Whenever I visit the States or Europe, old friends celebrate the prodigal’s return. The guest list run from the good, the bad, and the beautiful. After all we’re talking about London, Paris, LA, and New York. Most of the invitees are familiar with my history, but also a smattering of new people and sooner or later during the evening a female guest will ask, “Where do you live?”
“Thailand.”
Her eyes will narrow with suspicion only to widen with bald-faced accusation of Gary Glitteritis, as I add, “Pattaya to be specific.”
I don’t even bother to defend myself, for as most humans I’m a mixture of the good, the bad, and the in-between, however as I’ve stated often Westerners anoint Thailand as a land of sin is because their own countries are so rift with evil that it’s better to point a finger at someone else than see the reflection in the mirror.
Case in point: Ashley Flores.
13 year-old girl vanished from sight.
Ashley Flores.
Family begging for help.
She could be kidnapped by sexual perverts or even worse the Catholic Church. Not for sex, but to become a nun.
My friend sent a chain letter plea to find Ashley Flores.
Something wasn’t right about the email.
The first clue is the email address.
There is no such email address.
But my friend like many good-hearted people fell for the hoax accroding to http://www.breakthechain.org/exclusives/ashleyflores.html
Ashley Flores is a real person, but she hasn’t gone missing, though she does have a friend who took leave of her senses. A friend of Ashley’s decided to pull a prank on her by modifying a popular missing child hoax to make it appear that Ashley had disappeared. Her source text was the Penny Brown hoax, circulating since 2001. But, even that one wasn’t original, as it was adapted from even earlier missives about Kelsey Brooke Jones and C.J. Mineo.
Fake?
Seems that way, but girls do go missing. Boys too.
They meet a good-looking boy. He buys them a mobile phone, jewelry, smart clothing. She falls in love, although her Romeo ends up introducing her to older men who are willing to give her money so he can buy her more presents. This is no myth.
The BBC calls it internal human trafficking.
Evil.
Sure.
Me?
I’m just an old hippie punk living in Thailand.
Pattaya to be specific.
Nothing is as it seems. Only what it is.
Just like Ashley Flores.
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