Malaysia forum

Hey altmtl - it's not a case of 'no reaction' - I was saddened when I read it and will follow with interest. It's more a case of not having any contacts, or being able to do anything practical from where I am in NZ.

By the way, the link requires a CouchSurf login, and to be a member of the 'Malaysia' group.

Do you (or your friend) have any personal connection to the case? Or are you just spreading the word?

best to ask the OP on CS, not me.

Actually, that thought occurred to me too when I first read it (about the phone).

Hi all, this is the poster of the message Jim linked to. I'll copy and paste what I wrote in just a second, which might help to allay some of the confusion/skepticism. But more directly, to address your points --

- I'm not this girl's friend on CS. In fact, I don't even know the girl. She's a friend of my roommate (I'm not in Viet atm, but she is), and I'm just spreading the word.
- The Viet authorities have been contacted, I'm told, but are moving a bit too slow to ensure that this ends well. And based on my personal impressions of Vietnam, and the impressions of Malaysia I've gotten from reading this http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/10/31/cambodia-malaysia-domestic-workers-face-abuse and daily articles about cases like this, it's not really a question of letting someone know, because chances are they won't care.... especially if you're of the migrant worker class.
- So yea, just putting it out there on the vague chance that someone somewhere will read this and know what to do. Because my roommate and her friends sure don't. Would appreciate any help at all anyone can offer, even spreading the word helps... I hope.

Here is the cut-n-paste:

Our friend Nga, a 23 year old female Vietnamese friend here in HCMC, has just been trafficked (abducted) and sold into prostitution in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I’m asking for any person who has or knows anyone with political or diplomatic connections to contact one of us so that we can help rescue her.
The details: Last week, she went to Malaysia for a lucrative job offer at a high class club in Kuala Lumpur, where she was promised high wages. Upon arriving, her passport was taken, she was imprisoned in an apartment above the club, and she has been forced into prostitution, threatened with the punishment of beatings and possibly death if she doesn’t comply. Whenever she can sneak away to the bathroom, she makes secret phone calls to inform us of her state. She’s been there just over one week and isn't even allowed outside. In this business, she could be sold to the highest bidder within a week’s time and disappear without a trace. We have contacted the Vietnamese authorities here, but things seem to be moving too slow due to the inefficiency of bureaucracy. There is a person out there who has the power to put stop to this and help Nga, but we need help getting in contact with them. It is said that there are only six degrees of separation between any two people. Perhaps with the help of social media this can be proved true for a noble cause.
Thank you in advance for any advice, suggestions, or help.

hey mac, thanks for your help, seems like sound advice, have forwarded.