrees! We finally got to the house; we made ourselves comfortable, if I may say so and slept like on knife peaks. Our first day passed quickly. We were exploring the house and what do you know: no pool, no Jacuzzi, no fitness stuff…oh, we had one servant. I knew it wasn’t the place where Ana first went, but she had been here too and she didn’t tell me how it was. The only thing we could do in that house was to eat and watch TV. Girls aren’t allowed to go on the streets, only if the “owner” or how can I call him takes them out. There were 4 souls in that house: me, my friend, the manager and the servant.
The evening came. We had to get all dressed up and have a great make-up. I didn’t have appropriate clothes and the manager gave me a dress. The car came and took us to the owner’s house. Now that was some house! But I didn’t quite care. We had to stay in a room and dance like crazy until he’d want to come. But he was watching football that night. So we had a lot of drinks and the party continued. In the end he came in. We had to present ourselves, to shake hands and to smile as much as possible. Then he had a seat and we had to dance around him like prostitutes…I’m not good at it at all. I always do what I feel and I definitely didn’t feel like dancing for him. But maybe he didn’t notice but he chose me. He just said it to the manager and went back to watching his damned football. When I heard the verdict…ok, I was trying not to think of anything, not to panic, I mean I wanted it myself, I knew it had to happen, I…I started to drink desperately…and he wasn’t there yet…after some time he came to me, took me by the hand, took me in his room, I was trying to develop a conversation but he was obviously not interested. While I was alone in the room I was praying God to forgive me, I was shaking like crazy. Then everything happened. I still remember the music that was playing then.
The next days were so monotonous. We weren’t doing anything but eating all day. In the evenings we prepared ourselves but he had his football all week and let us home. That wasn’t bad at all, we didn’t mind. One day we went shopping. He gave us less money than he had to. We didn’t buy almost anything because we only had 2 hours. We went to him the last night and he did that with my friend. I can’t forgive myself every one of her tears. But I had all that strength only with the thought of the money, which, by the way we had to receive in the last day, but the manager won’t give them to us. Thoughts of cheating were making space in our heads. We were more nervous than in the first day and we feared that they would pay us some 2000$. She only gave us the envelopes in the airport then disappeared. I can’t tell how nervous we were, but how can you check your money in the middle of the airport with that luggage? We finally found a WC; it was occupied so we stayed in its hall. My friend first counted and she said: 900$. I started shaking and counted mine: 900$! My world exploded! I could hardly move…what have I done? Why did I come here? Why did I sleep with a stranger? I sacrificed all: my first time, my family, my security, my dignity…what for? What could I do with 900$? I only did what I’ve done to fulfill my dream. But these money won’t help me with ANYTHING…I would never do that for this money. Ana promised me 7000$ at least, and I promised the same to the person standing next to me. It has been even harder for her, she loved someone! And I ruined her everything…HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN?
I will never forgive myself for what I’ve done to my friend. Everyday I see her I feel this enormous guilt. I assured her it would be all right and it wasn’t. I blamed Ana for what happened, if she told me the real situation I would have never gone there, and even more, taken someone with me. And it was her fault, she should have asked for sure and she didn’t but I trusted her. Now I know Ana: she’s unreliable, she troughs words in the wind, and she’s a fake.
And I know the value of the parent’s word. Each and every of their warns became true. I hope they will never find out about this. I feel ashamed of my silliness. Now I can see clearly that my friends are just two luxurious prostitutes who couldn’t survive without selling themselves. My road is different then theirs. I have another predestination, I will make my living by working hard and decent and I will fight with my own powers. My family doesn’t trust me any more, people talk things about me, I don’t believe in my dreams any more. But I’m just not made for this. I don’t even know if what happened to me is called human traffic.
That’s what I call a stupid teenager’s mistake.
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