OSLO: Sitting calmly, she takes a long drink from her iced tea. Her hand twitches nervously as her head lifts and she begins talking. For Lucy* life in Norway began well enough; she had a good job as a masseuse and was paid well. She had her own flat and after two months began sending money home to her family. “Then it all changed. My bosses came to me and said that I was being transferred to an exclusive section of the spa to deal with our wealthier customers,” she told Bikyamasr.com in Oslo as she prepared to leave the country and return home. “When I got there, the new boss told me to undress,” she continued. She said she was nervous and scared at the moment, as this was new for her, but afraid to lose her job, she did as she was told. “Then the man told me to wax my body and ‘be clean' because I would be using it. I didn't know what to do, so I said no thank you, but he hit me and said that if I didn't there would be consequences,” she added, her eyes beginning to tear up at remembering her ordeal. “I did as I was told and then I was put in a small room where both a table and a bed were present. My first client came in and demanded I strip naked. The boss was standing in the room the whole time as I did. I didn't have a chance to react and the customer then forced himself on me. I was raped. “This happened for months, with at least 10 customers, who did not want a massage, but just sex. I was a sex worker and it was horrible,” she said. Lucy then said she decided to force her way out of the facility she was being held in and told her friend to arrange for a flight back to Thailand. Since then, in early June, she has prepared to leave Norway. Unfortunately, for many Thai women who have arrived in Norway to work in massage parlors around the country, sex work is not uncommon. The Norwegian Church City Mission, in a recent report says that as many as 600 women, many of whom have been left by their Norwegian husbands, have begun working in the sex trade. Nadheim, the City Mission's center for women and men involved in sex work, found that 70 percent of 59 massage parlors in the survey offered sex, many against the women's will. The organization reported that many women from Thailand, come to Norway in search of work out of responsibility for their family. For many, working at spas is easy, but the consequences, said Lucy, can be detrimental. “I don't even know what to do or say anymore. I am so depressed at what happened to me. I think I want to help other Thai women to end this practice,” she told Bikyamasr.com. Worker and leader of the Thai women's association, Kornchawan Thorsen, explained to ScandAsia.com what Nadheim is doing to help the women, who have been left by their husbands. “We provide information about their rights, Norwegian law, and about finding jobs. Nevertheless, we are also trying to figure out the problems of each individual, helping them with everything," said Kornchawan Thorsen. “It's very difficult for them to find a job because of the language, lack of experience, and knowledge. They cannot get a job via NAV (Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration) because they're not aware of their rights. They're not given any information on their rights," she added. For many Thai women, the dream of finding a new life in Scandinavia has turned ugly and dangerous. At least some, like Lucy, have been able to make an escape. * Name has been changed to protect her identity.
