-Anni-

Ravuth,Sok and Tik walked a short distance to a dimly lit Cambodian karaoke and entertainment bar. Ravuth noticed how much respect people paid to Sok in the establishment as ‘taxi girls’ (hookers) came and sat with them and Sok ordered them drinks. One pretty girl caught Ravuth’s attention. She was a young Khmer called Anni. Ravuth felt uncomfortable in the bar and having no experience with women, was still a virgin. Anni and Ravuth chatted over the loud thumping music, and she could feel his nervousness. Anni kept receiving stares off Sok and the *mamasan, which was her signal to get on with her job and seduce Ravuth.

The mamasan whispered to Anni, and then asked Ravuth, “Do you like Anni?”

“Yes,” Ravuth mumbled looking timid.

“She wants to take you somewhere a little quieter,” said the mamasan sounding aloof.

Ravuth, being naïve and unsure of what the mamasan implied, shrugged and said, “Yes, okay.”

Anni led Ravuth to a block of five dingy apartments outside the rear of the bar and they went inside a small dirty room with a bed, a hole in the floor for the toilet, and a square concrete container full of dirty water that the girls and customers used for ablutions. Noticing several rails of clothes, Ravuth realised that many girls must live in this shabby room and it had a strange smell, which Ravuth never having sex it was unfamiliar to him.

They sat on a thin, filthy mattress. Anni smiled and said, “I will shower Ravuth,” she pulled off her t-shirt Jeans and bra; Ravuth looked away as she wrapped a large threadbare towel around herself and removed her panties.

Ravuth felt apprehensive, but as he watched Anni naked, throwing small pales of the dirty water over her head, and lathering herself in soap, he became aroused. Anni came from the shower wrapped in the scruffy towel, looked at Ravuth, smiled, and let her towel slip.

Anni was so thin he could see her ribs; she had small pert breasts and a shaven chalice. She grabbed his hands and eased him to his feet. Ravuth felt nervous and excited but became embarrassed when Anni removed his Y-fronts and he stood with a boner, which he covered with his hands.

Anni smiled, knelt, and took a condom from the pile on the table. She moved Ravuth’s hands away and rolled on the condom; having to replace it several seconds later.

“I am sorry,” said Ravuth as Anni smiled and caressed renewed vigour back in his old todger.

Once his old todger stood to attention, Anni directed him to the bed and he lay down. Anni straddled him, thrusting herself up and down on his little soldier.

Thirty seconds later as Anni took another shower, Ravuth lay on the bed smiling. Anni felt pleased that it was over so quick, she still had a long night ahead, and Ravuth was her fourth customer already.

Ravuth returned with Anni into the main bar and sat with Sok, Tik, and several girls. They drank and chatted for a while longer and noticing Ravuth looking tired, Sok said, “Okay Ravuth, pay the bill and we will take you back to the guest house.”

“Thanks a lot,” said Ravuth “I want to get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow’s a big day.”

“Som khet loy, the bill please,” said Ravuth, and then asked Anni, “Can I see you tomorrow evening?”

Anni nodded and smiled. “I will be here if you want to see me,” she said.

The mamasan brought a small folder containing the bill and handed it to Ravuth. The total was $300.

Ravuth paid the exorbitant bill, knowing that it was far more than what it should have been but he didn’t care.

Tik and Sok escorted Ravuth back to the guesthouse and he went to his room and lay on his bed feeling ecstatic. ‘It has been one of the best days of my life,’ he said and thought about Anni.

Sok and Tik returned to the karaoke bar, the mamasan handed Sok $200, delighted at having made $100 for herself. Sok took Anni for a free short time shag.

Sok then got into his Range Rover and took the photocopied sheets from his pocket. He laughed as he tore them up, threw the pieces out of the window, and drove home.

Ravuth had a restless night, excited by his thoughts of reuniting with his family after all these years. Unable to settle, he sat on the concrete benches outside the guesthouse, watching the sunrise, swatting away mosquitos, and looking at his watch, willing the hours to pass until Sok arrived.

Sok picked Ravuth up at 8:00 am, drove him to the bank, and smirked as he watched him withdrawing cash. He, Ravuth, and Tik then drove to the outskirts of the town and headed towards the Cardamom Mountains. The Range Rover’s air conditioner was a welcome relief to Ravuth, who still hadn’t acclimated to his old country’s climate. Sok explained that when they ousted the Khmer Rouge and liberated Cambodia, most survivors returned to their old towns, cities, and villages. Although the Khmer Rouge still had sporadic bands of fighting factions in and around the areas, once Pol Pot died in 1999, they had integrated back into society. He again assured Ravuth that he knew the whereabouts of his village and family.

“I bet you feel excited,” said Sok looking at the smiling Ravuth, “Not long now, we’re almost there.”

Sok got onto a dirt track off the main road. Ravuth looked at the terrain, but he could still see the Cardamom Mountains some way off, so he became concerned.

They drove along a dry muddy track for 30-minutes and into a small village. This looked unrecognisable to Ravuth. There had been no familiar landmarks or anything along the route that he’d recognised and still nowhere near the jungle.

Sok pulled up in the village centre and Ravuth got out and looked at the communal hut. The inhabitants came out to greet him, laughing, smiling, and welcoming him home.

A middle-aged man in shirt and trousers went over and * wai’d Ravuth.

Sok introduced him as Boran, the village Chief.

“Welcome home Ravuth,” said Boran, smiling.

Ravuth looked around the village and the small gathered crowd but recognised nothing or nobody.

“Your village has a problem,” said Sok. “They needed money for a new generator and building materials.”

“Where are my parents?” asked Ravuth, feeling perturbed and upset.

Boran smiled and said, “Come eat, we have prepared food.”

“But it’s not my village,” said Ravuth and frowned as Boran led him inside the communal hut where a feast of vegetables and rice lay on a straw mat.

While they ate, Ravuth leant over to Sok and repeated, “I know this isn’t my village.”

Sok appeared shocked, and said, “Sorry Ravuth, I felt certain it was where I last saw your family. That was a long time ago, so maybe I confused it with another village. Eat up and we will look there. You need to pay the Chief and the villagers here a little money, please help, give them a small amount; $600 would keep them happy.”

Ravuth had withdrawn several thousand dollars from the bank that morning to help his family when he’d found them. He had already given Sok $500 he’d requested for the loan of his ‘friends vehicle’ and now handed over $600 to the village elder; followed by two more payments to village chiefs after taken to the wrong villages… again.

They returned to the guesthouse at dusk, after driving around in circles on the outskirts of Koh Kong all day. Disheartened and angry, Ravuth realised that Sok knew neither his family nor the whereabouts of his village, and this wasted excursion had so far cost him $2,300.

While eating his evening meal at the guesthouse, Sok turned up, went over to Ravuth, and said, “Sorry about today. I was sure that one of them was your village. Never mind. We can try again tomorrow. I am sure that we will find it. I think I know where it is… Look.”

He unfolded a black and white photocopy of a map with areas circled on it. Ravuth stopped eating and looked, as Sok told him, “You said it was in the jungle by the mountains.” He pointed to three hand-drawn circles and said, “It must be one of these villages, sorry, I came off the main road too early.”

Ravuth looked but saw nothing apart from a black and white photocopy with three pencilled circles. He frowned and continued eating. Sok sat down and smiled, “Do you want to go to see Anni?” he asked

Disgruntled, but looking forward to seeing Anni, Ravuth went along with Sok to the karaoke

“Where’s Tik?” asked Ravuth.

“He’s working tonight,” said Sok and gulped his Johnnie Walker.

Tik had taken the back roads and shortcuts to the three villages nearby to collect Sok’s large cut of the money extorted off Ravuth.

Anni came from the back room several minutes after Ravuth and Sok arrived. She had just finished with one customer who had taken ages and looked happy to see Mr two-stroke Ravuth in the bar. The mamasan encouraged Ravuth to take her now because she would be busy later.

While in the shabby room and after satisfying Ravuth, he asked, “how long have you worked here Anni?”

Anni looked taken aback because customers never asked questions, she was only there to give them relief and once finished that was it. No one had ever shown any interest in her as a person. She looked at Ravuth smiling at her. Sok had told her that Ravuth was now a rich foreigner, but realising he was also a kind man, related her plight.

It had been four years since the mamasan went to her village on the outskirts of Koh Kong. She offered to loan the villagers with daughters $200, telling them to use the money to improve their lifestyle.

She told them that they could pay her back anytime, but they must pay interest. In the meantime, she would employ the daughters, who would receive $40 per month salary and given food, clothing, and accommodation, which she would deduct from their salary, along with the loan’s interest. These simple country folk thought $200 a godsend. They could buy machinery to help with their land, new generators, and hire machines to dig deeper wells for when the annual droughts hit and their shallow wells dried up.

“We were all happy and I couldn’t wait to start work,” said Annie and then frowned. “The mamasan told us it was a simple job to ‘service the customers’. Although nobody understood what the work entailed, the families agreed and took the money. What she didn’t tell us was our cost of living in the back rooms was $20 per month and the interest on the loan was $20 per month; so until the families could raise the $200 to repay mamasan, we were stuck here. Our job was to entertain the local Khmer customers every night, who were usually drunken moto-dop taxi drivers and border touts who had made money that day from the foreign border crossers. They wanted to get drunk, play with the girls, and get quick relief. Sometimes we get the local mafia coming in, people like S…” Annie paused and hoped Ravuth didn’t work out the end of the sentence as she said. “But they don’t pay. The mamasan is an unkind and unpleasant tyrant, who forces us to do any sexual act the customer wants.”

Ravuth saw tears in Anni’s eyes as she looked embarrassed and told him, “We get paid $1 per customer.” She looked around the shabby room and her rack of scruffy clothes and said, “Which doesn’t buy much.” Anni then wiped away her tears and smiled.

Ravuth felt sad for the pleasant young woman, who had now gratified him on two occasions. He could only imagine what kind of miserable life she led.

He smiled, took $50 from his wallet, handed it to Anni, and said, “Sorry, I am short of cash until I get to the bank in the morning and I still have to pay the bill here.”

Anni, looking stunned, but feeling delighted, said, “I never told you about my family to get money from you. I think they’ve robbed you enough… You are a kind man, Ravuth. Thank you, I will hide this money and give it to my family.”

She and Ravuth went back into the karaoke bar and the following morning, Ravuth felt a little happier after Sok convinced him he would find his family today. He withdrew more money from the bank and paid Sok another $500 for ‘his friend’s motor.’

On the way back to Koh Kong, Ravuth sat in the Range Rover feeling depressed and dejected. He knew that Sok had again swindled him. He had taken another route and driven around in circles, returning to the same villages they had visited the previous day, with Ravuth having to pay them again.

“Never mind,” said Sok smiling, “we can try again tomorrow.”

Ravuth felt enraged. “No, we cannot. I’ve had enough of your lies.” He pointing at Tik and snapped, “And you are not his son. I know who you are Sok, you are the Koh Kong mafia, and you have both robbed me, but no more. Take me back to the guesthouse. Now!”

Sok sneered at Ravuth as he dropped him off at the guesthouse and drove away agitated and angry. Ravuth ate and wanted to go to Phnom Penh the next day. He was to return to the UK in a few days and felt angry about wasting his time, spending a lot of money, and no closer to finding his family. He no longer wanted to stay in Koh Kong. Looking around the dingy room, he felt unnerved and stared out of the window. With only a few hundred dollars left in his pocket, he stayed in his room. It was now night, and he knew he would not get a taxi to take him in the dark because of the unlit windy mountain roads to Phnom Penh and the river crossing pontoons would not run at night. Ravuth lay on his bed and watched the creaky old fan rotating until he dozed off.

The guesthouse owner and an armed policeman banging on his door at midnight woke Ravuth. The policeman ordered him to go to the reception. Confused, Ravuth slipped on his trousers and followed them downstairs, where a drunken Sok and a sullen-looking Anni stood.

“That’s him!” Sok screamed, pointed a finger at Ravuth as he came into the reception. “That’s who beat Anni!” he slurred.

Ravuth gasped when he saw Anni’s bruised face and swollen jaw as the policeman asked her, “Was this the man who beat you?”

Anni nodded.

Ravuth felt shocked and clasped his hands to his mouth.

The policeman growled, “You beat this lady, you must pay!”

“But I never touched her,” pleaded Ravuth.

“You beat this lady, you pay or go to the ‘monkey house’ (prison),” the policeman snapped, producing a set of handcuffs.

Sok glared at Ravuth, grinned, and slurred,

“Pay $5,000 or get locked up for a long time. It’s up to you,”

Ravuth looked at Anni staring at the ground.

“Please… tell them the truth Anni,” he beseeched her.

Anni remained silent while the police officer moved toward Ravuth to handcuff him.

Ravuth realised he could not win against this setup,

“Wait,” he said. “Okay, I will give you the money, but I will have to go to the bank to withdraw it in the morning.”

The policeman looked at Sok for direction. Sok stared at Ravuth’s crucifix hanging around his neck. “Give me that as a guarantee,” he snapped, pointing at the gold cross and chain.

“No! This was a gift from my dead father.”

Sok nodded at the policeman, who moved closer to the frightened Ravuth with the cuffs.

“You will get it back once you pay the money,” said Sok, grinning

Ravuth, knowing his position was hopeless, removed his crucifix, and handed it to Sok.

“I want it back when I give you the money,” said Ravuth glaring at Sok.

“Of course,” Sok replied, smirking as he looked at the gold crucifix and hung his new prize around his neck along with his other jewellery.

“I will be here to take you to the bank at 9:00 am,” he slurred.

He then grabbed Anni’s arm, and along with the smirking policeman, left the guesthouse; leaving the irate owner and Ravuth standing by the reception.

“Pay your bill in the morning and leave,” said the owner sounding abrupt, who then went to his room.

Ravuth went into his room shaking and sat on the bed. He cupped his head in his hands. He knew this would be a long sleepless night and sat on the bed staring out of the window all night.

Around 6:30 am, he heard a motorbike pull up at the front of the guesthouse and Anni appeared at the window, startling Ravuth. She looked worried and motioned for Ravuth to open the window which he did and she climbed into the room. Ravuth felt angry, but he could see Anni looked in pain as she explained.

“I am sorry about what happened Ravuth. Yesterday Sok came into the karaoke late afternoon, looking furious about something. I heard him tell mamasan it was your fault before drinking several shots of whisky and groping me. As the night wore on, he became more intoxicated and abusive. He told me that he wanted to get more money from you before he would allow you to leave Koh Kong and I must help or he would go to my village and hurt my family.” She sighed and continued, “I tried to calm him down and took him to the back rooms to relieve him, but he was too drunk to do anything so became angrier. He punched me in the face and kept punching me until I fell, and then kicked me. I screamed for help and when mamasan came he stopped kicking me.” Anni grimaced as she told Ravuth what had happened. He could see she had been through a hellacious beating as she said, “Mamasan called one of their police friends and between them concocted the story about you beating me.” Anni coughed and winced, holding her ribs. She trembled and looked terrified. Ravuth understood why she had to lie. She had no choice.

“I am sorry and wish I could help, but what can I do? I cannot leave without paying them money and I must get back my crucifix. It’s important,” he said.

“Sok will never return it to you and they will keep you here paying them more money,” Anni told him.

Ravuth considered that would be the case, but he couldn’t figure her way out of this nightmare.

Anni then took the crucifix from her pocket and handed it to Ravuth.

Ravuth looked dumbfounded and gasped. “How did you get that?” he asked and put the gold chain over his head.

“When we left here, we went back to the karaoke bar where Sok and his policeman friend celebrated. They drank more and played with the other girls. Mamasan went to bed around 2:00 am and ordered me to clean and wait until she woke up. Sok and the policeman fell into drunken stupors in the bar around 4:00 am. I put ice on my face to ease the pain and stared at the bastard while he snored on the sofa.” Anni scowled as she continued. “Knowing I could not work and pay mamasan because of him, it made me angry. I took your crucifix from around Sok’s neck and mamasan’s motorbike keys from behind the bar. I came here to help you escape.”

“How?” asked Ravuth, looking puzzled, “I would think Sok warned all the taxi drivers and moto-dops to keep their eye on me, and the first bus doesn’t leave until 1:00 pm. Sok said he would be here at 9 o’clock, but once he found my crucifix gone, he would come straight here.”

Anni nodded and told him, “Your safest and quickest way out was to cross into Thailand and return to Phnom Penh, either at the northern border at Poipet or go to Bangkok airport and fly into Phnom Penh International Airport.” She looked at Ravuth and said, “That was your only way. But we would have to go now before the guesthouse owner wakes up and alerts everyone.”

Ravuth nodded, and with his bag already packed, he grabbed it and climbed out of the window. They got on mamasan’s motorbike and drove the 4 kilometres to the border

Immigration, customs officials, and small food stalls vendors, along with border touts, were preparing for the day ahead when Ravuth and Anni pulled up. They got off the bike at the border post and Anni showed him what counter he had to go to leave Cambodia.

Anni saw Ravuth looking nervous, so held his hand. “Don’t worry, Sok does not influence the border guards.”

They faced each other and Ravuth said, “I don’t know how to thank you, Anni. I hope you will be okay.”

Anni smiled, nodded, and said, “I’ll be fine,” although knowing that her suffering was about to become worse.

Ravuth took out his wallet and counted his money, feeling concerned for the girl who had risked so much, and knew if she stayed in Koh Kong she was in danger.

“If you need more money, there’s an ATM on the Thai side of the border where you can get Thai baht’s,” said Anni, seeing him counting his cash.

“Good,” said Ravuth, “but I want to give this to you so you can get away from Sok and mamasan.” He handed Anni $320. “I would like to give you a lot more, but that was all I have until I get over the border.”

Anni took the cash and winced as she kissed Ravuth on the cheek and said, “Thank you… you are a kind man with a good heart.”

With relief etched across her swollen face, Anni knew she could get far away from her Koh Kong oppressors to start a new life. She would take mamasans motorbike and leave straight away; she was wearing her only belongings.

“I imagine Sok will come to Phnom Penh to track me down, so I will lie low for the next couple of days until my flight home,” said Ravuth.

Anni smiled and reassured him. “Don’t worry, he won’t go to Phnom Penh, he has no power there. Sok is former Khmer Rouge and a coward. He would be too afraid of what the police in Phnom Penh would do to him.”

Ravuth looked at the bruised and swollen face of poor little Anni. He felt anguish and pity for her, and a seething hatred toward Sok.

“Will you be alright? What will you do?” he asked, concerned for this girl, who risked so much to help him.

“I will be fine. The money you have given me will last me quite some time. I will drive to the ferry port and catch the morning ferry to Sihanoukville. I have friends there and neither Sok nor mamasan will find me.”

Anni noticed Ravuth’s sadness and frustration, so she stroked his face and smiled. “Don’t worry Ravuth. Thanks to you, I will be safe and once settled, I can help my family.”

She nudged Ravuth, signalling him to go. He walked toward immigration.

“Maybe we will meet again someday Ravuth.” Shouted Anni as she got onto the motorbike and headed off toward the small ferry terminal.

Ravuth watched her speed away and although knowing she couldn’t hear him, whispered. “I hope we do Anni.”

After being stamped out of Cambodia and walking the 200 yards stretch of no-man’s-land, Ravuth crossed the border into Thailand and breathed a sigh of relief.

He withdrew Thai baht at the ATM, Ravuth caught the morning bus to Bangkok. He spoke with the Thais, remembering enough of the Thai language to get by, and the few he came across spoke English. He arrived at Don Muang Airport with only having to wait a few hours before he caught a routine flight for the ninety-minute short hop back to Phnom Penh.

Terrified that Sok would track him down in Phnom Penh, Ravuth stayed in the hotel room. The next day he went to the government offices and told the woman who assisted him before about his nightmarish encounter in Koh Kong. The woman said she would report it to Ny Ngem, but knew nothing would happen and looking angry, told him, “Koh Kong was a law unto itself being cut off from Phnom Penh by river crossings, it was difficult for the capital to monitor or police. However, report it to the Phnom Penh police and if Sok or his thugs came searching for you, they would arrest him and he’d face real Cambodian justice. With Sok being ex-Khmer Rouge, he would pay dearly for extorting money off a tourist.”

That put Ravuth’s mind at ease and he now understood what Anni told him at the border, that he had nothing to fear in Phnom Penh from Sok, and, with a heavy heart, he flew back to England a few days later.

Ravuth, now back in the room at the Bed & Breakfast, thought hard about his next course of action. He knew the money that Father Donal had left would not last much longer, especially if he kept being gullible and an easy target for shysters. He needed to find employment and cheaper accommodations, so he could continue his search. Although the terrible experience had shaken him, he felt determined to return to Cambodia and find his family. Next time, thanks to the hard lessons he had learned through his naivety, he would be better prepared. He stroked his crucifix, knowing that father Donal was watching over him, took his bible from his banana leaf box, and prayed for Anni’s safety.