Imagine being born into a less-than-fortunate situation; you just want to make a decent living to support yourself and those around you. So, when you come across an ad on Facebook describing how you could work as a surrogate (a woman who carries and gives birth to a baby for another person or couple) for Georgian couples unable to conceive, you jump on the offer, not wanting to pass it up. After having all your travels paid for by the company, you quickly discover that the job offer was just an elaborate facade for a large-scale human egg farm. You are quickly taken hostage, and for months, you, along with one hundred other women, are treated like cattle and are constantly being pumped full of hormones. Your only shot at an escape is to buy your freedom. Even though this situation sounds wildly unrealistic and like it was pulled straight from some fiction or even “The Matrix,” it was the reality that three Thai women had to endure while many more are currently experiencing the same fate.
These three women, who are keeping their identities anonymous for security reasons, were freed on Jan. 30, due to the efforts of Pavena Hongsakula, the founder of an establishment seeking to help women and children, and Interpol (International Criminal Police Organization). While being enslaved for over half of a year, they were kept in discrete locations in the country of Georgia, thinking they would be making anywhere from 12,000 – 18,000 dollars working for this unnamed company. Instead, they were forced to give up their eggs monthly by Henchmen supposedly working under a Chinese syndicate who sold them on the Chinese black market. Dr. Suzanne Parisian, featured in the documentary Eggsploitation by CBC, stated, “We see young women being looked at as a market for eggs. A woman has become a walking ovary factory, egg factory.”These women who escaped are currently working with Hongsakula, Interpol, and the Thai government in hopes of rescuing the many people still being held captive.
This case has brought the scandal of trafficking to light, not just that of eggs from women but all other forms of it as well. With simply how revolting it was, it provoked the general public to recognize how common and easy it is for a situation like this to hide in plain sight. This large-scale operation, for example, was held in just four houses but still enslaved around 100 people. The unfortunate truth is that countless people’s innocence and lives are stripped away from them due to trafficking, and the issue has only continued to grow. It lurks on the cusp of becoming more prevalent. If more cases such as this one are exposed to the public eye, that may cause more attention to be brought to the matter and result in the government attempting to resolve or improve the scenario. For the time being, it is essential to remain vigilant and protect yourself in order to avoid similar circumstances.
