Those lines from Smashing Pumpkins have been playing in my head for the last 7 days.The world IS a vampire. (Note, the rest of this story is not a happy one so don't read on if you are only in it for the funny stories!)
Last week I got a disturbing text message from an unknown number. The first message was simply, "Hi, how are you?"
I responded back with, "Fine. Who is this?"
I was unsure at this point if the phone number and person sending me texts was someone I met at my expat group or someone new to my book group so naturally I was curious who this was.
About 10 seconds later another message appears stating that his name is Harry and he asked me if I am lonely living here and if I want some company. Before I could respond back with a healthy 'WHAT THE HECK,' I received another message from the unknown person stating basically that he could get me any country boy I wanted anytime I wanted him.
I was so GROSSED out that I re-read the text message several times before I permanently blocked the number from my cell. I couldn't believe what he was offering me. The text was genuine and was clearly not a prank!
In the US I would have reported this immediately to the police who would have traced the call and dealt with it. One, because it is illegal. Two, and more importantly because it was a child he was offering me. But in India there are not a lot of options for reporting these things as police here are in very short supply and are very corrupt (sometimes they are an active part of the problem). Also, the process is unknown to me because I am a foreigner living here.
How did they get my number? Did they know my name or where I live? Did they think it was a man they were texting since Lance's name is attached to the account and not mine?
That night I told my husband and his friend Mike, who was joining us for dinner, about the text message. They both read it but were all unsure of what to do. Both were clearly upset by the notes.
That night I could not sleep. I kept thinking over and over again about those poor children. I was wondering how children get into the position of being used like that by someone so evil. Did their parents sell them? I have heard stories and seen specials on TV and the news about the selling of children in India. Were these children abandoned by their family to this dismal fate? Were they kidnapped? And what do I do about it?
For the next few days I was so upset I couldn't even type up a post for this blog. Nothing witty and happy could come to my mind. My yoga practice suffered as namaste was not a word I could bring myself to even think (let alone to say). I was a mess.
Then I realized that even though I couldn't do anything in India about it I COULD share it with you to expose you to how life is in other parts of the world. These are the kinds of things that happen in other places where police are not reliable. Now, I am not naive, I know this stuff happens in the US too, but not so flagrantly and abundantly. In all my years of living in the US I can say with great certainty that no one ever offered me this before!
I have had other examples of the struggles of the people living here that I have experienced since moving to this country but I will write about those stories at a later time to elaborate. Suffice it to say, I have witnessed it while living here....the world really IS a vampire.
Last week I got a disturbing text message from an unknown number. The first message was simply, "Hi, how are you?"
I responded back with, "Fine. Who is this?"
I was unsure at this point if the phone number and person sending me texts was someone I met at my expat group or someone new to my book group so naturally I was curious who this was.
About 10 seconds later another message appears stating that his name is Harry and he asked me if I am lonely living here and if I want some company. Before I could respond back with a healthy 'WHAT THE HECK,' I received another message from the unknown person stating basically that he could get me any country boy I wanted anytime I wanted him.
I was so GROSSED out that I re-read the text message several times before I permanently blocked the number from my cell. I couldn't believe what he was offering me. The text was genuine and was clearly not a prank!
In the US I would have reported this immediately to the police who would have traced the call and dealt with it. One, because it is illegal. Two, and more importantly because it was a child he was offering me. But in India there are not a lot of options for reporting these things as police here are in very short supply and are very corrupt (sometimes they are an active part of the problem). Also, the process is unknown to me because I am a foreigner living here.
How did they get my number? Did they know my name or where I live? Did they think it was a man they were texting since Lance's name is attached to the account and not mine?
That night I told my husband and his friend Mike, who was joining us for dinner, about the text message. They both read it but were all unsure of what to do. Both were clearly upset by the notes.
That night I could not sleep. I kept thinking over and over again about those poor children. I was wondering how children get into the position of being used like that by someone so evil. Did their parents sell them? I have heard stories and seen specials on TV and the news about the selling of children in India. Were these children abandoned by their family to this dismal fate? Were they kidnapped? And what do I do about it?
For the next few days I was so upset I couldn't even type up a post for this blog. Nothing witty and happy could come to my mind. My yoga practice suffered as namaste was not a word I could bring myself to even think (let alone to say). I was a mess.
Then I realized that even though I couldn't do anything in India about it I COULD share it with you to expose you to how life is in other parts of the world. These are the kinds of things that happen in other places where police are not reliable. Now, I am not naive, I know this stuff happens in the US too, but not so flagrantly and abundantly. In all my years of living in the US I can say with great certainty that no one ever offered me this before!
I have had other examples of the struggles of the people living here that I have experienced since moving to this country but I will write about those stories at a later time to elaborate. Suffice it to say, I have witnessed it while living here....the world really IS a vampire.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.